Restoring Fionn (1972 Ballad #18(?))

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Bob McGovern
Posts: 283
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2012 3:08 am
Location: Wyoming, USA

Re: Restoring Fionn (1972 Ballad #18(?))

Post by Bob McGovern »

MarkRyan1981 wrote:I love the detailing on the grab rail and the top of the bulkhead. What wood did you use? What are you using the space under the V berth in the forecabin for now you have your new wizard holding tank in the main saloon?

Great progress! When are you hoping to have her ready to go?
The new bulkheads are Hydrotek plywood (Merenti =- pseudo-mahogany) trimmed with African mahogany, which is (almost) a true mahogany & the original 'ribbon figure' wood on our Ballad. I re-purposed as much of the old plywood as feasible; it too was of mixed species and quality. Some of what you see will be painted later. It seemed sensible to varnish it all, then paint over the bits we prefer white. Our new head is a dessicating/composting model, which relieves us of the need for a holding tank, hoses, thru-hull, pumpout, and that lingering odor that often seems to attend them. OTOH, dry toilets are not for everyone. :lol:

Under the V-berth... no clue what we will do there. Saving that part for next year. We'll keep the bow water tank, convert the old head & wet locker to stowage. Maybe store sails under the V? Soft goods anyway. Our solar oven fits under the stbd settee (across from the big water tank). Remainder of the settees will store food & spare parts. A panel will pull out to bridge the settees, creating a large bed in the cabin when at anchor.

It's hard to imagine launching for at least two or three more years. Ah well. Ocean isn't going anywhere. ;)
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dahlke
Posts: 111
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 5:20 pm
Location: Randers, Denmark

Re: Restoring Fionn (1972 Ballad #18(?))

Post by dahlke »

Bob McGovern wrote:A few more photos to annoy you with. ;) Final test fit of the port side furniture. All major bulkheads are now glassed in place, may they never move again. Yay.

One hundred fifteen liters of water, smack beneath a sleeper's ear:

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Luckily, the head is now just around the other side of the partition ...

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...with standing headroom, yes! Looking aft at the new bulkheads:

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And here is the foot of the settee, which I broke over at a 30 degree angle to improve access to the V berth:

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It all has to come back out for final cleanup and hull painting, but at least some kind of progress has been made. *sigh*
Looking real nice, Bob! Keep up the good work and keep posting lots of images :)
Mads
Ballad #332 (aka. Obelix)
Restoration blog
Boat and restoration pictures
Bob McGovern
Posts: 283
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2012 3:08 am
Location: Wyoming, USA

Re: Restoring Fionn (1972 Ballad #18(?))

Post by Bob McGovern »

Two quick photos. First is the starboard berth, currently mocked up in particle board until MDO can be purchased.

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Mostly food will go in the forward compartment; the large hinged lid will hold the solar oven under it. Need a simple method for securing the lid. The galley is also back in place, at least for the moment. Scrounging boat gear can be a chancy & tedious process, but a couple times a year you might be rewarded with a fantastic find. I've been stressing over how we will lead halyards and reefing lines back to the cockpit: the nine (or so) turning blocks will need to be very strong, but new 'halyard lifts' are very expensive ($80 to $200 USD each)-- while used ones would be difficult to find in a matched set. Then these things showed up on eBay:

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Eight aluminum sheaves on massive welded bases. By some freakish chance, I was the only bidder & got the matched pair for $80USD. :shock: Stamped 'Nautor' on the side. People have sometimes described the Ballad as a 'mini Swan', and now we have the halyard lifts to prove it. :lol: Any suggestions on where best to locate them? Current thinking has the following lines led to cabin-top winches:

Stbd side
* main halyard
* single line mainsail reefs #1, #2, possibly #3
* cunningham?

Port side
* spinnaker/Code Zero halyard
* solent/spinnaker staysail/Genoa3 halyard
* pole topping lift/inner staysail & storm jib halyard
* lazy jacks?
* boom vang

Our working genoa will be on roller furling, so I think we should keep its halyard at the mast. Roller furling line will come down the lifelines.

What are we missing, & where best to place these blocks to accomodate most of those lines?
Liese
Posts: 51
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2012 8:08 am

Re: Restoring Fionn (1972 Ballad #18(?))

Post by Liese »

Hi Bob,
I am pretty sure, that you have it in mind , cause everything you are doing looks pretty good planned.
I just want to mention, that the deck of the ballad has initially not been designed for running the halyards etc. from the cockpit. The deck would need to withstand some pulling forces if the redirection happens detached from the mast.
Some newer Ballads have the Blocks mounted at the mast collar (i.e. at our Ballad, No. 2007). I considered to put a 'kind of tie rod' from the fixing bolt of the mast collar (fitted with a lifted eye) down to the mast step.
I saw some danish Ballad at Dragoer/Danmark with a steel fitting mounted directly at the mast to carry the blocks. Like this one:
http://www.mikeaston.ca/resources/MastCollar1.jpg

Here is the Tie rod solution, if you want to / can modify the mast.
http://www.seldenmast.com/files/excerpt ... -68-71.pdf

Best regards,
Joerg
Bob McGovern
Posts: 283
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2012 3:08 am
Location: Wyoming, USA

Re: Restoring Fionn (1972 Ballad #18(?))

Post by Bob McGovern »

Joerg: Yeah, we've been planning toward mast blocks from the beginning. We added cockpit sail controls to our little SJ21 & it completely changed our enjoyment of the boat. When I asked my partner if we should do the same on the Ballad she said, "Yes! Why wouldn't you?" :) One of our first major surgeries was removing the water-damaged top skin and core material around the mast opening and replacing it with a 1"t phenolic horse collar:

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This material (countertop remnants from various kitchens) has a beam strength of 25,000 psi and a compressive strength of 45,000psi. :mrgreen: We just need to figure out the best method for tying it to the hull structure, to prevent the 'diaphragm effect' you mention. Should we tab the main bulkhead to the coachroof top? That's where I am currently stuck. I think probably we will, just because we can. We've now tied the big bulkhead to the floors by the mast truss (it really wasn't attached, before). We'll make a stainless tang or chainplate that ties the mast collar/horse collar's front thru-bolt to the bulkhead, with a straight load path to the floors. (On our Ballad, that forward collar bolt was just a lag screw, biting maybe 1" into the mahogany header -- which had split along the short grain where the bolt ended.) Then we will put a similar tang, bracket, or tie rod from the aft mast collar/horse collar thru-bolt attaching to the mast. Maybe a turnbuckle or other tensioning device?

Thanks for the links!
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