Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Hatching

SHIP'S LOG:

     I pulled the two of the three hatches that have been leaking. I figured that after years of trying to find the leaks and plug them in what could best be called a "half-assed manner,"  I decided to pull the hatches and completely repair whatever needed to be repaired and then caulk the hell out of them before I put them back. The problem was that I couldn't figure out how to remove the interior trim so that I could get at the nuts on the bottom of the hatch bolts. The trim looked as though it was glassed in place, so I took a chance to see if I could unscrew the bolts without securing the nuts. Imagine my surprise when the bolts all came out with minimum effort. It turns out that the hatches were secured simply by screwing the bolts into the fiberglass lip beneath the hatches.There were no securing nuts at all! In addition, the was no "L"-shaped flange extending into the hatch opening.  Evidently, the hatch was placed on the hatch opening after it had been caulked and then simply screwed into placed. No wonder the bloody thing  leaked after 34 years of deck flexing. I can't add the "l" shaped flange so it will have to be set back in place pretty much as it was originally.

     The couple from Maine called at the last minute to cancel the visit, They were going skiing one last time. I can't tell if that is true or they were using  it as an excuse not to come and look at ABISHAG. It could be that they decided that they don't want her but they felt uncomfortable saying so. It happens all the time. I know they didn't find a better deal on "a sister ship" as the only other CN 39 (there's only three in the the US) for sale in down in the Chesapeake and they want $62,000. They probably found an other deal  and weren't all that committed to stay in the Camper Nicholson Family as they originally claimed.  O well, such is life.