WINDORA'S - Refit

After an 8 year circumnavigation with our 2 boys we came home with a list of changers and upgrades for Windora. Lynda and I would like to share this experience with you.
Laying the rig down for transporting
Lifting out
On the move
The old Pilothouse
2 days to build a shed
Remove the lid - genset - 1939 P6 Perkins

 

1 - Remove the rest of the house to the deck
2 - Windora has 5 water tight bulkheads. This one was 9" thick. Each bulkhead is attached to a 3" thick ground bolted into the hull
3 - See the ground and the pattern for the back of the house reducing this bulkhead to 4"
4 - Patterns for new fuel 1000Lts and water 900Lts tanks
5 - Note the 3" x 16" floors at 9" centers bolted to the 16"x 20" keelson all in NZ kauri.
6 - Painting 2 pack
7 - Tanks 5mm alloy for fuel 2mm 304 S/S water

 

One of the many changes. Lowering the pilothouse 7"
1 - I thought maybe a chainsaw job but I managed to remove the drawbolts and this is refitting the 12"x1.5" kauri cabin sides
2 - Going back together, note the 7" drop
3 - Gluing 1/2" ply right around the inside face of the house increasing it to 2" thick this was done to allow for the gas filled double glazing. Also meant I could reuse the deck beams.
4 - Routing out the windows
5 - Moving the companionway and scuttle
6 - Glassing the Pilothouse
7 - A new look

 

1 - Boat-Workshop-Most important of all STAIRS
2 - Old Engine 1939-P6-Cast iron pistons max rpm1500 x 49 hp
3 - New Engine 6B Cummins 65 hp @ 1500 rpm and 115 @ 2500 rpm
4 - Marinizing new engine
5 - Building the heat-exchanger using copper-nickel
6 - Making up pipework
7 - Fitting gearbox 260 PRM and Cummins salt water pump

 

Building a Cockpit

1 - The aft deck with the old winches on deck
2 - Removing the hatch
3 - Marking out for the combings
4 - Cutting out the deck
5 - The cockpit, behind a watertight bulkhead
6 - Lynda blocking out for the curved carlin cut at 10 dec.
7 - Laminating over the curved carlin
8 - Laminating the combings 4x1/4" plywood
9 - Starting the lockers
10 - Laminating the gutters
11 - LPG locker
12 - Cockpit lids
13 - Gluing the teak winch blocks
14 - Making the cappings
15 - Painting
16 - See the toe space when standing at the winches
17 - The finished cockpit
18 - The new look with the lowed pilothouse

 

Chainplates

1 - Having rebuilt the toerails in South Africa making them wider to take both the stanchions and now the chainplates
2 - The old chainplates on the outside of the hull
3 - Lynda removing the blocking that the bolts past through
4 - Drilling the holes to take the 15" long bolts
5 - The new deck fitting and monel bolt
6 - Ready for bedding
7 - The running backstay sheave built into the mizzen chainplate
8 - Inboard with the head of the chainplate putting some of the load into the beamshelf and the clamp
9 - A clean hull

 

Reclassing Windora's Hull

1 - Prep for laying extra glass around the outside edge of the transom 4x650 gram double bias
2 - That 650 DB is great stuff- the first layer going across the transom and 4" onto the hull followed by a second going 8" onto the hull without cutting the cloth.
3 - The next is 2 x 24' all the way down the stem
4 - It took me 20 days to completely grind the old 6 oz glass off the hull
5 - 5 o'clock in the morning using a very large diesel heater to heat the hull
6 - The first drop going on both sides of the hull, I found 20 men who owed me a favor and we glassed the whole boat in 4 hours
7 - Each drop overlapped about 1" -the lap then being cut down the center and the 2 pieces removed leaving the perfect butt.
8 - Lynda and I precut all the cloth and 2 teams working forward and 2 teams working aft finished all the vertical drops in 2 hours
9 - The resin was mixed 5 litres at a time and applied with nook and cranny rollers
10 - The longitudinal followed next starting at the gunnel and working down so the first lap was below the waterline as this layer could not be cut
11 - The last longitudinal going on completely covering the lead ballast
12 - The micro-balloons going on the topsides the same day - everything wet on wet
13 - Beers and barbecue to celebrate a job well done.
14 - 150 litres of epoxy resin and 150 kilograms of 650 gram double bias cloth

 

Long Boarding and Sanding

1 - Added a timber ground 3 3/4"x3/4" and glassed it to go under the teak beltings.
2 - Sprayed with highbuild then more sanding
3 - Followed by topcoat
4 - Lynda mixing more epoxy. Used 250 litres in the whole refit

 

The Main Compaionway

1 - The pilothouse now painted and the rebates cut to take the drain tray fitted under the sliding hatch.
2 - Building the tray which is falling aft to drain the water either side of the door.
3 - Looking up the drain tray now fitted.
4 - Building the teak door.
5 - The finished companionway leaving the top deck flush and easy to walk on.

 

Thinning of the Bulkheads

1 - Removing the old saloon and galley.
2 - Reducing the 2 bulkheads from 6" thick down to 3" this made the finished saloon 6" longer.
3 - The bulkheads were made up of 2x1" thick shiplap with canvas in-between set in red lead paint fastened to 3"x3" framing then closed in with 5/8" plywood.
4 - After taking off the ply I then screwed the 2 one inch thick diagonals top to bottom next to each frame.
5 - After removing the framing the surface was ground back to clean wood then the bulkhead skinned with 3/8" plywood.
6 - The whole area was sanded back and repainted with red lead paint.

 

New Saloon and Galley

1 - Fitting the sole and settee framework.
2 - Between the frames was glassed to stop the paint cracking and finished in 2 pack paint. All the bulkheads have been covered with Matai Tongue and Groove a New Zealand hardwood glued on using epoxy.
3 - Framing up the galley.
4 - The bench top with the s/s sink epoxy glued under the formica.
5 - The bi-fold lids and bins behind the bench top.
6 - Note the cove on the fiddles no corners easy to clean.
7 - All finished in Matai.
8 - Works really well at sea.

 

Mouldings and Trimwork

1 - This is the bulkhead behind the engine reduced to 4" thick it forms the back of the pilothouse.
2 - The original bulkhead was 9" thick now down to 4" making the pilothouse 5" longer
3 - Machining the trim
4 - Fitting the corners first
5 - About 20 hours to make and fit
6 - Hand hold

 

Wow, amazing! Thanks for sharing with us Phil! Stats? (LOA, Beam Draught?)

 

Windora's Diamentions

LOL - 50'
LOD - 43'
LWL - 38'
Beam - 13'
Draft - 6'6"
Displacement - 45,000 lb's
Ballast Lead - 13,000 lb's
Prop - 4 Blade 28"x17"

 

I calc your Angle of vanishing stability at 134 degrees, with an wag at lwl of 34 ft(?) 120 or higher is the figure many use for blue water fitness, you are well above ( or below) that. Regardless, great job at a massive refit!