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Chip Ford's 1974 Catalina 22
Restoration Project
Sail #3282 l Marblehead, Massachusetts |
The never-ending project to fill my hole in
the ocean while bailing it out
Preparing for Sailing Season 2010
The Windows Removal and Resealing Project
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Click
thumbnails for a larger picture |
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With Chip Ahoy back from the boatyard with a fresh
bottom, ready to be covered for the winter, first I wanted to remove the cabin windows.
In the spring, I plan to replace the gaskets and sealant around them. I
discovered a small leak during my 2008
monsoon cruise to Maine
in the aft-starboard window.
I bought a window gasket kit from Catalina Direct soon after, planned to
install it last spring but put it off as a winter project for the days
ahead. Since I'm thinking about replacing the clear glass with tinted,
this will become my indoor winter project. (Dec. 3, 2009) |
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With an all-time record-breaking temperature (a toasty 69º
at 1 pm) for the date, it was a perfect day to get this project started.
Removing the
interior frames was pretty straightforward, but the second was
quicker using a cordless drill and Phillips head screwdriver bit on all
those screws. I was
unduly concerned about the window falling out when the frame was
removed: It wouldn't budge.
First I tried hammering on a block of wood
against the interior frame, but still it wouldn't budge without more force than I was
confident applying. Finally, on the outside I used a
beveled putty knife and
the
hammer to break the gasket seals, between the outer window frame
and the cabin trunk, to free and pry loose the window assembly. Once the
seal was broken, pulling it out was pretty easy. |
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With the starboard side windows out
and dusk approaching, I traced about an inch outline around the frames
for overlap then cut
covers out of an inexpensive reversible tarp. I duct-taped the panels
all around over the
window openings. They should hold up good enough under the big tarps that'll
cover the boat through the coming winter. |
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With today's belated start (I didn't
get out there until after noontime), I was able to remove only the
starboard side windows -- but I learned the tricks. I hope to get the
port side windows out tomorrow, then move on to covering the boat.
(Dec. 3, 2009) |
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I got the port side windows out this afternoon, starting
shortly after noontime and finishing up at dusk again. I found a
considerable amount of water between the frames of both the aft windows
as I removed the inner frames, steady if unnoticed leaks. I was aware of
the starboard leak. These
late autumn early nightfalls are at their nadir now, 4:12 pm sunsets for
another week then the days start grudgingly lengthening. I was hoping to get this part of the project done and the
boat covered before the first snowfall arrives but it looks like I'm not going
to make it, though almost. The forecast is for rain turning to snow
tomorrow with possible accumulation. Uh oh . . . but I expect it'll melt
away in a day or two. (Dec. 4, 2009) |
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At last, back to this winter's boat
project. I got the
tinted glass back from
Sonny's
Glass Tinting today. It appears to be an excellent job, and
for only $75. I've got it on the washer/dryer work bench, got to rebed the glass
back into the frames next. The past few months have been difficult -- setting up my new computer,
then the others in my organization, have been
going flat out with that mind-numbing job since early December. Now it's on to bigger and better --
life's important
things! (Feb. 8, 2010) |
Madico Charcool is a cutting edge extruded film
that never changes color.
(Click graphic above for more info) |
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Setbacks in work and health have slowed down my project
this winter considerably, but I'm still plugging along. At the
recommendation of one of the guys on the C22 discussion group, I've decided
that, instead of priming and painting the window frames, I'm going to have them
powder coated. The first step, before delivering them, is to make sure I
can reassemble them when I get the pieces back, stripped of all my
markings and notes. This morning I took a series of photos, so I can
match up the frames with the glass. The tinting company numbered each
piece of glass, 1-4 on pieces of masking tape. (Feb. 21, 2010) |
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The bottoms of each outer frame have two small strips of
plywood, apparently shims, one on each end, apparently for spacing. A few of them are missing, lost while
removing the windows or somewhere in the past; all will likely be gone when I get the powder
coated frames back. |
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Each piece of glass is labeled, indicating which frame it
belongs with. (Notice that the tint seems to be sort of polarized.) When
I get the frames back, come spring I'll just need to match up the
correct glass with each correct inner and outer frame, epoxy in new
plywood spacers, reseal with the Catalina Direct kit (Product
#: D2130), and install. At least that's the plan. |
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A week ago I took the frames to a local shop in Lynn that
does powder coating -- that wanted way too much money to do the
job ($67.50/window). I found another,
SMI Powder Coating in Amesbury
($150 for the four if I'm in a rush; $75 if I'm not), and delivered the
frames today. The weather's breaking, spring is coming early it seems.
I told Trevor there that I'm in a rush now! (Mar. 8, 2010) |
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After a bit of a delay (last week's 3-4 day typhoon that
flooded out the northeast), and a problem coating one of the frames
("bubbling" of the finish, needing to be taken down to bare metal and
recoated), I finally got back the frames today. Trevor at SMI did a
great job, with attention to detail. Tomorrow I'll start reassembly of
the frames with the recently tinted glass and new gaskets. (Mar.
19, 2010)
See:
Detailed before-and after photos |
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REASSEMBLY BEGINS
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NEXT |
Page 3 | Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Moving on
with Season 2010 improvements |
It's never-ending ... bring on Sailing Season 2010! |
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