Need Help Rebuilding a Blake Baby Head

[Capn_Crusty]

Hello from across the pond and please pardon my abuse of our common language.

I've just acquired a used Blake Baby head to install in my boat and I'm having difficulty disassembling it for a rebuild. I've never even seen one disassembled before so I don't know exactly how it is fastened together and I don't want to damage it. Since they're probably much more common on your side of the pond, I'm hoping someone here can give me some knowledgeable guidance.

Here's my situation. There are two bronze flanges that seal against a hollow protrusion on the outside of the bowl at the rear. One flange has a tube inlet for the fresh water and the other flange has a raised boss with a large hex head fastener in the center of it. It would appear that all I have to do is unscrew the hex head fastener and both flanges will be released from the bowl protrusion. What happens however is that the flange with the boss turns with the hex head fastener and never unscrews.

How do I remove these two flanges?

Thanks for any help that you can give me.

 

[ianwright]

Oficial answer- Buy the maintanance tool kit which includes a manual come instruction book.
Otherwise three wrenches and an assistant.
No really- get the book, contact the maker at http://www.blakes-lavac-taylors.co.uk/
and tell them your problem. You have a great bit of kit there, very expensive, but worth it.
IanW

 

[Mirelle]

Ian, him Wright, as usual.

My Baby Blake is 50 years old and absolutely as good as the day it was made.

You don't need to buy the tool kit (I happen to have one, but thatis just because my affluent sister gave it to me when she sold her boat!) but you do need two things:

(1). The "Perishable Parts Kit"

(2). The "Exploded View"

It is a great help if you also have a copy of

(3) the "Practical Boat Owner" "Guide to rebuilding your Baby Blake" (reprint of article)

All three are available from Blakes at the address that Ian has posted.

If the unit is VERY old and tired it may need new bolts, as they dezinc over 30-40 years. These are also available as a set from Blakes.

 

[Mirelle]

This is from memory...

The hex head, as you can see, is cast in with the flange, and there is a rubber gasket between that and the bowl protrusion. The flange screws up onto a bronze casting, located inside th bowl protrustion, which forms the end of the delivery pipe and has a slot cast in it for the water to flow through. The other flange is a part of this casting, and is likewise located against a rubber gasket.

 

[Capn_Crusty]

Re: This is from memory...

Thanks for the information - and I now have a full rebuild kit on the way.

I was able to hold the flange with the water inlet (once I noticed that it was turning also as I turned the hex head) and the threads finally broke free. My head is now fully disassembled and since the original paint is long gone, I'm cleaning and polishing all the bronze and chrome and I'll spray a coat of clear lacquer on it for a sealer. It will be a thing of beauty when I'm finished (at least to me anyway).

 

[ianwright]

Re: This is from memory...

Unpainted bronze spattered with pee requires lots of polishing. I asked Blakes years ago about paint, they use smooth hammerite, when the paint on mine started falling off after 12 years. They offered to re-paint for me at a high price,,,,,,
Azco-nobel (International paint) said nothing sticks to bronze very well and suggested chrome.
One day when the to do list is a little shorter I might do that. For now, green is good. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Did you notice that they produced a Gold Plated version a few years ago? The Millenium Baby Blake! A little more than £2000, what a bargin!

IanW

 

[Mirelle]

That\'s interesting.

I used smooth Hammerite on my last rebuild!

Yes, they most certainly are things of beauty - and a joy for ever!

There is an innocent pleasure in taking one apart and rebuilding it - incredibly well engineered, and intended to last until the Crack of Doom!

 

[Kristal]

Re: That\'s interesting.

Presumably, the innocent pleasure could be tempered by what could potentially lurk inside...

We took the executive decision last month that my plans to remodel the forecabin into a convertible double-bedroom and fully-featured fo'c'sle didn't leave any room for a toilet, and our modern plastic thing is destined for Ebay.

Instead we have a very fetching bucket with a rope on the end. My ladyfriend managed to drop this over the lee rail on our last trip and almost gybed us, the drag was so astonishing.

It does limit the number of girls willing to sail with me, but hopefully, as in the good old days, you can always find a temporary one down at the docks...