$1 Irwin 30 - project photos

[dfw_sailor]

Here is the original before I hacked in.

 

[dfw_sailor]

So, last deck fixes prior to priming (sanding and gouge fairing 80% done.

One or more POs drilled through, didn't seal properly, and a later PO filled the hole with silicon. Silicon plug came out as a worm, so up until the silicon was put in, the balsa was probably ok.

Will finish tomorrow, half done with feathering.

 

[Jim in Halifax]

So, last deck fixes prior to priming (sanding and gouge fairing 80% done.

One or more POs drilled through, didn't seal properly, and a later PO filled the hole with silicon. Silicon plug came out as a worm, so up until the silicon was put in, the balsa was probably ok.

Will finish tomorrow, half done with feathering.

View attachment 528932

Thru-deck chain plates with those little screwed-down escutcheon plates always leak eventually. I'll bet water from there contributed to the core damage. Since you have it all opened up, make sure that the core is cut back all around the chain plate penetration and the that the inner and outer fiberglass skins are sealed together with thickened epoxy to keep water out of the core the next time the chain plates leak. Yes, it involves removing each chain plate (which probably need inspecting anyway) but, depending on the rig, you should be able to do it one at a time with the spar in. An idea that I like (but have not personally tried) is to build up a little boss of epoxy putty around the chain plate penetration so that the escutcheon plate is sitting 'up on a hill', above deck level, cutting down on ingress of water when the caulk/sealant fails (as it will). And as to sealing, I have tried silicone, Lifecaulk, and butyl. The jury's still out but so far the butyl has been successful where the others failed.

 

[dfw_sailor]

The boat about to be repainted. Over 200 PO holes in the deck / cockpit, almost all had been filled with silicon. All drilled out and fixed.

2 limited areas of core rot remain. Can't be bothered fixing them this year, summer was horrible, slow going, and we want to sail / anchor out in a week or two.

 

[dfw_sailor]

New electrical switch panel. Hinged. 3mm aluminum. L shaped for room. Primed and stay painted in almond color ( very close to existing interior color, and will be same color when we get to painting inside, one day.

 

[Marcjsmith]

as an owner of a project boat I empathize with your journey, well done.

But I gotta ask. are you going to put some sort of protection around the window shaker ac unit? I could see myself kicking that damn thing every time I went down below...

 

[dfw_sailor]

as an owner of a project boat I empathize with your journey, well done.

But I gotta ask. are you going to put some sort of protection around the window shaker ac unit? I could see myself kicking that damn thing every time I went down below...

Yeah, photo is missing a step sitting about 2 inches higher (the aluminum angle in the pic supports the step.

We did it that way because the cockpit floor depth is too deep for our knees to get up to the bridge deck in one go, and I'm 6'.

We also have a protective grill that hangs down from the step to protect the fins.

Although we had no plans to put this boat out in salt water, we are liking it enough to consider building a water proof removable top and stern enclosure for the unit, so cockpit water cannot in any circumstance flow via the ac opening into the cabin.

But for now it's on a 4 x 5 mile lake, so not an issue ATM.

Just placed the order for changing out my batteries. Keeping one ok agm for now but installing lifepo4 200ah + victron smart mains and smart solar chargers.

Eventually will put in electric motor, separate 24v or 48v bank for that.

Pulled the three house batteries out, which only gave 60 ah and dieing fast. Stern of boat is sitting 2 inches higher today ( but still 2200w generator plus outboard on the stern)

As much work as it has been, (yuge) and still to be done (about half again), I am really enjoying NOT having paid for 5 - 10 yr old electronics in reasonably priced 30 yr old boat.

 

[Steam Flyer]

The nice thing about electronics is that they provide all sorts of great info. The bad thing about electronics is that as soon as you install them, they are obsolete and make your boat look like a dinosaur.

 

[Fah Kiew Tu]

The nice thing about electronics is that they provide all sorts of great info. The bad thing about electronics is that as soon as you install them, they are obsolete and make your boat look like a dinosaur.

All of that is true but I like my toys...

FKT

 

[dfw_sailor]

The nice thing about electronics is that they provide all sorts of great info. The bad thing about electronics is that as soon as you install them, they are obsolete and make your boat look like a dinosaur.

I agree, but with nmea2k finally being decoded to a point where either Arduino or rpi etc can be used as a sniffer, manipulator and resender of codes without too much trouble, then the network itself is the core and won't go obsolete for decades.

Fancy hi speed networking of radar, cameras and overlays etc seems to still be in development (manufacturers proprietary hi speed networking) but I am not so interested in that.

This way I can also add as many environmental sensors as I like relatively inexpensively, enough to have fun playing anyway.

 

[Fah Kiew Tu]

I agree, but with nmea2k finally being decoded to a point where either Arduino or rpi etc can be used as a sniffer, manipulator and resender of codes without too much trouble, then the network itself is the core and won't go obsolete for decades.

Fancy hi speed networking of radar, cameras and overlays etc seems to still be in development (manufacturers proprietary hi speed networking) but I am not so interested in that.

This way I can also add as many environmental sensors as I like relatively inexpensively, enough to have fun playing anyway.

Radar seems to have gone to ethernet actually. At least my Simrad plotter has an ethernet port for radar.

I still think NMEA2K sucks as a solution for marine data. Only advantage is it provides power to the devices and you can do that with POE these days. Having all senders use tcp/ip or udp/ip and sending human-readable text strings a la the old nmea0183 specification works well IME.

Funnily enough I'm about to run a couple more ethernet cables and maybe extend the nmea2k bus. Because I likes my electronic toys...

FKT

 

[sculpin]

N2K is based on CAN bus, which is used a lot in industrial settings and in cars, I wouldn't expect it to go extinct too soon...

 

[dfw_sailor]

Tx summer has been difficult this year.

Total boat topside single pot poly paint is nice but extremely temperature sensitive. 90f is way too hot. Extra brushing thinner does help, but the correct amount forces a thin mix, that runs very easily on vertical surfaces.

About 70f seems to be great, except to get that temperature, atm has to be morning, and I don't get shade in the morning, but I do get shade in the afternoon.

So apart from a second no skid cost for the decks, the rest of the boat has had 2 coats, and quite a few runs which will be fixed next spring.

Swmbo very happy, to her it looks like a brand new boat (other than hatch covers which will be a winter job).

 

[Steam Flyer]

Looks nice! Practical color too, not too hot in the sun (I'm guessing), not as much glare as stark white.

 

[dfw_sailor]

Looks nice! Practical color too, not too hot in the sun (I'm guessing), not as much glare as stark white.

Thanks! The deck is noticeably cooler to the feet than when it was previously chalky gel of simulate color.

Anti glare was the main reason, and it definitely shines without creating glare.

Apart from the fixable runs, we are very happy with the result, especially after hundreds of hours of repair and prep. Now we have to make the inside as good. Won't be near the amount of work just done.

 

[dfw_sailor]

200 ah lifepo4 battery. Installed where the engine used to be. Will be strapped in place, but the holder is very strong and would keep the battery in place until 95 degrees or so.

Victron smart 30amp mains charger, and victron smart solar charger installed as well.

My standard charger is still in place and only charges my reserve AGM, which is physically disconnected from the 12v circuit.

My reasoning for this is my battery selector switch allows 1,2 or both, and I don't want someone to cross the beams by selecting both.

I suppose I could look up what happens if you parallel a lifepo4 14v to a 13v AGM.

 

[dfw_sailor]

Tested the new 2000w (3k peak) pure sine inverter yesterday.

Ran internal lighting at full strength, nav screens + sonar, plus 6k btu AC on full.

After a 20 minutes run time, I let the charger top the battery back up to full. Data this morning showed 18 amps charged to full then the usual maintenance amps.

So for each hour of continuous full power AC (not eco mode), 60 amps consumed.

We have 180 amps usable. Going to increase the solar from 100w to 200w.

But we also have the 2.2kw generator.

So on stinking hot days, if at anchor during the day on the lake, run generator / charging / AC during the afternoon, enjoy the evening on deck (no AC), then AC to get the boat cooled down for night time (2 hours).

That's the aim anyway. We could also decide to add an extra 200 amp battery next year.

 

[dfw_sailor]

The Irwin 30 is getting a cdx pro 6 tri radial main in a few months! Boat bucks coming from sale of recycled materials.

Plus an atomic 4 in excellent condition (barely used). Engine was free.

Before.....

After

Doing my bit to help the marina, get rid of zombies, and recycle as much as possible.

Satisfying but exhausted. Helped out a friend with many parts, 2 x Chevy marine 350 (need some work but easy) and paid work as well.

About 7 days prep stripping as much as possible, and still quite a bit we just ran out of energy to recover them.

 

[dfw_sailor]

Plus the work crew enjoyed working near the water for a change. 11 boats.