V-Lock Deck Mounting System for yacht

V-Lock Deck Mounting System
Cool Mobility Pty Ltd is now the Australasian distributor for "V-Lock Universal Mounting Sytem" equipment.

V-Lock uses can be seen on my website www.v-lock.com.au but range from easily mounted: BBQs, tables, solar panels, instruments (GPS, Tak-Tik), and fishing gear that can be quickly stored away for safety and to prevent having sheets getting caught on gear when sailing.
Wholesale enquiries are also welcomed.

E-mail me on sales@v-lock.com.au

See other Videos of the V-Lock System

Signage went onto the yacht yesterday in metalic charcol vinyl cut lettering.

I had designed the lettering based upon a font I'd found called Cadillac - I then broke it apart, tweaked some letter shapes, stretched the kerning individually, made all letters join together, created a new Cap 'M', and then saved all as an EPS file for the signwriter to cut from directly.


Out of interest, the side graphic is 2000mm long and the rear one about 900mm long (after trimming extra tails of M & e).

We are very happy with the result and are considering adding a Southern Cross to each side in silver and charcoal vinyl.

We've also had the faded and stained toerails painted in just "Killrust Black" paint and it makes a huge difference to the look of the hull. Time will tell if the Kill-Rust paint was the right choice but it is what the mast builder used on our new mast after cold anodising. Fingers crossed!!!

New Windows Fitted in Cabin

After seven months since their removal, the new windows were installed today and look great. You can see the new deck paint job (white gloss with grey decktread), reattached toerails, stanchions and safety wires.



Next job is applying the name graphics I designed.

New Custom Windows Purchased

The fiasco over replacing the cabin windows has had a happy ending (hopefully). With the delay, I was given advice after the unmatched set of windows were removed. I was advised that: rather than have the current trend of acrylic siliconed and screwed to the face of the window surrounds, to get proper framed windows. The face fitting method is difficult to get right and waterproof, whereas the framed units tend to be easier to fit without leaking and add strength to the cabin.

I was advised to try Aquarian Marine Windows at Factory 5, 28-30 Lipton Drive, Thomastown VIC 3074, Ph.(03) 9469 5811 and talk to Paul. He advised that rather than have one window made that would only slightly match the old one to have both windows built new. New rubber seals in old alloy frames are not as good a seal as new rubber in new frames. When he quoted the price of just $250 with me picking up and delivering FOR TWO FRAMES and WINDOWS, I had no logical choice but to say yes! I'd been quoted that much per window for just the face mounted cut out acrylic by two boat builders! When I dropped off the new windows at the boat builder, he was surprised at how low cost they were.

Yesterday, I picked up the new beautiful black powder coated frames with new smoke acrylic 10mm bigger all round than the old ones so that by tracing new frames and recutting holes a perfect fit is possible. They look a 'million bucks' and fitting will be easier too. I can certainly recommend Aquarian Marine Windows as the place to get custom rolled windows - might even get a new hatch made one day! Paul actually said he likes the little jobs (where other manufacturers won't touch small custom jobs) so a perfect source for those of us refitting old craft. Take along the old unit and get all new ones made rather than put new acrylic in old frames would be my advice.

We are so looking forward to seeing them fitted and our boat become dry again, after so many months with flow through ventilation when the plastic comes unstuck. Possible fitting date is tomorrow - photos of finished job when that is done. It will really look like we are making progress when they are in.

Toerails and Stanchion Reinstallation

My problem of boat builders not doing promised work (and lately losing valuable parts they were supposed to have fitted!) led me to trying an add for people interested in paintting our deck in the Gumtree Classified Website. Among the numerous respondents was an Irish guy and his Pommy mate (a professional house painter from England) who were very easy to work with, trustworthy (they'd ring when they were late starting) and they did a great job preparing, undercoating and topcoats of single pack deck paint and decktread by brush. The fickle Melbourne weather smiled upon us and despite dubious weather reports, they only had to stop once due to a very local shower and the temperatures were just high enough.

One Pom replaced another (who left to travel round Oz) to install the toerails and stanchions and the job was done much faster than if a boat builder had been employed. Sure you need to find the right guys and work with them to advise what needs to be done exactly, but at least these guys listened, unlike many boat builders. Also these guys loved doing a job that was more of a challenge and interesting, rather than normal building labourer jobs.

Question to Doug Sharpin (original boat builder) - "We removed the toerails for a new topside paint job (not an easy task as some bolts were bent and wouldn’t come out yet others had already been ripped out and toerails very loose). I’m curious what the bolts are bedded into – is it glass poked down into the space between skins or just filler. Amazingly tough but strange to have bolts not screws into just GRP. Incredible that even with an impact driver, two bolts had to be cut off as could not be removed!"

Answer from Doug - "The bolts AND rails were holding and clamping the deck moulding to the hull flange and all assembled with resin and asbestos!! powder mix known generally in the trade of those days as "bog" - the bolt heads were also siliconed under the heads but in pulling the joint down the bog squeezed out and filled the recess in the rail as well as tight around the bolts hence the tight bolts to try and waterproof this join. Incidently the toerails came from a Company in Huntingdale called Briggs Marine, now Adcast."

Our toerails are now back on but not without complications. For future info of Holland 25 owners, I pass on this info -Toerails and stanchions bolted with 1/4" x 1" bolts into nuts at less than 1/2" below deck level, 3/4" below toerail surface. Where the nuts remain and are held solid, it is easy to bolt back into these.

HOWEVER, where the nuts have been pulled out you need to drill out bog and loose nut or it will lock any bolt or self tapper you try and use. Where nuts are still there and have worked loose you will not be able to remove the bolt as it will just turn so only options are to leave, cut off, drill out. I left two cut off bolts in situ as too much damage to remove. Moved one stanchion base as nuts were unable to be captured but caught on 1 1/2" self tappers.

We reattached toerails using 1" long self-tappers into holes filled with bog and redrilled, with Sikaflex on srews to seal and bond. Five stanchions and pullpit were bolted back using bolts that luckily caught the nuts below with one moved a bit and self tappers used. Everything straight and solid again with vertical stanchions (I had a couple of bent ones straightened while removed and all sanded to a consistent finish). Straight wires and toerails (even though black toerail anodising stained and faded) looks great and a big relief to have them finally back on.Removal of toerails is not to be enterred into lightly!!!

The yacht has now obviously reached the point where other Club members are asking regarding "launch date" but still work to be done that makes putting a date on it impossible.

Topsides New Paint Job

Well not a lot has happened on Mystique apart from temporary removal of the toerails and the new colour grey for the topsides being applied in two pack.

Quite a change from the old faded blue, don't you think? We think it looks great but the photo against the grey wall does not do it justice.

This was done while Moira and I went on a holiday so I only have photos of the finished job. The white band is about 60mm high at the sides. Once the black toerail is replaced and new name graphics (also intending to be black) it should look great on the water.

We have had problems with boat builders still - he finally fitted the windows after 5 months but fitted one in old frame and the other face attached! When I said WHY he claimed that was what I requested, yet we had this argument when the plastic cutter had supplied one of each. We were then advised to instead of having both glued face onto the cabin, to get two new frames made (which we had previously been told was not possible to get custom frames). So windows were both removed AGAIN and I went off to get two new alloy framed and powder coated windows made. Should get these next week...

Also having the deck brush painted in white with grey deck tread areas while all the bits are off, if this strange clear weather holds. Then we'll reinstall the toerails and other cabin top gear. The tasks will keep slowly being done, hopefully!

Holland 25 Forum Created for Everyone

I created a Holland 25 Forum website at http://holland25.proboards.com to hopefully provide a venue for the many Aussie Holland 25 owners to share photos, design and repair tips/hints, and possibly create an informal "Holland 25 Owner Group" in the future. It may even assist in revival of interest in the IOR Quarter Tonner Class yachts that were part of our sailing history.

I encourage any Holland 25 owners to view the Forum site and hopefully join the FREE membership site. We hope to read of your yachts online soon.

Yacht Design Drawings

I originally contacted the designer, Ron Holland - from New Zealand, now in Ireland, who after searching his files couldn't find any designs for the Holland or Eygthene.

I found hull design scans on the Eygthene Forum, which was the 24 foot for-runner of the Holland 25. I took those 8 x A4 scans and pasted them (as well as possible) together in Photoshop, then traced them in AutoCAD.

In AutoCAD, I was then able to stretch, extend, tweak and largely guestimate the hull lines that you can see to the right. If you click on that graphic, it will load an A4 PDF that is much clearer. This shows how beamy the Holland 25 is but with a very 'fish bowl' style beam cross section. Although this gives a wide deck, the beam at the waterline is no where near as wide.

I could not find any original sailplan drawings so I had to work from mainsail P and a rough measure of the three pieces of old broken mast. I then decided to lower both the mast and sail-plan to gain stability. Originally, the rig was a fractional with a tapering mast over 11.2 m from keel step. I decided to change that to a 10 m from keel step masthead and I had 2.5m² cut off the foot of the main sail to allow the mast to be built lower and closer to the previous top of the fractional fore-triangle (over 1 metre lower). Theory gives this less heeling due to lower centre of side force on the sails but how it affects the balance of the rig I won't know till extensive sailing. If my theory calculations are right, we should be able to regain ballance by mast rake of about 300 mm at the top, moving the centre of effort back about 100 mm - time will tell?

You can see the resultant mast and sail plan in the graphic to the right. Click graphic for an A4 PDF verison. Note: the boom has a higher leech as I took more off the leech than luff to keep the centre of force low but gain some headroom. OK,so I won't have the Quarter Tonner racer it once was, but I also don't intend racing with five crew on the rail either, let alone when out for a cruise with Moira. It should be a tamer, safer and less prone to knock down yacht, which is good and if we can sail it flatter, it may even be faster!

This could give a cheap method of detuning a 3/4 fractional rig by cutting the mast down to close to fore-triangle so perhaps a 9/10th rig, for cruising or safer sailing. Here's hoping we'll find it works. We have a number of other Holland 25 yachts nearby to hopefully compare against (mainly masthead from original). Theory and practice hopefully will be close.

Single Yacht Lifting Point

30 September 2008

The old lifting point, using two stainless steel wing bolts, was not secure enough and needed a more permanent solution. The rear keel bolt took most of the strain but only half the thread, of the ring bolt, was covered by the too short bolt.

A stainless steel plate and lifting point was fabricated to cover the rear three keel bolts. Although this is an expensive solution, we could never be sure when we might get a pen in the water and so may have to be on hard-stand for a while. This makes a secure lifting point important to be able to access the water easily and rapidly by simple crane rather than travel lift.

To obtain access to the subsequent lifting point we had to cut a hole in the roof of the cabin and through the garage roof as well and these will be subsequently covered by access screw-in ports. With a new three ton ISO lifting strap and two Spectra strops to the back of the boat we get a nice flat lift and crane access will now be easy and safe for yacht and people.

Painting the Bottom

25-27 August 2008

Doug Hem, of “The Antifould Doctor” was quick off the mark to get some paint on the bottom of the boat, once the anti-foul had been soda-blasted off. After a sand the previous day to get rid of the last antifoul around the edge and under the cradle pads, Doug masked off the below waterline area, then gave the yacht five coats of white epoxy. Luckily for that time of year, the weather was kind, with sunny to overcast but not too cold for curing and not damp at all.

In the hands of an expert the spray gun just seemed too easy. The five coats were completed in just a day, including the masking off. This made the hull look fantastic, filling up small pinholes, and giving it a really good waterproof basis for the subsequent coats of black anti-foul.

It seemed a pity to have to cover the lovely glossy epoxy but it's a necessary evil so as to have a stroong key between the epoxy and antifoul.

After an overnight cure, three coats of black anti-foul was applied the next morning. The transition from the patchyb soda blasted surface, then to a smooth white hull and subsequently to black was an amazing transition to watch.

The difference from the original crusty, flaky, thick old anti-foul to a smooth Black finish underneath the hull made a big difference. After all, from my vantage point on the ground that was the biggest view that I had!

When the weather warms up, and it is suitable to paint the top sides, we will put a white stripe above the anti-foul and grey up to the toe-rail from there. Once the old faded blue top sides are gone, but will look a lot more presentable.


I must admit to a slight disappointment that I didn't know that a grey anti-foul was an option (I saw Doug spraying two hulls grey a month later) as it is not as severe, but it may end up looking better for longer in black after subsequent coats of sacrificial anti-foul. The grey topsides will make a big difference.

Now I need to remove the toe rails to make the sanding and painting easier and to secure the currently loose rails again. Interestingly, I hate green and Moira always said, when we were looking for a yacht to buy, that we'd end up with a green boat! Guess what colour is underneath the current blue - GREEN!

Soda Blasting Our Bottom

20 August 2008

There were many, many coats of old anti-foul paint that was dry, thick and flaky that needed to be removed. The normal method of using a scraper and hand-sander was going to be a huge job so, under advice of the painter, I arranged for soda blasting of the hull below the waterline to remove most of the old anti-foul.

This was a very interesting process to watch as first off they enclose the hull with plastic to constrain the over blow of powder. Basically, it is sand blasting but with baking-soda instead of sand particles, making it much more gentle but still a lot easier than sanding it off. It is horrendously noisy and I would not advise it to be done without informing you neighbours, if in your backyard. Even at the yacht club we moved to an isolated area where the noise would be less of a problem. It took the professionals about four and a half hours to do a 25 foot yacht hull after they had done all the preparation of the plastic bag cover.

They used about six large bags of soda for my 25’ hull and all the powder and anti-foul was dry and bundled up into the plastic and put in the rubbish bins. Due to our water restrictions, we were unable to hose down the boat and cradle but the result achieved in less than one day was impressive.

Although not cheap, it is comparable to what a professional boat builder or painter would charge you (in time charges) to sand off the anti-foul paint. If you can sand it yourself at your own pace, you’ll save a lot of money, but that was not an option for me. It is also a lot faster and the painter was very pleased with the small amount of preparation to do over the hull and around the waterline

I would certainly not call it a pleasant job but there is no method of removing anti-foul that it IS pleasant. It certainly takes paint off quickly to expose the original gel coat, as they gradually move down and around the hull. After the blasting all the painter required to do was to give them a thick sand and take off the areas covered by the cradle props.

It was very pleasing to know that there were no signs of blistering or osmosis in the hull below the waterline. The blasting would have shown any soft areas and did open up the normal pinholes of bubbles in gell-coat.

Next will be painting the hull below the waterline and eventually the topsides.

Front Furler Installed

15 August 2008

The “Plastimo” front foil furler drum system was installed on the forestay today. It looked good until subsequently when we tried to load the jib into the track it jammed halfway up due to the foil not being installed properly. (It was not until October that this was eventually rectified!)

New Mast Stepped At Last

30 May 2008

The boat builder needed to use their hydraulic crimping machine located at another boat yard where the crane would be used to step the mast. Crane lifting was created by two rings screwed onto two keel-bolts (most rearward and next forward, through a hole that was cut in the deck today, after the cabin top the garage was removed. The test lift was fine so all is ready.

20 June 2008

Finally the day has come for the mast to go into the hull. To this end the yacht finally re-entered the water to motor around to the other boat yard. The lifting system worked fine but needs to be improved for safety. The refurbished motor, after all this time since it was last worked on (only on the hardstand) refused to turn over so it was towed around and the diesel mechanic called – starter switch fault and after a bit of coaxing of the motor, that hadn't really run for over six months, the diesel was running again and left running while the mast was stepped and final swaging of the cables done using the 10 Ton hydraulic swager.

The mast was attached to the travel lift and raised for lowering into the hull. It finally settling into place just as hoped-for. The cast mast base sits astride an inverted “T” step bolted to the new strengthened base, that will allow increased or decreased mast rake and the collar fitted beautifully with the rope packing and silicon sealant in the small gap at the top, it looks quite neat. With the upper and lower side-stays, front and back stays all in place, it finally looks like a yacht again.

All my calculations and measurements that I provided to the mast builder were finally proven to be correct and the mast with its raked side-stays had just the right angle. We have set it up with originally about 300 mm rake on the mast, but we will have the sail it to find out where the rate should be set. At the moment we can just guess!

With the motors still running, the guys chuffed our yacht back around to Royals Yacht Club, where it was finally lifted back onto its cradle. This is a big relief as it was the first time that the motor had been used to actually push the boat since we had bought it. After a couple of hours running, the vibrations had decreased but with a single cylinder diesel it still vibrates quite considerably. However, all the black smoke had gone and the throttle responded as expected and there was no overheating.

Finally it looked and felt like something had been done on the boat, now that it had mast and I knew the motor was running. Still need to put a new key switch in, but I hey, it runs.

Mast Step, Deck Collar and P Bracket

May 2008

Finally some work is being done to prepare for the mast be stepped, with a new deck penetration with collar and strengthened mast foot created in the hull. The new keel stepped mast has been waiting patiently for months at the yacht club. The goose neck had to be relocated 200 mm lower as it was in the wrong place, and the wiring for the masthead light had to be replaced as the new wire turned out to be old stock with corrosion.

The mast foot had to be strengthened and increased in size and the collar through the deck needed reinforcing after enlargement.

With the help of a neighbour we had created a collar sleeve on a piece of mast off-cut that would provide a reasonably snug fit at the top, but allows plenty of space to pack some 16 mm polyester braid a couple of times around the mast to provide both spacing and padding in the penetration hole.

The boat builder glassed this collar into the deck after we had made the original sleeve. The old mast had a cross-section length of only about 100 mm but the new one is 135 mm, so the hole had to be increased considerably. You can see from the photograph that our Holland yacht has a mast location much further forward than the normal deck step position (that can be seen from the rectangular moulding in the deck). As such I don't know how much this will affect the sailing characteristics of the new rig with a mast that is now considerably lower and compared to normal Hollands, about 300 mm further forward. With the mast stepped 200 mm forward of the bulkhead and chainplates, this has allowed an 8º rake on the single spreader of the mast though, so it looks a much stronger, more modern set up.

The “P” bracket on the propeller shaft was loose and needed re-bedding in epoxy. Using a couple of syringes full of epoxy injected into a number of holes around the p bracket it is now nice and securely bedded again.

We have also had the toilet removed with the hull penetrations glassed over as we will be using a porta-potty instead and the less holes, the better.

This doesn't seem to be a lot of work but it has taken the boat builder months to do it - we just don't get why boat builders take so long to do anything! Their excuse is that they just can't get workers yet they charge enough to employ quality staff.

All Stop for a Broken Leg

April 2008

When I went to visit the boat builder on the 23rd of April, I was trying to go across a bluestone cobbled gutter area and my wheelchair stopped, I did not. After piling out of the wheelchair like a rag doll forwards onto concrete, I thought everything would be okay, but when I looked at my left leg it was considerably shorter than it should have been - one broken Femur was the result. It was a nasty break starting couple of inches above the knee and spiralling up for another four. Into an ambulance I went and off the hospital, four days later (not fun waiting for theatre time), I eventually had the leg operated on and a 12mm diameter stainless tube inserted from the knee to the hip. Good thing I couldn’t feel the leg pain, but it was an interesting operation that I stayed awake for. I'm strange that way, I like to stay awake for anything like that! The doctors found it strange to have a patient talking to them and watching, via video camera (in full colour) and x-ray display, of them drilling, slicing, hammering and screwing away at my leg. Having watched orthopaedic surgeons in action, I wouldn't like them to try and do any cabinet making on the boat or around the home! They may be great surgeons but their tool skills need some work - drill twice, measure after!

Far from stirring the boat builder into action, everything stopped on the boat and no more work was done until June. The boat builders are very frustrating in that they promise everything, and don't complete very much! There always seems to be another job that supersedes my job even though they're getting paid promptly and in full.

New Mast Picked Up

19 March 2008

Well, I picked up the new mast finally from the builder, Bob Keeley, who is a lovely old bloke - one of those rare old 'masters' who are still working at what they love doing in their 70s.

The keel stepped, masthead rig mast is made of KO10 profile of 100mm wide x 133mm deep, 2.6kg/m so is no light weight profile and will be very stiff. This is the profile that Bob Keeley always supplied the original Holland 25 builder, Doug Sharpin, for masthead rigs back in the late 70s and was his second last extrusion. However, even Bob didn't have an original mast plan for a Holland 25 so I had to start from scratch measuring the yacht and existing sails. My sails were from a fractional racing rig so I decided, to create better stability, to shorten the luff and leech of the main to lower the centre of drive of the main and remove 2.5 square metres from the main's area. I also lowered the boom closer to the deck so more leech than luff was taken out of the main giving a boom that should raise up at the rear for headroom. I know this is not optimal but studying some force maps of mains, I've seen low pressure areas at the lower rear corner indicating less drive from that area. We'll see how it goes eventually.

Driving a trailer with 10 metres of mast (I'm glad it wasn't much longer) across the city was an experience and raised quite a few strange looks at a big long black stick on a white trailer behind a black SAAB Aero, with a wheelchair on the roof! There was not much clearance between the mast and my wheelchair, so I had to beware of dips as well as turning corners. Anyway, I made the trip of 30kms across Melbourne without problems, dropped off the mast at the yacht club then returned the trailer to the mast builder.

Moira's Story of the Interior So Far

Colin and I drove to the beach at Williamstown, straining to see if the Royals race tender was visible anywhere on the horizon. Our excitement was reminiscent of times past, important events, impending birth. When we caught sight of the boat in the distance I think I squealed! There she was, gliding along behind, attached to a tow rope. A blue hull with no mast, Mystique had arrived.

The realization of what we had committed to didn’t dampen the enthusiasm, we had just been delivered the boat we had been searching for. Months of trawling the net, talking to experts, and gathering information was suddenly over. The fact that we had purchased her, sight unseen, was a departure from our usual careful purchase ethic.

We both love a bargain, and since the modifications we were planning included a new mast and rigging, and cutting out the deck to accommodate Colin’s wheelchair, this 27 year old Holland 25 was just perfect. The previous owners had lost her mast during a fishing trip, and had decided to cut their losses. Their loss was our gain.

THE INTERIOR

It took two days before Mystique was hoisted from the water onto a hardstand. I couldn’t wait to climb that ladder to see inside, the photos we had just didn’t give perspective. The first thing that struck me was the overwhelming smell of diesel, okay, all the cushions were tossed over the side, and mental note to get the engine looked at. The interior was impressive, but terribly neglected, the veneer had split over every surface (photos look much better than the reality). Some “half assed” attempts had been made to cover the neglect, but a complete strip back is what she deserves.

The next day, armed with my old heat gun and several different size scrapers I started to remove the veneer. I have renovated houses, and I was lucky to have a father who was a marine engineer who taught me how to use tools. However, nothing had prepared me for the VENEER.

VENEER - REMOVAL

The first few strips came off with relative ease, lulling me into a false sense of how easy this job might be. I was thrilled to see some lovely figure on the old marine ply underneath. Then I hit the first of many, many areas of different adhesives that must have been tried all those years ago. Some resembled chewing gum when heated, and others just wouldn’t give up, no matter how much heat and grunt I applied.

I became obsessed, spending hours on small areas that tried to beat me. I had now thrown out all my scrapers, and had found the only tool that came close to giving me the control I needed to beat this beast, the good old Aussie “Barbie Mate”. I can’t recommend this tool highly enough; it has a great handle, and a blade down one side that can slide inside the split in the veneer giving you a good run on large areas.

As the temperature rose in Melbourne, so too, did the temperature rise inside Mystique.
Between the sun, the heat gun, and my frustration it was almost unbearable. I was now splitting my day to only work when the sun was off the boat, I had no idea how hot it gets in a yacht, or how difficult it is to work in such confined spaces. After turning myself inside out, balancing on one foot with knee bent because of lack of headroom in the V berth, I needed no Pilates classes. I had lost 4 kilos in two weeks.

Along with wearing out my father's old heat gun, I also have what seem to be permanent lumps on my head from standing up under the same bolts in the ceiling, and my legs are a marvel of ever changing shades of purple through yellow and green bruises from bracing myself against hard surfaces while I attacked my Nemesis. Colin tells everyone I have “VENEERIAL DISEASE!” He’s not wrong. If I never see another piece of veneer, it will be too soon!

I just love the amount of woodwork in Mystique, none of the other Holland 25’s we had seen had anywhere near the amount of built in cupboards and shelves that ours has. The oval doors on the wardrobe, and through the bulkhead to the V berth had sent me to marine heaven.

SANDING

Now it was time to sand everything. The previous owner had painted every other surface in paving paint, it had to come off. So did the headliner in the main cabin which revealed something I had never seen before, “splatter paint” (aparently the trend for boat interiors 30 years ago). How ugly is that stuff! It took me ages to work out what it was. It looked like a serious explosion had occurred, or maybe an arterial spurt.

I decided that this was going to be too much for me after my battle with the VENEER, so Colin decided that paying someone else to do the heavy sanding was a good idea. I couldn’t agree more, so I took a week off while the boys from the dockyard boat builder contended with the fibreglass interior.

I spent my time at home sanding all the doors that could be removed from the interior. Sanding the timber on board after the boys had finished wasn’t too bad, except for the difficulty of the confined areas, and places my new little mouse sander couldn’t reach.

PAINT

I spent hours and hours trawling the net and contacting paint manufacturers trying to find products that were water based. I’m very chemically challenged, so I really couldn’t imagine being in that space, in the heat working with chemicals that were sure to make me horribly sick.

After much discussion, and lots of horrified reactions from “boaties” who just can’t be swayed from the old 2 pack, I found that for boat interiors it is quite acceptable to use, “shock, horror” house paint. Okay, okay, I hear you, but I am going to try it. If it fails, be it on my own head. Our house is at the beach, and we’ve had no problems with that after seven years. I just can’t see that the interior of a boat is all that different. I actually found one “yachtie” who painted his boom with house paint straight on the aluminium ten years ago, and it’s still hanging in there. He assured me that he will be painting his deck next with house paint. I’ll be very interested to see how that goes.

I have just finished the clear coat over four coats of Interior Varnish Stain, all low odour and water base. This job was not without its own problems. The product goes on like water, and you need to be on top of the “dribble factor” I had to check and recheck before it was too dry to repair. The doors that I was able to paint horizontally at home were easier to manage than the vertical surfaces, but being touch dry in 30 minutes, and recoat in 3 hours is my kind of product. I just sped through 5 coats and light sanding in 2 days.

I am really happy with the outcome. The timber had been covered for 27 years, and had taken some knocks, so perfection was never an option, but the deep mahogany colour really looks schmick!

Now I just need more weather that is not too hot (the yacht is too hot to work in, with hot sun on the hull) and the rain stops (too dangerous to climb up a tall ladder in the wet). We need the rain and I love the sun. I now understand why renovating yacht interiors is definitely a Winter "sport"!

About the Holland 25

The Holland 25 is the development of 'Eygthene' - 1973 1/4 ton World Champion, 1973 and 74 U.S. Mid-winter champion, and 1975 North American Champion. She was a thoroughbred racing yacht with spacious accommodation.

Hull: Hand laid fibreglass construction guided by Lloyds specifications using highest quality cloths and resins with colour-fast gelcoats. One piece moulding ensures homogenous construction with composite lay-up of 'chopped strand matt' strengthened with woven rovings, double overlapped along the keel. Scribed waterlines are moulded in and the internal reinforced gunwhale flange allows exceptional strength on the deck joint. Rebated skeg mounting for flush fitting. Keel area stiffening by specially laminated 3/4" plywood transfers keel loadings to the bilge areas. Main bulkhead of 1/2" Maple marine plywood is the main structural member bonded to the skin and integral to the keel reinforcement.

Deck: One piece moulding with adequate reinforcement and moulded non-skid areas. Large hatchway, big self-draining cockpit and wide 2'3" sidedecks prove most functional as does the high camber, giving safe flat decks when heeled.

Keel: The high-lift hydrodynamically designed lead keel weighs 1650lb (750kg) and has six keelbolts moulded in.

Rudder: Heavy GRP laminate specially shaped to the designer's specifications to aid lateral resistance and give maximum directional control without stalling. The 1 and 1/4" diametre stainless steel stock with welded lugs has rigid and reliable construction for complete safety.

Interior: Forward moulding of V-berths, toilet mounting, anchor stowage in the floor, and starboard hanging space adds appreciably to the hull stiffness in the bow sections. Starboard side moulding comprises galley unit with sink, insulated ice box, stove recess (with cupboard under) and provision for plate racks behind. Adjoining is a long settee quarter-berth. Port side moulding comprises a full length settee berth and quarter berth plus forward saloon seat. All berths have recessed hatches for access to large stowage areas.

MYSTIQUE Arrives

On 25 October our preloved yacht was towed up from Queenscliff to RYCV, Williamstown. "Mystique" is a Holland 25 with a broad beam to give it stability and interior room. Built by Doug Sharpin around 1980, its vital statistics are:
Length: 25' (7.62m)
LWL: 20'3" (6.17m)
Beam: 10' (3.04m)
Draft: 5' (1.52m)
Displacement: 3500lb (1590kg)
Ballast: 1650lb (750kg)

OK, so it is not the best hull to modify in theory, but in practice it is the best our budget would allow for and as we plan to quite savagely modify the deck it would be a pity to chop up a more expensive hull. If we need to drill holes to test an idea - holes will be drilled and filled as needed till we develop new modifications. When the jig-saw attacks the deck, we will not hesitate to be 'cruel to be kind' and achieve our aims of suiting a seated sailor. A lot of planning will go into changes but it is a development platform first and foremost.

It is missing its mast and has minor damage to the safety posts from when it was dismasted but apart from looking its age at 27 years old, it should be a good basis to test our design concepts of creatiing a yacht suitable for wheelchair users to sail.

On 26 October, after a pressure wash of the deck the hull was lifted from the water and also given a wash to show an attractive, beamy but "soup bowl" shape hull in quite reasonable condition with no major problems visible at this stage. With about a lot of grime removed from the deck and hull, it looked a lot more presentable and the list started, regarding what needs to be done functionally and aesthetically.

Inside is old but with "potential" as the timber work has had a bit too much sun and years without being looked after as well as itcould have been. However, of all the Hollands we have seen, including a lot on the web, the original timber work was very well done with well trimmed oval door through the bulkhead, and well built timber cupboards. Time and a fair bit of work by Moira, my wife and business partner, and tradespeople will change the interior and Moira's tallents as an interior designer will bring it up 'ship shape'.

We are very excited about our new project and plans for our yacht sailing on Port Phillip Bay. With a new mast, possibly more lead on the keel, we will develop plans for many further changes once we determine how she sails and motors.

Long term aims

After this initial project is developed and tested, funding may be sought in the future to develop a larger and more sophisticated vessel. However, without a pilot project, with a majority of funding coming from an interested individual, such a project would not be possible to contemplate.
There are great possibilities for publicity generation through the local and national media of a project with such a positive visual potential – such as taking disabled children who have been in the news out for a sail, or being involved with the “Make A Wish Foundation”. Such publicity of this pilot project could lead to greater funding generation oportunities to allow development of the next generation of yachts.

If this purely volunteer project is the success that overseas commercial operators have achieved, then some commercial operators may make similar accessible craft for sale, charter or rent, and hence make access to sailing in such expensive craft (a commercial craft would cost over $200,000 to build to a standard required for rental or charter due to strict regulations) possible.