Rescuing the original Mark V 39 " Heart of Gold II"

[Mike Vogdes]

Wow.. some birthday, 911 the same day the towers fell.

[Mark Van]

Actually, it was launched Sept. 12, 2001, not Sept. 11. The launching was originally scheduled for Sept. 11, but was delayed because the farmer with the tractor was not available that day.
Most of the plywood was 1/2" AC, Lowe's had a stack of nice 5-ply. I have not seen AC plywood of that quality since then, the 4-ply stuff looks like crap. I would not have used AC if it was the quality that I have seen since.
I am surprised that it is in as good condition that it is, I was not too keen on maintenance when I lived aboard. Most of the problems Bob has found were developing when I still had the boat.
Mark.

[hokiefan]

Jeez... I can't believe I just found this thread. A wonderful boat, a dreadful mid-life, and a wonderful recovery in the making. Was reading the part about the recovery from the sidewalk in Fort Meyers, and it made me remember a younger day, when I acquired an old Seabird. Found it in WoodenBoat's boat for free section, only 45 miles away. Went and looked at it... Hemmed and hawed... My wife said, "Either do it or don't. I don't wanna hear woulda, shoulda, coulda..." This was two weeks before my daughter was born!!! So I rounded up some friends and we headed off. Jacked, blocked & braced, almost got our butts killed, got it on the trailer somehow. In my case it was an old well built carvel boat that someone had killed with fiberglass. A learning experience all around, but good memories nonetheless.

Enjoy the rebuild Rob, and the relaunch.

Cheers,

Bobby

[Robmill0605]

Thanks for the kind words hokiefan.

A bunch of parts that I needed seem to be finding the boat. A friend of mine bought a wrecked motorhome for the drivetrain. He gave me the LP stove and a Carrier roof top AC unit.The stove is a four burner with an oven.The oven has never been used as it still had the factory packing inside of it. It dropped right into the opening in the galley without any modifications.

[Robmill0605]

Mark built a dorade box into the coach roof which also supported the solar panels. The opening is 12" x 12". I'm going to mount the AC unit in it's place. I downloaded the installation and parts manual online from Carrier. The opening for the unit to be installed is also 12"x!12" so I won't have to cut into the coach roof! I plan to hide the unit between varnished name boards and put my spotlight in front of it to stop it from looking out of place.
Because I'm in SW Florida, and I'm going to live aboard her full time AC is a must. It's March and today it'd going to be 86 degrees.( yeah , I know you all feel bad for me) The summer gets real humid so it will be a real blessing to have it. I'll paint the unit hull color also.

[Robmill0605]

[P.L.Lenihan]

A near new oven and range, air conditioning unit and all perfectly sized to require virtually zero surgery.....I would buy a loto ticket while you are on such a lucky streak Rob!

Despite feeling just terrible for you with that dreaded heat you endure daily and signs of it only getting worse as we change seasons, I can say the best way to help "us" over-come these terrible feelings for you, would be to continue posting pictures of the work you still manage to accomplish under such dire working conditions. That way we can take solace in knowing work is at least getting done......and this surely is the greatest motivator for the rest of us wallowing away in not so savage temperatures....






Cheers!



Peter

[M. J. Notigan]

Rob,

The Carrier unit reminds me of the Coleman rooftop A/C we had on our Coast Guard Cutter Scioto (pilothouse). Worked well when called upon during the 2 to 4 weeks of hot oppressive weather on the upper Mississippi River. It worked even better when I suggested the pilothouse roof be painted white to cut down on the heat load for the unit!

With a boat the size of Heart Of Gold II, this will be a real nice addition and greatly assist in comfortable living conditions down there in FLA.

Rob, keep up the good work on her. It was 70 degrees here in NJ yesterday and today feels as a day in mid March should feel......cool, damp and gray. Won't be long till all of us from south to north will be returning to their slumbering boat projects........

Take Care,
Mike

[flyinwall]

WOW is all i can say on the work you have done (and a good score on the stove and air-con)

[flyinwall]

how is the restoration coming alone

[k4lmy]

Ditto!

[ben2go]

No matter how it's coming along,I thank what ever god that sent him to save Heart Of Gold II.I watch Mark's website for years.Then when I saw his boat for sale,my heart sank with a heavy feeling.Then I saw a post some where about her being used as side walk art.All I could think was how happy I was that she hadn't sunk to Davey Jone's locker,and how heavy my heart felt for her dignity.I hope that Rob is making head way on her rehabilitation.

[Robmill0605]

Hi everyone. Work on Heart of Gold 11 came to a halt because I was commissioned to do a job a 37ft Pearson to install a teak and holly sole through out the boat and refinish all the bright work. That completed another commission came into my shop for a tiger maple dresser for a client in Mystic Seaport Conn. So the good news is that I've been making a living at what I like to do and now have the means to order more materials for her.
So sorry for no new updates, but I'm hoping I'll be able to move the ball along in the next few months. I'll post my progress. Thanks for all the interest.

[beernd]

Hallo Robmill0605,

I love the way you salvaged the oven and the airconditioning, everybody got something out of that deal

Right now I am looking for a caravan with some damage, because I would like to use the undercariage for a boat trailer, and be able to use as much equipment from the interior as possible.

One thing intrigues me mostly, the air conditioning equipment, could it be run from a battery , (or a battery pack)??

[ben2go]

Hallo Robmill0605,

I love the way you salvaged the oven and the airconditioning, everybody got something out of that deal

Right now I am looking for a caravan with some damage, because I would like to use the undercariage for a boat trailer, and be able to use as much equipment from the interior as possible.

One thing intrigues me mostly, the air conditioning equipment, could it be run from a battery , (or a battery pack)??

Yes.Some air conditioning units can run from a battery bank.The battery bank must be sized to support the A/C electrical requirements.

http://www.boatus.com/BoatTech/artic...oning-unit.asp

http://www.boatus.com/BoatTech/articles/inverters.asp

http://www.boatus.com/BoatTech/casey...tion-casey.asp

It would help to start your own thread so this can be directly responded to by more experienced people.Most of my A/C set ups are in RVs (caravans).

[beernd]

@ ben2go
Hi My building thread is first build from DN Goodchild plan.
I,m building the "Compact" I'm in the station frame stage of the process, but I will sure check out those links, the more becaus the design only features 6 rather small portholes and no butterfly hatch or anything like that.

Oh and yes I will need the A/C converting set up because I saw an ad for a small fridge that I think was using 70Watts so that could be interesting, but I will go and check first because 70W sounds like to good to be true, but than again Electrics is not at all my strong point.

So thanks for the links.

[ben2go]

@ ben2go
Hi My building thread is first build from DN Goodchild plan.
I,m building the "Compact" I'm in the station frame stage of the process, but I will sure check out those links, the more becaus the design only features 6 rather small portholes and no butterfly hatch or anything like that.

Oh and yes I will need the A/C converting set up because I saw an ad for a small fridge that I think was using 70Watts so that could be interesting, but I will go and check first because 70W sounds like to good to be true, but than again Electrics is not at all my strong point.

So thanks for the links.

You're welcome and good luck.

[Robmill0605]

It's been maddeningly slow replacing these two lockers and the transom. Maybe I underestimated it, but by the time I tore all the bad wood out, rebuilt the lockers, filleted everything into one one piece, put in a sub bottom in both lockers and bonded it all to the transom it seems like I'm never going to get past them.
I'm now covering it all with xynole cloth and epoxy.
I think I'm a decent woodworker, but I SUCK at glassing. It's nasty and messy and expensive! I don't know how the hell Mark covered this entire boat in this stuff.
YUCK!!
Anyway, now I'm sanding this mess and my hand held orbital just wasn't cutting it.I have a nice 60 gal compressor in my shop but it's bolted to the floor and the boat is to far away to use it and it runs on 220v. I have a friend who works on the Key West Express catamaran and he told me they just tossed a big compressor into the dumpster. Turns out it didn't pass a Coast Guard inspection because of it's age so they bought a new one.
So, off we went dumpster diving and fished it out of the trash. A 60 gallon tank, compressor motor, but no drive motor or pulleys. So, we took a dryer motor out of a old dryer and found some pulleys and plugged it in. We were waiting for the BOOM but it works, so we hauled it over to the boat and put a beer umbrella over it to protect it from the sun and rain.
Total cost , beer for my buddy.
Here she is:

[Robmill0605]

Like I said, I suck at this glassing thing, but it has to be done. I had a lot of trouble with the vertical surface getting epoxy on it to wet it out. I stretched the xyclone cloth and held it with tape and wetting out with a 1/8" roller and a chip brush, and even used a ribbed bubble chaser but it still fought me. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?
I got it covered and now I'm using my DA sander to go after this mess.I'll glad to get past this.

[Robmill0605]

Next will be fill coats of epoxy and then 410 microlight to fair it all and get it into primer. This has all been structural work and I've tried to be very careful to make it as strong and sound as I can. I have to stick with it to get past this part and then I can install the new fuel tank, sister frames and new rear deck.

All glassed in.

[ben2go]

Looking good.

[landlocked sailor]

Good job Rob. I agree with you about epoxy & glass work; yuk. Rick

[Andycast]

I haven't yest worked with xynole cloth... I thought it was easier than the conventional 'glass product. Is this not the case? - Keep up the good work Rob... I love this thread!

[Oldad]

Wondered about that myself, xynole cloth? Never used it so have no idea, have used dynel and fibeglass with good results, laying the glass or dynel on the bias (45 degrees away from what you would normally lay it) and you can wrap around corners and have it all lay flat without wrinkles. Did a hatch cover recently and went over top and down all four sides with nary a wrinkle, wastes some material but worth it.

Oldad has enough of his own wrinkles, don't want them on the boat too.

[jimkeen]

Rob, I am in the process of sheathing a 27 foot Bluejacket hull in Xynole cloth. A few tips:It drapes much much easier than any glass cloth, so long as you dart the material before you start the wetout process it should conform to the hull shape no problem. On the vertical portions brush on with a chip brush and use squeegees to wet out the cloth, Just a spreader will work on horizontal or near horizontal surfaces, a chip brush and bubble buster may be needed for corners and edges.
Do not try to sand/grind out the cloth, this stuff is tough as nails, instead fill the weave with epoxy and micro balloon mix, spread it on like plastering drywall. Then bring to a smooth flat finish. A 7 inch polisher/sander will make quicker work of this process.
Still a tough job but well worth the effort for your noble project.

[k4lmy]

Jim.. Are you saying to wet out xynole with unthickened epoxy only or to use epoxy with micro balloon mixture? I will be there shortly...

Henry

[Phil Y]

So sad to see an almost new boat so neglected. So good to see her going to be fixed up. Looks a bit like that crazy guy just fore the fun of it boat!You deserve a LPBC

[P.L.Lenihan]

You know Rob, if you start spoiling your equipement like this, they'll soon be expecting paid beer breaks, vacation time and who knows what else. Treat yourself first!

Learn the zen of sanding and have plenty of cold drinks around(I happen to like beer) and you'll soon discover how fiberglass/epoxy sanding ain't all that bad.Honest!

Glad to see you are still plugging away at her and wish you continued success with her restoration!



Cheers!


Peter

[P.L.Lenihan]

Looks a bit like that crazy guy just fore the fun of it boat!You deserve a LPBC

Hey now,is that anyway to speak of the less fortunate?! Be nice and grab yourself a beer for such shameful talk!




Cheers!


Peter

[jimkeen]

Jim.. Are you saying to wet out xynole with unthickened epoxy only or to use epoxy with micro balloon mixture? I will be there shortly...

Henry

Henry, sorry for the confusion. Wet out with unthickened . Fill the weave and fair it out with the mixed in filler. I am waiting for another shipment of epoxy, the sheathing process sucked up the six gallons I had on the shelf.

[Robmill0605]

Thanks for the tips everyone. This is my first time glassing and I'm using xynole cloth because of what I read about it Ruel Parkers book. It has no itch and does drape very well. I'm just a total novice fooling with it. But, it is tough as hell.

Oh, and Peter, you always make me laugh. I'll try to not give the compressor to many beer breaks.

[M. J. Notigan]

Hi Rob,
If I may add to the fray here: a dust attachment to your sander going to a vacuum works wonders and takes a lot of the mess/dust/itchies out of the equation. I have one of those Fein Turbo vacuums with the hepa filter going to my Porter Cable 6 inch.....or my Metabo 3 inch......or my Fein Multi-master......that works great on my Microtrawler. Expensive but highly recommended if you are going to spend any considerable time sanding your Heart Of Gold. Love the sun shade for your air compressor! Peter is spot on with his comments; there is a certain zen when sanding, watching the high spots disappear in a random orbit of 60 grit scratches until a state of perfect contentment arises.......oh crap, sanded down to the glass again........have to mix up more epoxy!
Take Care,
Mike

[jimkeen]

Just a note on xynole. It is a polyester fabric and not glass. As a result the fibers do not itch when in contact with the skin. The epoxy filler mix when sanded will not itch. Mess and dust you get by the truckload and I agree a vacuum setup is critical to making the task more tolerable. I have a small Rigid Vac hooked up to my 5 inch porter cable RO sander. The key to this working fairly well is to ditch the the paper filter and use bags. The bags are available for about $12 for two from the orange store.You can run until they fill and then replace. Much easier and efficient than cleaning the paper filter every few minutes.
My son has the Fein for his woodworking business, absolutely fantastic machine.

[Andycast]

Just a note on xynole. It is a polyester fabric and not glass. As a result the fibers do not itch when in contact with the skin.

Hey JimKeen - Seeing you have the experience with xynole, I was wondering your thoughts on using it in a boat project replacing ALL 'glass (sheathing/structural) in the total project. I want to know your feelings on the material overall v. fiberglass. I am asking because I truly enjoy working with 'glass, but when it comes to the itch-factor, it is a killer. I try and try, but when I work with it I am always left miserable for days. It is a huge factor for me in delaying or scratching a project altogether. I have read in blogs the xynole isn't as strong and does not have all the characteristics of 'glass and can sometimes be a hassle to work with - like Rob has expressed. Just wondering your quick thoughts. Thanks!

[Tom Lathrop]

Hey JimKeen - Seeing you have the experience with xynole, I was wondering your thoughts on using it in a boat project replacing ALL 'glass (sheathing/structural) in the total project. I want to know your feelings on the material overall v. fiberglass. I am asking because I truly enjoy working with 'glass, but when it comes to the itch-factor, it is a killer. I try and try, but when I work with it I am always left miserable for days. It is a huge factor for me in delaying or scratching a project altogether. I have read in blogs the xynole isn't as strong and does not have all the characteristics of 'glass and can sometimes be a hassle to work with - like Rob has expressed. Just wondering your quick thoughts. Thanks!

Once you accept the fact that Xynole takes lots (that's lots) of epoxy to fill, its great to work with. If you have problems with runs, its because you put on too much epoxy in the first coat. Use only enough to wet out the weave on the first coat. I use a roller on vertical surfaces and just pour it on and spread with a rubber squeegee (from Thalco) on both surfaces. I have run some fairly extensive tests on several sheathing fabrics and if you send me an email, I will send it to you. For toughness and abrasion resistance Xynole in by far the best.

Xynole makes a heavy sheath and is not suitable when weight trumps all other factors. Xynole is superior for hull bottoms and topsides that get banged around but is not a good choice for other surfaces. The extra epoxy that Xynole requires is a plus for long term waterproofness. Some relative sheath weights may be of help.

Sheathing weights:
Onecoat of epoxy = 0.036 lb/sq ft
Twocoats of epoxy = 0.059 lb/sq ft
Threecoats of epoxy = 0.081 lb/sq ft

6oz FG cloth w/3 coats epoxy = 0.142 lb/sq ft

10oz FG cloth w/3 coats epoxy = 0.195 lb/sq ft

XYNOLEcloth w/3 coats epoxy = 0.36 lb/sq ft

KNITEXbiaxial (non woven) FG cloth w/3 coats epoxy = 0.46 lb/sq ft

Jim Keenan, I sent you an email but have not heard from you. Do I have the right address?

[Andycast]

Thanks Tom for the info. What are your thoughts using xynole for covering fillets? In instances of bulkheads to hull, etc? Thanks!

[jimkeen]

Tom thanks for stepping in here. I PM'ed my new email to you.

Should I apply a coat of two of straight epoxy to my sheathed hull before I apply the sanding coat?
Thanks
Sorry for the drift. This belongs on the Bluejacket thread.

[Tom Lathrop]

Thanks Tom for the info. What are your thoughts using xynole for covering fillets? In instances of bulkheads to hull, etc? Thanks!

One day I would like to make a test to determine that but since the main failure mode of bending right angle filet joints is hinging about the edge of the filet and peeling the fabric off the substrait, I think Xynole might be better than glass for that too. Peel strength of Xynole is off the chart relative to fiberglass. Tensile strength is far less than glass so a mix of the two might be best.

[Tom Lathrop]

Tom thanks for stepping in here. I PM'ed my new email to you.

Should I apply a coat of two of straight epoxy to my sheathed hull before I apply the sanding coat?
Thanks
Sorry for the drift. This belongs on the Bluejacket thread.

That is kind of up to you. Neat resin is more waterproof and a microbaloon fairing compound is lighter and easier to sand. For a boat that lives in the water, I think I would go with three coats of neat resin followed by fairing compound.

[Robmill0605]

I've been following the advice on using zynole, and have a few other comments. In Parkers book( and he has extensive experience in working with zynole,) he recommends applying all three coats in one session. The theory being you get a chemical bond between coats rather than a mechanical bond by sanding between coats. He argues epoxy does not bond to epoxy well without rough sanding.
I applied the cloth and whetted it out on bare plywood on the starboard side. Sanded and and applied the filler coats on the starboard side and applied all the coats at once on the port side. ( waiting of course for it to tack between coats.)

The starboard side has the glass filled nice and smooth, ready for fairing. The port side is not dry yet but looks like alligator hide to me. here is the starboard side. ( sanded between coats.)

[Robmill0605]

Tom is right though. The zynole is drinking up epoxy like crazy. I'm trying to keep up by drinking beer like crazy.

[jimkeen]

Tom is right though. The zynole is drinking up epoxy like crazy. I'm trying to keep up by drinking beer like crazy.

I am with you on that +1

[Vince Brennan]

Hell with all that... I wanna know if you're gonna install an industrial strength oven with a blast-proof door in her?

ka-BOOM!

Never laughed so hard.

[flyinwall]

when working with fiberglass do yourself a favor and rub talcum powder (baby powder) on your arms and neck (and any other exposed body parts) and it will stop the fiberglass from causing itching

[Indicott]

I wish I had checked this thread sooner. Tom is dead on with the process. It is easier to tape the xynole to the hull without any wrinkles and put on the first coat of unthickended epoxy, wait for it to take a soft set and then fill the weave in a few hours to help with a good bond. Not sure what kind of epoxy you are using but I used Fiberglass Coatings laminating resin for all my work on my Mark V-39 and it will have an amine blush that needs to be washed off with soap and water before the next coat unless that next coat goes on within a few hours. Not a big deal but by putting on the second coat the same day you avoid the bonding/blush problem. After the second or third coat of epoxy let it set, wash to get off the blush and fill with epoxy and micro balloons or epoxy and talc to make it easy to sand.

One trick is to use a notched plastic paddle to put on a thin coat of talc, let it set and then put on a coat of micro balloons (which are usually purple) with a regular flat edge plastic paddle. This way you can tell what the thickness is under your sander and not sand thru your filler. The purple of the micro balloon lines will get wider as you get closer to your cloth and when they disappear you know you are into your xynole next.

Also, don't get all worried about covering every square inch with xynole. I butted some of my edges together and just used filler for the little spaces where they met to get a fair surface to paint. Make sure the corners have a layer of cloth all the way around but the flat panels will not get much abuse like the corners of the hull will. Same thing when you do the back cockpit floor. Get the edges of your cloth close and fair with thickened epoxy. Between the paint, primer, and filler there is a lot of stuff to go thru before you even get into the xynole and plywood. All these steps make for a very tough surface!

From what I can see in your pictures you are doing a great job!

Brad

[Indicott]

Just thought of one other trick! To get a straight line across your xynole and keep it from fraying on the cut edge....just lay it out on the floor, pull out one thread from the side edge and pull it all the way out of the fabric. You will now have a straight line across the panel to cut to. We used to employ this trick in the drapery business to get both ends of a roll of fabric parallel to make drapes.

[Robmill0605]

Hi Brad, thanks for the tips. I'm sure that will help.

I've FINALLY completed the lockers and the transom and got them faired and in primer! I thought I'd never get past them, but they turned out well I think. Next up will be sanding the inside of the hull and re applying epoxy followed by a new sister frame and the fuel tank and new rear deck.

[openboater]

Rob, Thought you might want to hear about what a nice dinner we had last sunday evening.

My wife and son and I went up to Brewerton NY, where Oneida lake empties into the Oneida river / Erie Canal. Dinner on the deck at the Waterfront Restaurant is always a good time.



Suddenly my wife points and says, 'Hey, look at that boat' !



I was able to fumble the Iphone out of my pocket and get a pic.

Then after dinner, we went down to the dock and were lucky enough to get this action shot.
(CLICK ON PIC TO GET VIDEO TO WORK)



Just think, that will be you out on the water soon, and people will be waving and taking YOUR picture !

[Robmill0605]

Thank you! That was very nice of you. I think she belongs to some B&B now that gives tours.

[Indicott]

Thanks Openboater for the video! It's been a very long time since I've seen her in motion. Makes me want to build another one now....but I'll just keep watching Rob's progress until then.