Re-building my Ketch Tonga (1960)

[Peerie Maa]

That's true, flats with different angles for each of the 3 (4) bolts. Still, it would be nice if I could manage to do it in the shape of the washer instead of cutting out a square piece.

It's on the bench and I've tried with chisels on the lowest of the holes, the one were the angle for me is the easiest to achieve, and it didn't go too bad. Not perfect but not bad. Just to give it a try I started with the second one. Free-hand I found it difficult to get the correct angle started and the same will be happening with the next one. I'll give it a bit more of a thinking-session tonight. Right now I think having some kind of a guide/straight-edge in miniature-format attached to the side would be something that will help me tremendously - but, the night is just starting and I might wake up with a better solution :-D!

If you do not have a round gouge in your kit, use a smaller chisel and cut the pocket 8 sided (actually5 ) as if you were rounding a spar. You can check for squareness as you go by putting the nut on a short dowel or bolt that will slip into the hole as you pare the pocket down. You could even superglue a washer to the nut on your dowel for the correct diameter flat.

[MN Dave]

I can't abide the bilge, so I would rather drop this article here.

https://www.cruisingworld.com/story/...pacting-plans/
"Sailing Totem: How Coronavirus is impacting our plans
The spread of COVID-19 is having a major impact on cruising sailors’ plans."

The single best resource for cruisers is Noonsite. They’ve set up a page which aggregates information for cruisers by region, then by country, with the latest information about port clearances and quarantine. It’s an incredible effort by the editors made possible through active updates by cruisers; if you have news, send to editor@noonsite.com, subject COVID-19, with the update and source.

[Dody]

Hi all,

I thought it's time to give a little sign of life. Everything is ok here in my little corner, I'm surviving quite well although the situation with Lockdown and all felt very strange. As I'm officially registered in the Porto da Nazaré I'm super-lucky and can move freely in the whole port-area, even walk on the beach belonging to the port, which is wonderful compared to everyone living in an apartment in a city. The social distancing was quite difficult as I could hear and see my mates starting their engines, unloading their catch, working on their boats and and and but we were all kind of isolated at the same time and stayed far apart from each other. The little cafe and minimercado here in the port stayed operational and had a plexiglas-window installed to hand out coffee etc. in tiny plastic cups, us standing outside keeping our distance, the fishermen from Nazaré trying to stay far apart from the Spanish fishermen from the big Trawlers or the fishermen from the North like Vila do Conde and Povoa de Varzim as there are still no cases in Nazaré. It didn't feel good so I started to brew my own coffee and stay away from it all. I never had a problem being on my own, never missed anything - be it at anchor for months on the Rio Guadiana without seeing a soul or be it out at sea. But this was different.

While people were dying and suffering everywhere something else happend that looks like a luxury-problem on first view but shook my whole existence to the bones. I am a liveboard-sailor which means my boat is my only home and I am at home where my boat is. I took some very basic things for granted. Things like the possibility to ask for help in a real emergency, to find shelter if desperately needed, or to stock up with some diesel, water and provisons after months at sea. In their fear of the virus authorities all over the world reacted to (understandably) protect their citizens and the law of the sea got wiped out. Suddenly there was no answer for help any more, shelter got denied or supplies. People got told "go back to your country!" - well, I haven’t got one, like many others, glad this didn't happen to me! I've meanwhile made my peace with it and will simply prepare myself even better, but I found it a bit difficult to cope with this fact.

The supermarkets were open and well stocked, but nothing else could be had so I had to sit down and wait. I kept up the contact with the cruising-community, tried to help where I could and started something I had on my mind for a long long time: find a new home for my Sailing Portuguese Waters Article. For ages I found it really silly to keep up hosting and whatnot for a single article to help cruising-sailors not to get into trouble on the Portuguese west-coast. I never wanted to have a Blog in the typical sense. Then the idea came to me to do something like a story-teller in the old days, something where I don't have any obligation to write in regular intervals but when I like it or feel like it instead. So, I started to set up a website for Tonga, Mr. Max and me, telling stories, true stories. About things that went on during our travels by land and by sea. There will also be a technical section one day. Just in case someone would like to have a look how far I got about these 18 years out, you can find it here: https://tongabonds.com/blog/ - happy reading! And yes, of course, I was sewing masks for my mates. At the pharmacy they were selling disposable masks in a packet of 50 for a bit under 50 Euros. Well, of course, no-one here is capable to pay 50 Euros just like this, so something had to be done.

Meanwhile things are easing up here, shops start to open again and I slowly found my joy working on Tonga back, working with my lovely chisels, the planes, the circular saw. I wanted to surprise you all with a photo of the knees in the corner and the one in the stern installed but the last 3 days everything kept going the wrong way, being topped this morning by my scaffolding suddenly feeling wobbly when I went up to start in the morning - because the weld on one of the uprights had rusted through. I still had a rescued old upright sitting in the corner, replaced it only to find out that the long drillbit I had was 6.5 mm and not the 5.5 mm I needed. In the end another day was gone and still none of the corner-pieces installed. Well, fingers crossed, it'll all be going smoothly tomorrow and finally some progress to show !!!

[cstevens]

Thanks for the update Dody. I was wondering how you were doing. Good to hear that you are getting by ok. And I'm now following your blog. Great stories! Thanks for sharing them.

[Dody]

Thank you Chris !

[Phil Y]

Glad things are OK

Sent from my CPH1851 using Tapatalk

[Dody]

Thank you Phil, and I really hope everyone else here is ok too!!!

I keep getting interrupted and things proceed with chewing-gum-speed. The starboard-side corner-piece is in place now, bedded and attached with lagscrews towards the outside of the hull and I got the first long hole - through the stern-frame, the corner-piece and the next deckbeam - done today. It's plus/minus 350 mm long and for a change I managed exactly where and how I wanted it to be. Did it with a (long) masonry drill(twistbit), the only drill I could get my hands on which was long enough. He didn't like the hardwood at all so it was drilling for a few seconds, get it out, clean it, let it cool off and again for a few seconds but it's done and I'm really happy about it! Now one more long hole on this side and then the portside. But again: interruption. Little Liza (the cat I rescued, our new crewmember) has a date at the vet tomorrow for sterilization and with taking her there and later collecting her the day won't leave much space. As much as I adore tiny kittens, we don't have the conditions at all to raise them.

However, in my excitement about soon really being able to start closing the stern I have ordered (and paid) 10 of the remaining 70 sheets of my Okume plywood which is patiently waiting for me in the shop and should arrive this or next week, something that feels really motivating. And I contacted the company where I get my Epoxy etc. from to find out about a delivery of G-Flex to glue the Okume on the planks of the stern (which I still have to install once the knees are finished installing). Funny enough he told me I can use normal Epoxy with 403 to thicken it as the stern is flat. Still, the planks I'm installing will love to move a bit in their lifetime, so I'll think about this a bit more I guess.

But, tomorrow Liza & I hope all goes well!

[Phil Y]

Great progress! Acres of ply! My project has come to a screaming halt for a while. I tore 3 tendons in my right shoulder. Much painful, or maybe I'm just a sooky sooky la-la. It's been a couple of months now with no real improvement so it looks like surgery is the next step, which apparently is not a lot of fun. Extremely frustrating! Although with some help from Bruce Moffatt who also visits here occasionally I refitted the anchor windlass and finished bolting down the pulpit this week. The to do list is significant but not overwhelming.

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[Dody]

Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that Phil! Tendons (and muscles) seem to be something that takes ages to to heal, I never expected to be knocked out for so long with my leg with this misery. Hope you're getting better soon and x my fingers for you!!!

Nice that you're ready to drill holes in your new deck again and well done on your stanchions and the windlass! It's a bit difficult to read your list, but what do you mean with re-building the cockpit?

I've installed both corner-pieces now but no pictures before a decent cleanup and the white paintjob done. Somehow I seem to be slowly getting better with long straight holes. Not sure if one can call a 350 mm hole long, but for me this is quite long. However, this time I managed all 4 of them to exit within half a Millimeter to where I wanted them to be and call this a little victory for me !

Got little Liza back from the vet today and she's already playing Mrs. Speedy Gonzales, wearing a blue coat instead of the collar they used to get so they don't open the stitches of the surgery. And yes, of course, she already wiggled out of her coat once and I had to crawl through the whole boat to find the coat back!

Well, and I got carried away with something ... Lidl, one of the supermarket-chains, were selling a Standup Paddleboard. Friends of mine from Jersey with their boat in the Marina, who had spent their time with me here during the lockdown, wanted to buy one of them, so off we went. Back in the Port got it out, inflated and started to play around with it. It was giving us so much fun, I had trouble to resist. Well, the water here is pretty cold. I won't buy anything unless I've got a wetsuit. They also wanted some gear so off we went to Decathlon (a sportshop-chain) in Leiria. They had one board I just couldn't keep my hands off and 640 Euros later with heaps of gear including paddle, pump, wetsuit, backpack for my vhf and water etc. a drybag and whatnot we left the shop. Tried it out the next day, yes, it's awesome and fun big time with the 2 boards. Lino from Nazaré Waterfun offered to give us a 3rd one so we can go distance, but they are off to Jersey tomorrow and won't be back before September. However, I want to do a few more trials inside the port and then carefully stick the nose out a bit in front of the breakwater to see how that feels, can't wait and happy it's the weekend now

[Phil Y]

Stand up boards are god fun. JB has a couple on Riada. My cockpit well is there, and the seats are part of the deck. But the coamings sat on top of the deck, between the wheelhouse and aft cabin. So I have to rebuild the coamings.

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[Dody]

Ah, I see, cool, a different way of doing this Phil, interesting, thank you! This has been done different on Tonga as the coaming is not sitting on top of the deck as kind of an "addition" after the deck is done but more like an integral part. The outer side of the cockpit is attached to the carlin and continues upwards about 12 or so centimeters above deck-level and the outer side of the coaming is build up connecting to it.

[Dody]

Finally something is happening.

Here the not-so-nice upright of the treasle. I replaced it with another old one I still had laying around

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Now the knees. What might look like a big gap in the photos is actually my black bedding-compound.

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That's the starboard-side quarter-knee. Bolted lengthwise and with lag-screws from the outside, the portside quarter-knee is nearly identical.

[Dody]

And now the real one, the central knee :-D!

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I have to re-tighten the nuts in a day or so (as soon as my back is better) and then install the filling-piece to match the angle of the stern aft.

After "counterboring" the topside of the knee to take the washers properly - thank you Nick by the way, this was really doable and easy with the chisels!!! - I had given it another coat of Epoxy. Which of course ran a bit down the sides. I sanded this before installing it, because the filling piece will be Epoxy-filler-glued in place so there will be a bit more of a mess meaning I will give the sides another coat later.

[skaraborgcraft]

Progress! Good to see that in. Always worth checking any scaffold for defects especially that used in a coastal enviroment, i have seen the consequences and it aint pretty......

I note your planking is below the transom frame (fashion piece?) did you remove a filler timber? How is that dealt with, i assume before final planking?

[Dody]

Hm, not sure if I understand what you mean Ian and, even worse, I haven't got the proper terminology. Am I guessing right that you are talking about the planking going pointy at the after-edge below, and the transom-frame only being rounded? If this is what you're talking about: I don't know yet. I'll see how the shape turns out when the planking on the portside is completed (hopefully with the help of Albertino, the shipwright) and probably shape something that will serve as a base for the double-diagonal plywood that will go over the whole lot. Actually, I'll have to guess and do that before, because the planking aft on the stern should have the same shape.

[skaraborgcraft]

^ Right......unless of course you will sink those nail heads and plane the planks flush, but i was thinking they are the original planks, and you may have trimmed the transom frame in the mean time, or perhaps that gap has always been there, hidden behind the transom covering?



I notice the plank above the red lead is already flush with the transom frame, i was wondering what the score was for the lower planks......

[Dody]

Ha, yes, lucky me, we are talking about the same thing!

It's like this: the whole stern-section is new and the planking not complete yet. The picture you are referring to is taken from underneath. What looks like "above" is actually the starboard-side of the boat, and "below" is the portside. The starboard-side planking was already sanded to shape, but not the portside as there are still planks missing. Once they are in place the whole lot gets sanded in the same fashion as the starboard-side.

[skaraborgcraft]

^ Thanks, i didnt go back and check out what was original and what had been replaced, i just noticed the extra depth on some of the planking.That makes sense now. Its all good, carry on!

[Dody]

Meanwhile ... I have Epoxy-Filler-Glued the filler-piece in place (this is before cleanup)

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but I seem to have developed a great talent in producing obstacles which weren't there before. I had re-tightened all the nuts to make sure they'll never come apart on their own, and when I wanted to start the cleanup I noticed that the shape of the stringers was showing on the fashion-piece

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But this is not all. When I checked with a straight-edge I found out that with tightening hard I had actually pulled the lower part of the upper bar slightly towards the inside of the boat.

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I've sanded the stringers level with the outside again, and I guess I'll have to modify the shape of the upper part of the fashion-piece because I don't want to produce a dip in the center of the stern

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I didn't really need this!

[Rumars]

Glue on some shims in the low spots and sand everything with a longboard. Or glue the shims later directly on one of the transom layers and sand the whole thing to shape.

[Dody]

Thank you Rumars!

I was so frustrated that I didn't have a proper look when I packed up, but I think it's only the top corner and I was wondering if I could solve the problem in planing this down a bit. I'll do some standup-paddling with my board this weekend to get my head free and have a proper look later. Stuck my nose out between the pierheads today, the first time on "my own keel" since I came in in 2009 after hurricane Bill changed my plans and it feels sooooo good!! Won't really leave the port with it yet as I need to earn some more confidence like quick turns and stuff, promised!

[Rumars]

I hope the stand-up-paddling was good. You need to check the fashion piece with a batten in all directions before deciding. It could well be that the fashion piece was only roughly shaped in because the shipwright expected to do the final fairing when he installed the transom. Is your transom curved in two directions or only one?

[Dody]

Thanks, yes, it was great although feeling muscles now I didn't know I had :-D!

The transom is simply flat, nothing fancy about it. Just had another look. The top traverse is slightly pulled in with the deepest bit at the center (maybe 2 mm) and twisted, which is also worst at the center. Coming in from the sides the first 10 cm on portside are ok, starboard it starts within the first centimeters.
Going across coming from below the outer face of the fashion piece is correct. The filler-piece of course doesn't have the correct angle which means at the deepest spot it's between 4 and 5 mm.

I think shims might be the best way to go instead of sorting this out later with filler or stuff. I remember that I had overlooked some irregularity with one of the deckbeams further forward which resulted in a dip. I sorted it with fibreglass and Epoxy before the next sheet on top went in but it would have been far less work to do it right in the beginning.

[Rumars]

Glue them on then sand with a longboard if you want perfection.

[cstevens]

Hey Dody, how are things in Nazare? I hope all is well with you and Tonga!

[Dody]

Hey Chris, thank you for asking!

Although it's weird times - and I hope everybody else her is alright too - all is good here. We're super-careful, everyone is wearing the mask, keeps the social distancing, does the sanitary stuff and luck has it that there is still not a single active case in Nazaré or the Port (only a few cases in the Region of Nazaré). Well, who knows when this is gonna change ...

Progress on Tonga was ridiculous the last weeks and I admit I'm not very happy about this. When the Lockdown in Portugal got lifted, Nazaré was the first port to open for yachts on passage coming from overseas while they got denied entry everywhere else. While many just "dumped" their boats here to fly home to their own countries, others found it might get too late in the season to sail home and do their necessary boatjobs there, so they decided to stay and do it here. Not only is the boatyard chock-a-block with boats now, it didn't take them long to find out that I had found my way around here for spareparts, tools and whatnot. It's slowly calming down but whenever I only tried to start something I got dragged away with all kinds of stuff. Meanwhile a cat rescued her two kittens from a dog-chasing-session (2 kittens got killed) onto Tonga - I can say now to stay ... - causing a lot of confusion.

Tiny bit by bit I continued. Epoxy-Filler-glued strips of Iroko (leftovers from making the knee) on the fashion-piece, sanded, sanded, sanded and got it all straight and good. Next the pointed bit, but I was struggling to work out a way how to do it. Well, just start somewhere, the rest will come ...

So I made a straight piece with the shape of the old bottom of the fashion-piece and Epoxy-Filler-glued it in place - like this it was easy to keep it in place while the Epoxy cures was my idea

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Worked fine so far. And now what? I used the Fein Multimaster in the hope I would manage to get the shape right, my japanese saw, chisels .. . It was a start but by far not right. Breeding over it and not finding a solution, it was, I don't know, like if there was a knot in my brain which would just stop the good ideas from coming through, no idea how else to explain it. My real problem was to imagine the shape it should have when it is finished and there was far too much guesswork involved for my taste to be able to do it right.

I thought it might be best to find the center first to have at least something to work from. I had set Tonga on the plumb-line some while ago and checked, she was still level. Good. So I tried with the spirit-level and the sides of the fashion-piece to find the center.

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Which was no use of course, because the center I found there was not the same point where the prolongation of the keel would meet. That was the moment I remembered Albertinho (the shipwright) telling me ages ago when we were working far forward that my center is off center ....

Hm.

Then I had the idea to use a batten to prolong the line of the keel, and another to show me where the missing plank etc. might possibly come to lay.

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This opened the imaginary knot in my brains and it looks good that I can continue from here. At least for the starboard-side, because the planks on the portside still need to get sanded to the thickness needed. Meanwhile I've got the starboardside nearly where I want it to be.

[Dody]

And here the last photos:

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[cstevens]

Thanks for the update Dody. I'm glad to hear you are well despite all of the boatyard distractions. Although you do seem to be acquiring rather a lot of kittens. I hope you are able to have them spayed/neutered otherwise I fear that you may end up with more than you counted on! The work on Tonga looks great to me too. Any progress is good progress...

[Rumars]

Good work, thanks for the photos. Do you plan to close the deck and stern before winter, or is it a job for next year?

[Dody]

Thanks for the update Dody. I'm glad to hear you are well despite all of the boatyard distractions. Although you do seem to be acquiring rather a lot of kittens. I hope you are able to have them spayed/neutered otherwise I fear that you may end up with more than you counted on! The work on Tonga looks great to me too. Any progress is good progress...

Thanks Chris, true, any progress is good progress - makes me feel a bit better :-D! And yes, the situation with the cats got worse: this cat was pregnant and soon after had her babies next to my bunk. The first 2 that is, because for the remaining rest we had to visit the vet, they got delivered by caesarean (which means on my request she got neutered at the same time) and several hours and 200 Euro later we were back with 5 babies, 3 whitish-siamese-ones and 2 black and white ones. She moved them first on top of my bunk, the 2 kids included. I hardly could turn at night and one day she was attacking Mr. Max (my cat). That was the moment I explained to her that Max is not a stray but my lovely companion for the last 5 years. There were tears involved. When I came back in the evening she had moved 2 babies to the empty boat behind me and got the rest of the lot later. Still coming over for food but peace has returned

Good work, thanks for the photos. Do you plan to close the deck and stern before winter, or is it a job for next year?

Thanks Rumars! Well, I very much hope so!!! I'll see how it goes. Normally the rains don't start before December. Normally September and October are awesome months to work on a boat, dry and the temperature comfortable. Normally the strong Northerlies start to go smooth in August. Normally. This year is strange. The fog that started in February/March kept coming up at night and often didn't disappear before lunchtime. Mid-August we were still with strong Northerlies. And for Sunday next week we have strong rain in the forecast, imagine this, rain in September!!! Well, the fishermen told me 50 years ago it was always like this here. However I'll stay where I am and will just get on as it comes as long as there is no stress :-D!

[cstevens]

Normally the rains don't start before December. Normally September and October are awesome months to work on a boat, dry and the temperature comfortable. Normally the strong Northerlies start to go smooth in August. Normally. This year is strange. The fog that started in February/March kept coming up at night and often didn't disappear before lunchtime. Mid-August we were still with strong Northerlies. And for Sunday next week we have strong rain in the forecast, imagine this, rain in September!!! Well, the fishermen told me 50 years ago it was always like this here. However I'll stay where I am and will just get on as it comes as long as there is no stress :-D!

"Normally"... what a concept! I don't think we are going to see normal again for a very long time. Stay well Dody.

[Dody]

I slowly start to feel like Don Quichote: fighting against windmills!!!

All the obstacles were solved and done with. The pointed bit sanded to shape as far as I dared to go. Awesome, finally the planking! Everything worked out, can't be that anything is going wrong now!

I got the plank out of the workshop, planed the first side. Flipped it over and planed the second side. When I was nearly at the end I discovered 3 little holes. Like the ones a woodworm makes. There was no wooddust to find where the plank was stored, but this could have many reasons. M....de!!!

Got all my timber out of the workshop and found 3 more planks with the same problem - still, no wood-dust to be seen. I didn't care and got rid of the 3 planks, cut off the affected bit on the planed one, stuck it in several plastic-bags, sealed them and stored it in the toilet - to wait there for 3 weeks & then check again for wood-dust.

To the wood-merchant the next day, got me 3 Iroko-Planks. Let's make life a bit easy, so off to the Carpenter's to have them planed down and cut. 20 minutes later all was done and he didn't even want money from me, awesome!!!!

Now, finally the planking for tomorrow!

Till I saw the weather-forecast that is. What looked like a tiny depression at first sight turned out to be heaps of rain and winds gusting 65 knots. I found out later that it had a name: Alpha.

It was over and done with fairly quick and hardly any damage.

And last night I found out that post-tropical storm Paulette to the south of the Azores (still looks like nothing in the charts) is predicted to move a bit further south, re-gain forces over the warmish water and then head - yes, we all can guess where!

The probability moved from 40 % yesterday to 60 % today if I can trust NOAA and their computers.

It would be bad seamanship to ignore it, so I'll repair some damage on my cover and prepare first. Better safe than sorry.

Which means: still no planking the stern. Grrr@@ !!!!@

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[Rumars]

Just take a rest day, knit somehing, have a drink. Or reorganize the shop, sharpen everything to perfection, sort fasteners, etc. The sun will shine again after the storm.

[Dody]

Well, it might not come to it and leave us all in peace. But our 65-knot-surprise-visit has ripped a tear in my tent aft, about 35 cm long, very close to where it's tied to the arch. If I don't fix it one way or another, the whole thing will be torn to pieces if it comes to blow. The rest of the plastic is still in surprisingly good condition, so no need to make a new tent right now.

The enclosure, which I would like to use to prevent strong gusts to get inside the tent, got badly damaged with one of the last heavier winds. I took it off, hoping not to need it any more when it next comes to blow coz of the planned progress. Well, life is not always as we want it, so the expected progress didn't happen. With what is left I can still have protection from the southern quarter, but when the center has passed over us the wind will be from the northern quarter and destroy the remaining panel (which also starts to show some fragile spots). It's one panel only I have to replace, but it's got to be done.

The cover aft also got damaged, but I guess I'll simply take it off, chuck some scraps of ply on the open deckbeams, a tarpaulin over the lot and some sandbags to keep it from going walkabout.

We'll see. Even if it doesn't happen, it won't be the last one for the winter to come and something has to be done about it anyways. Soooo, better do it now and be done with it!

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[Dody]

Luck had it that Paulette dissolved itself and disappeared from the forecast-models. I did a rough repair on top of my tent, decided to leave the replacements-bits of the enclosure and the sidecurtain for later, but chased the plastic aft through the sewing-machine to have that operational for the time it takes to get the aft part of the deck sorted which worked surprisingly well if one takes into account that there was a tear of about 1 m length. I am able to tighten it again without anything complaining, pretty happy about it!

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Now, finally, the planking!!! There can't possibly go anything wrong now, can there?

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I sanded the new planks a tiny bit to have a nicer surface (what a luxury :-D!) and then I was facing the question again: what am I gonna use as a reference point? In the beginning I simply used the plumb-line. I also wanted to make the planks slightly wider, so just in case I'm not doing things right there is room and space to sort it once it's fixed in place.

To start with, things turned out far more easy than I thought.

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I tried to get the angles as correct as possible, just to make sure it will work out okay.