32ft Dutch design refit

Discussion in 'Metal Boat Building' started by jonmartins, Oct 7, 2008.

  1. jonmartins
    Joined: Oct 2007
    Posts: 8
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    Location: New Zealand

    jonmartins Junior Member

    Hello everybody,

    My plan finally took a kick start a year ago when I purchased my yacht. I sure came a long way to be able to afford buying a "rust bucket" in my mid-twenties and I can only imagine how hard it is for some of you folks with family, responsibilities and whatnot. At the end, I guess we all love being out in the ocean...

    Could make it a long story but down to the bone, the idea was to rebuild the inside from scratch to suit the needs and some other enhancements.

    The plans are to set offshore in 2 or 3 years time with no destination in mind to be honest. So we'll try to keep it as simple as possible when it comes to any sort of systems that will be added on. No fancy gadgets and preferably stuff that can be easily fixed or jury rigged on board.

    The model of the yacht is unknown. It was built in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand by Mr. Deyer (anybody heard of???). It is of Dutch design which I attached the originals. If anybody has any information on it, it would be great help.

    The yacht itself is a single chine, built of Corten Steel. The thicknesses are 5/4/3mm.

    I know that there is a lot of experience in this forum and to which many of you are kind enough to share with us amateurs. I am hoping to take many of my indecisions based on such comments. I will consider all comments but please don't feel offended if I can't do it for whatever reason.

    Thanks for all your help in advance

    Jon
     

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  2. jonmartins
    Joined: Oct 2007
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    Location: New Zealand

    jonmartins Junior Member

    Inboard Engine

    The engine on this vessel is a Renault Marine Couach, RC30D. Is anybody familiar with and/or have manuals for it? On the original display it has registered 1200 hours and supposedly is able to run on raw-water cooling.

    It has a big flywheel which I am hoping to adapt to a hand-crank start.

    The original fuel tank is slightly above the engine and being force-fed by gravity. It will be the only tank and the remaining fuel will be stored in portable cans. Makes it idiot proof for me. It also comes with 3 diesel filters being one of them one of those old school ones that you can use a jelly jar in case it breaks. The others are standard replaceable ones.

    My struggle now is on the stern tube system. If properly installed, it seems to work quite well. On the prep to get her to my refiting site, I had to refit the packing gland and everything else and it didn't leak a single drop the whole 10 hours that I motored the thing. And that was with a very bad alignment which vibrated everywhere. I'm sure with a properly aligned engine it would be a reliable system. I attached a pics of the shaft seal and of the diagram of the stern tube.

    But I have heard of a solid through hull stainless steel tube which is only flanged on the outside and then attached to the hull by bolts. Any comments on both? Or even a better and obviously affordable way?

    The shaft is attached to the transmission box by a system that I have seen in a book somewhere. So I haven't seen many of them around but I guess they were ok, back in the days and very easy to fix. Pics attached

    Cheers
     

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  3. Butch .H
    Joined: Apr 2008
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    Location: South Africa

    Butch .H Senior Member

    This is a realy nice boat.:)
     
  4. Brent Swain
    Joined: Mar 2002
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    Location: British Columbia

    Brent Swain Member

    Sure looks like a Ganley Snowbird.
    Stainless pipe should be welded in, with stainless welding rods,not bolted.
    Looks like that interior needs to be cleaned and epoxy tarred.
    Say's rig should work for self steering off that rudder.
    Brent
     
  5. jonmartins
    Joined: Oct 2007
    Posts: 8
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    Location: New Zealand

    jonmartins Junior Member

    Thanks for the comments Brent,

    Do you know where I could get some info about this Ganley Snowbird? I googled a few times and didn't have luck looking around for that particular model and any Ganley's(apart from a Chevron 30).

    Cool on the welded pipe on to the hull. Now a question, what would you use for a seal or bearing on the outside in such case??? The inside shouldn't be a problem since I can use the actual shaft seal.

    Ohhh boy, you bet the inside needs to be cleaned up. As a matter of fact, whoever built the thing never sandblasted the inside and simply painted over the millscale. I guess if it wasn't Corten it wouldn't still be in one piece.

    My plan is to get all the mods and welding done before I clean her all up. I seem to think that it might not be a good idea to do paint patches specially with this ridiculously expensive Altex stuff I bought. But it is supposed to last 20 years or so.

    Gonna work on it this weekend and gather up all the other little projects, pictures and whatnot to put it on here.

    Cheers

    Jonathan
     
  6. OllieBridges
    Joined: Feb 2009
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    Location: uk

    OllieBridges Junior Member

    Engine Manual

    Hi. I have a manual that covers your engine if you are still interrested in it. I could scan it and e.mail it to you. I have an RC28d in my canal boat which is also covered by the manual (Thank goodness as info about these engines is extremely hard to come by!!!) I'm currently searching for a starter motor for mine. Good Luck!
     
  7. jonmartins
    Joined: Oct 2007
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    Location: New Zealand

    jonmartins Junior Member

    Hi Ollie!!!

    Ohh man... if you could do me such a big favor I wouldn't even know how to pay back. Yes, I'd love to have the manuals for engine :)

    I could be wrong on this one, but I think you could easily find a local shop that rebuilds alternators to get your starter going again. But if you got no patience for such, I found these guys with parts for all Renault Marine engines:

    http://www.renaultcouach.com/.

    I've been honestly thinking about jury rigging a crank-start handle to it since it has such a big flywheel and then not even have to bother with the starter at all.

    Thanks again

    Jonathan
     
  8. Brent Swain
    Joined: Mar 2002
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    Location: British Columbia

    Brent Swain Member

    Ganley snowbird was featured in Seaspray magazine in Auckland in the early 70s around the end of 73 or the beginning of 74. It was the design that really got me interested in steel.
    I use an oilite bushing for a bearing. They cost arounbd $4. I have used a pvc hose fitting with sucess. They cost around 39 cents.
    If you cut a notch about 1/4 inch wide and an inch long with the grinder on both sides of your sterntube , it makes it far easier to get the bearing out with a centrepunch, without having to remove the shaft. You can also put the bearing in a stainless sleeve with a flange welded around. That makes it easy to tap the sleeve out, replace the bearing in it then tap it back in, all without having to remove the shaft. You can even do it underwater.
    Brent
     
  9. OllieBridges
    Joined: Feb 2009
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    Location: uk

    OllieBridges Junior Member

    Hi. Hope you are okay. Sorry for the delay!! I now have the manual scanned in to my computer. How do I go about e.mailing it to you? All pages are individually scanned as JPEGS. They are approximately 1mb each. I didn't bother with pages 18-23 as they were in french and I have scanned the relevant english pages instead - much more useful! pages 1-17 are in french but have very important photographs crosslinked with the english pages. Hope that's clear. My starter is currently being rebuilt (fingers crossed!!) Had to lift my engine today as the mounts were well knackered.

    This is my e.mail address - Olliebridges@hotmail.com.

    Speak soon.

    Ollie
     
  10. OllieBridges
    Joined: Feb 2009
    Posts: 9
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    Location: uk

    OllieBridges Junior Member

    Renault Marine Couach RC18d RC28d RC30d Manual

    I've just tried to add pictures as attachments - it won't let me load more than four (I have 36!!) because of file size. I'll have to e.mail them to you.
     

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  11. jonmartins
    Joined: Oct 2007
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    Location: New Zealand

    jonmartins Junior Member

    Engine bed rebuild, alignment and run

    It's been a while since I update the thread, although have gotten much help from some of you fellas. Thanks again :)

    I was dwelling with the engine for quite a long time and for some reason I couldn't figure out why it was giving me so much trouble to begin with. The engine bed was completely off (and that I mean 1 inch) so no wonder why the shaft vibrated like an old washing machine. Didn't understand why somebody would have been so lazy to have it so off, but after pulling the engine out 4 times on my own with a little jack and a pulley, I realized why and for sure I hope to not have to lift that engine again so soon.

    So I stuck with the same old bronze stern tube. Had our local dude Steve, one of those guys that is one with the lathe, to check the shaft and throw in a new cutlass bearing.

    And a week or so ago, after so much alignment, welding fumes, baldness from hair being pulled, it ran super smooth at high RPM's. Here's a video of her running.

    Today I hustled with re-plating the last corroded part of it, the transom. It has a high angle of bending so I had to be extra careful with that heat-distortion-contraction... all that technical babble. It was more of a panel beating feat!!! But all done and good enough for government work :)

    Next week is rudder work... had some of it dropped off at Steve's shop so I'll post that stuff next week. The sandblasting/BBQ/priming/beers has been scheduled for the 1'st of April, unless it was a bad joke from some enthusiastic bunch I know.

    Cheers :)
     

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  12. jonmartins
    Joined: Oct 2007
    Posts: 8
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    Location: New Zealand

    jonmartins Junior Member

    Another year has passed and I haven't been much true to my promise of updating the forum... but here it is...

    The sandblasting of the interior didn't take place until almost after a year of what I had intended for. The only affordable guy (and a good mate) was extremely overwhelmed and could never get to my little project... patience is a virtue... even though it makes you feel like a complete retard...

    But all happened last January... the pictures tell the story... the whole interior finally sandblasted and then painted with Altex 536 Epoxy. It never made sense to me to paint something with a soft paint without any sort of resin and then add a strong paint on top relying on the adherence of the weak one... Some people have said that I should have primed it first and some did say don't bother and slap the epoxy to bare metal... Altex said the same so I stuck to what the manufacture said and epoxy to bare metal it was...

    At a point during the rebuild, a very good soul(thanks again Mike) amidst this forum had presented me with the hardcopy of Brent Swain's Origami Boatbuilding book... and that itself was the light at the end of the tunnel to finish the yacht on a skimpy budget I have... and not to mention that Brent himself did give me quite a few good pointers here and there...

    The very basic interior is also done... there is a long Vberth, with heaps of storage underneath, at the bow since I don't have a chain locker and also shelves on the side... I built everything from 1/2 inch plywood and 1x3 for the framing... whatever paneling was needed, I used 1/4 plywood...

    With the same style, I built the galley counter top... which is a whopping 7 1/2 feet long... a large stainless sink on to which I will also be able to wash my clothes... and I opted to having a camper stove on top of the counter instead of a built in stove... as bad and clumsy cook that I am, the only time I ever used an oven was to dehydrate my welding electrodes... so that's perfect for me...

    Apart from almost all small yachts I've seen, on mine I built a full size charting table... flip the top of it and you can store the paper charts, documents, sextant, portable gps and whatnot... works for me...

    The floor boards are all of 3/4 inch ply... and heaps of storage underneath... haven't figure out a cheaper way to lock the boards down efficiently... so far it's gonna be with allen head screws that I will tap into the framing when I go offshore...

    In the transom compartment of the boat, since it is a center cockpit and a bit tight for a 33 footer, I built a workstation and tools storage... I've been always much of a handyman and couldn't live without my tools and a big bench to pull my stuff apart to bits... and you always need a big vise and a few lucky drawers for screws and bla bla bla... so the workshop in the yacht is completely separate from the living quarters...

    All is quite empty and super light inside... I can sleep, eat, navigate and fix things. There are no luxuries and everything is almost camping primitive... if I run into substantial cash in the future, it won't take a drop of sweat to make it more comfortable... but in the mean time, I can still experience the oceans and the world while a lot of people have their dream boats rusting to bits on their backyards wondering where they are gonna fit a watermaker and saving money for a marine generator...

    In September when it gets a bit warmer, I'll slap the anti-fouling on and back in the water she goes... I will then take pictures of the interior, the launch etc...

    Once again, thanks for all the great help from all the members that have been watching me from the beginning...

    Cheers guys :)
     

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  13. Lexluthor
    Joined: Jul 2010
    Posts: 13
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    Location: Belgium

    Lexluthor Junior Member

    Hi John,

    About the drawings you enclosed in post 1, that boat looks like a "Noordsvaarder", seeing the pictures of the boat itself I would guess the design is a "Vanguard" (the early designs were drawn by Ir. Eckert, the later designs were drawn by Dick Koopmans.)

    I bought a steel vanguard 2 weeks ago which i will totally strip and refurbish too, allthough the boat is in a better state than the rusty state yours was in when you bought her :). My version is a ketch version with aft room. Normally i will get her out of the water next week (after i have a go starting the engine) for a full restoration (i will have to brush up my welding skills too :) ).
    I'll post some pictures then so you can compare hullform.

    good luck with your work,

    Tom
     
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