Lakesailor
New member
What I bought from Searush.
I knew it had some leaks when we agreed the deal and this is a little update on what I found and what I've done so far.
Steve told me that the chine had a crack and that the buoyancy tank would get a bit awash when sailing. I was surprised to find the cockpit was also about 3" deep in water by the time I got back to shore. Steve thought this was due to the cockpit sole/buoyancy tanks joint. Someone had blathered the joint in a rock-hard repair filler already, but cracks had appeared.
You can see the filler around the cockpit sole edges. The toe-board on the centreboard case has cracked at the after starboard corner as well.
The tiller hole and transom flaps have some missing coatings and the balsa is beginning to rot a bit.
The main problems were the crack and the hole (plus three smaller holes)
The chine crack had been repaired already. I ground it out and laid some mat and resin in. Then some grp filler paste (with chopped fibres in it) and some gelcoat on top.
The same for the hole and for the other three smaller holes except I didn't need the mat for that. The filler paste was fine.
You have to be careful not to make the repair too strong. If the chine ends up rock hard it won't flex as it is supposed to. The GRP is very thin. If you press around the hull where it's sound there is lots of movement. If you make a "hard spot" it'll do more harm than good.
This is the "S" shaped hole before and after after grinding, matting filling and gel-coating. Yes it's rough, but this is before finishing off.
The filler on the cockpit sole was a nightmare to chip off. Took about 4 hrs.
Once removed I cleared out the slot and used an air-line to dry it. It seems as though there is a bead of resin in the bottom of the slot. In fact looking at the Solo web site it seems this cockpit sole is a liner installed after the buoyancy tanks have been bonded to the hull. So it may be that the water is not coming from this joint. Anyway I filled it with Sabatack750XL which is a marine structural sealer.
I epoxied the centreboard and varnished it with a semigloss Epifanes as the boat will be afloat for a couple of months at a time.
I also stripped and revarnished the mainsheet track mount which carries the running rigging line cleats and supports the centreboard case.
This is the mainsheet track re-fitted.
On the transom I dug out the soft balsa and used the grp filler paste (with fibres) to fill and seal the hole.
The hull/deck joint had quite a lot of missing filler so I used the Sabatack to bond that back in place as well.
So this is where I stand at the moment.
I think the water is leaking into the cockpit through the self-bailers. I am making a launch trolley at the moment so as soon as that is ready I'll put the boat up on it and can test the bailers. If needs be I'll just seal them up for the moment.
I have to step the mast and sort out the running rigging (Kicker, outhaul and cunningham) which all have double ended lines.
I've already replaced the wire in the kicker winch.
If any Solo sailors know if there is a protocol for arranging them (in the cleats) I'd be pleased to know.
Then I just need to complete a compounding of the blue gel coat on the deck.
Aiming for next week as the forecast (according to Simon) is a lot better.
I knew it had some leaks when we agreed the deal and this is a little update on what I found and what I've done so far.
Steve told me that the chine had a crack and that the buoyancy tank would get a bit awash when sailing. I was surprised to find the cockpit was also about 3" deep in water by the time I got back to shore. Steve thought this was due to the cockpit sole/buoyancy tanks joint. Someone had blathered the joint in a rock-hard repair filler already, but cracks had appeared.
You can see the filler around the cockpit sole edges. The toe-board on the centreboard case has cracked at the after starboard corner as well.
The tiller hole and transom flaps have some missing coatings and the balsa is beginning to rot a bit.
The main problems were the crack and the hole (plus three smaller holes)
The chine crack had been repaired already. I ground it out and laid some mat and resin in. Then some grp filler paste (with chopped fibres in it) and some gelcoat on top.
Ground out
The same for the hole and for the other three smaller holes except I didn't need the mat for that. The filler paste was fine.
You have to be careful not to make the repair too strong. If the chine ends up rock hard it won't flex as it is supposed to. The GRP is very thin. If you press around the hull where it's sound there is lots of movement. If you make a "hard spot" it'll do more harm than good.
This is the "S" shaped hole before and after after grinding, matting filling and gel-coating. Yes it's rough, but this is before finishing off.
The filler on the cockpit sole was a nightmare to chip off. Took about 4 hrs.
Once removed I cleared out the slot and used an air-line to dry it. It seems as though there is a bead of resin in the bottom of the slot. In fact looking at the Solo web site it seems this cockpit sole is a liner installed after the buoyancy tanks have been bonded to the hull. So it may be that the water is not coming from this joint. Anyway I filled it with Sabatack750XL which is a marine structural sealer.
I epoxied the centreboard and varnished it with a semigloss Epifanes as the boat will be afloat for a couple of months at a time.
I also stripped and revarnished the mainsheet track mount which carries the running rigging line cleats and supports the centreboard case.
This is the mainsheet track re-fitted.
On the transom I dug out the soft balsa and used the grp filler paste (with fibres) to fill and seal the hole.
The hull/deck joint had quite a lot of missing filler so I used the Sabatack to bond that back in place as well.
So this is where I stand at the moment.
I think the water is leaking into the cockpit through the self-bailers. I am making a launch trolley at the moment so as soon as that is ready I'll put the boat up on it and can test the bailers. If needs be I'll just seal them up for the moment.
I have to step the mast and sort out the running rigging (Kicker, outhaul and cunningham) which all have double ended lines.
I've already replaced the wire in the kicker winch.
If any Solo sailors know if there is a protocol for arranging them (in the cleats) I'd be pleased to know.
Then I just need to complete a compounding of the blue gel coat on the deck.
Aiming for next week as the forecast (according to Simon) is a lot better.
Steve's Last Sail
