QuietDolphin

After we finished the fiberglass repair work on the transom , it was time to paint. We decided to use a 2-component polyurethane lack from Epifanes. The color is 839 which is quite a close match to the old gelcoat if it's not overlapping the old paint on the same surface. The boat was launched with the bathing platform dismounted but the transom paint finished. We started painting the red-white topside decor stripe from the dock, it was more comfortable and the weather was warmer. First we started the red stripe with a new 2-component polyurethane lack too just in red, but it turned out too bright (even though we bought the darkest red color what we could find), so we decided to switch to International's Toplac instead which was available in dark red (Marinröd). We painted 3 layers, then 3 layers of offwhite toplac for the white stripe. And the end result:

We're replacing the standing rigging step-by-step. Last year we replaced the forestay (together with the roller furling) and the backstay wire and load bearing block. This year we decided to invest in new turnbuckles, fix the cracks in the spreaders, replace the jib halyard wire and most of the running rigging lines. The old rigging screws had some thread damage and were not rotating/tightening after some point and I spotted a suspicius area on one of them that looks like there might be a crack developing in the steel. We decided it's time to get them replaced. We ordered two 1/2" (for the 7mm shrouds) and two 5/8" (for the 8mm shrouds) rigging screws with toggles from Seldén. For the 5/8" one we had to order the conversion kit (306-558-03) too as in 1998 the clevis pin diameter was changed from 13mm to 15.8mm. The chainplates we have are still 13mm for both. The spreaders on our Isomat mast also developed a few centimeter crack which was probably caused by incor

We installed and connected the new solar panels last week. The system was expanded from 80 to 230W. Now we have a 50W panel before the windshield and two 90W panels on the pushpit held in place by NOA fittings .  Below the port side panel an Ankarolina (anchor rope roller) is going to be fitted, while under the starboard side panel the LifeSaver inflatable buoy got it's place. The panels are wired in parallell with 6mm2 solar wires all the way till the busbars. They go through deck via Scanstrut waterproof vertical seals  and connected to the panels by MC4 connectors. The wires coming from the panels are fused and connected to the newly added BEP Insulated distribution studs . We also upgraded the charge controller from 10 to 20A. The new MPPT controller is from Solarmare and has a display too. It got it's place in the "engine room", above the diesel tank, next to all the other electronics.

We decided to give the wood in the cockpit some love. The companionway hatch, mahagony trim pieces and handles were taken home, carefully sanded and treated with 5 coats of fresh Epifanes varnish. We also renovated the cup holder and storage box that one of the previous owners built as we really liked it's function and place as a step in front of the companionway. The box was sanded, the some of the old holes/cracks filled with a wood filler and painted with a white topcoat. The cover part we replaced with a new mahagony plywood which was treated with Epifanes varnish and new piano hinges. The box has an aluminium profile in the back and fits perfectly under the companionway ledge which holds it in place. It has two storage compartments, drained on the bottom and four cup holders (two smaller and two larges ones). In the had we manufactured a new bulkhead cover piece from mahagony plywood as the previous one had an ugly cut in it due to the old Silva instrument cables. Now that tho

There is a 3-way shutoff valve in our propane system which supplies both the stove and the the propane heater. The heater is connected via a copper tube, so the only flexible hose goes towards the gimbals stove and it was due to replace it. I installed a new 10mm hose terminal to the 3-way valve as the old was 8mm and not the proper size for the hose which is 10mm towards this stove. The valve was labeled and every connection was leakage tested after the assembly. We have an internal battery powered gas alarm under the stove and now we got a second alarm installed in the head, where the Gastherm propane heater is located. This alarm runs from the boat’s batteries and is connected to the always-on busbars.

Previous: Removing the old bottom paint All of the old self-polishing bottom paint has been removed. We scraped it off with a ProScraper, then sanded it with a 120gr orbital sander to get rid of any residues. The hull has been epoxy treated before and the old barrier coat was still intact in most places. We decided to apply a new barrier coat on top of it anyways, as this is the perfect opportunity and we don't want to redo this job in the near future. We choose Lefant's Epoxy primer which is a quite thick epoxy barrier coat that can be painted down till +5 celsius degrees and makes a watertight seal after even 4 layers. As we already had a barrier coat we decided to go with 4 layers and iterate between white and black colors to make it easy to get a good coverage. We used 12 liters of primer in total (one 3 liter can was just enough for one layer). First layer of primer Third layer of primer and filler The keel was also sanded back to the previous epoxy primer and was treated