Refit of S/V Jean Marie
Deck Refit - Part 1
by 
Jean Service & Capt. Tom Service

The as-built plastic ports in the aft cabin have been replaced with bronze / safety glass ports.

The teak cap rail was painted.

The stern rail was removed and replaced by a custom SS radar arch that has a built in stern rail.  We designed and patterned this arch (including making a mock-up), and had it fabricated to our specifications.

We installed an Autohelm horizontal axis, auxiliary rudder type, self-steering mechanical wind vane.

The hull and deck will be painted with a two-part brushable polyurethane at the end of the project.  Treadmaster nonskid will be applied after the deck is painted.

All teak exposed to the weather will either be painted, removed, or replaced with a low maintenance material.  The teak eyebrow molding that outlined the trunk cabin top was removed.  When the final paint job is finished, if an eyebrow accent is needed we will paint a ¾" navy blue line along the edge of the cabin top / side interface (to match the sheer stripe).  The ¾" finished teak bulwark cover boards were in rough shape and required replacement.  They were removed and replaced with five-quarter white oak from the boarding gates to the bow.  Since the rail was to be painted, white oak was used because it is tough and much less expensive (teak cost $14 / board foot and white oak was $3.50 / board foot – and 100 board feet of timber were needed).  These heavy oak planks were fitted with the over-the-side work done from a dinghy.  (Bending full-inch white oak in a compound curve while working from a dinghy is like roller-skating with an anvil on each shoulder!)

A ¾" SS rub strake was bedded and screwed to the outboard vertical edge of the bulwark covering board.

Flexible plastic port hoods were installed to allow the ports to stay open in light rain.

We designed and had fabricated a custom aluminum rigid framed dodger.

Custom SS "fanny bars" were installed around the base of the mast for added security during sail reefing and furling operations.

We rebuilt and repaired the lifeline stanchions.  These SS fabrications see a lot of strain at their bases, and are over 20 years old (SS has a limited life span in the marine environment).

The chainplates were replaced as they fell prey to crevice corrosion.  This type of corrosion occurs in SS that is exposed to a damp SW environment, while the hardware bedding prevents oxygen getting to the surface of the metal.  This is a very common situation in SS deck fittings over 15 years old (S/V Jean Marie will be 22 years old in 1999).

The 8 foot hard dink is the replacement for our 11½ foot Herreschoff rowing boat - which we dearly loved and will miss.  With our daughters on their own now, we will be sailing as a typical Mom & Pop crew.  The bigger hard dinghy was a joy, but a bit much for 2 people to launch and recover.  We also carry an inflatable stowed in the cockpit locker.

The teak handrails located on the top of the cabin were replaced with custom 1 ¼" SS handrails.  These sturdy handrails not only require little maintenance, but since they are thru-bolted with 3/8" machine screws they are strong enough to be used as deck tie-down points for the dink.

We replaced the Hyde Stream Stay One jib furler with a new Profurl unit.

The stays’l clubfooted boom was removed and a Profurl system was installed.  The stays’l furling line was routed down the port side of the cabin top.

The Simpson Lawrence 555 manual windlass was replaced with a Lofrans Falkon electric model.

The anchor tray was removed, rebuilt, and replaced while the bulwark covering boards were off.

The bow pulpit was repaired and modified.

All weather-deck wood trim was painted with the following coating schedule: a penetrating base coat of thinned epoxy resin, 2 coats of high solids epoxy primer, followed by 2 coats of one-part polyurethane (International Brightsides Seattle Grey).

The Lofrans Falkon electric anchor windlass has a 1500-watt motor and develops nearly 3000 pounds of pull.  Based on length, this windlass is one size larger then needed; but based on displacement - the true measurement of a vessel - it is sized just right for easy operation and long life.  We selected a horizontal windlass for three reasons: 1) The warping drum takes a masthead halyard without a fairlead and offers the safest tailing position when putting a man aloft or bringing the dink aboard.  2) We have limited room in our chain locker for a windlass motor.  3) The high bulwarks of the CSY-44 lend themselves to an over-the-top chain feed to the windlass wildcat.  The windlass will have 3 control positions: 1) Deck switches just aft of the warping drum for halyard lifting operations.  2) A hand held remote wired to the stbd bulwark for working the windlass while washing down the chain.  3) A switch on the steering pedestal to allow the helmsman to operate the windlass for singlehanded work.  (For example, when Jean is lying around like a Siamese cat during a pre-dawn underway – Jean sez: hey, I’m no fool, there is absolutely no future in getting under way prior to 0900.)  The windlass is mounted on a 2" solid mahogany fairing base, with a flared 2" SS schedule 80 chain pipe, and a ¼" aluminum backing plate on the chain locker overhead.  Offsetting the windlass to port was required to align the chain wildcat with the stbd bow roller.  This allows the motor casing to clear the stays’l deck fitting and turnbuckle, and at the same time aligns the warping drum clear of the rigging aft to the masthead.  The warping drum does not align very well with the port bow roller, however it is an easy matter to hand-over-hand the synthetic port anchor rode up to the chain, then it is "Norwegian steam" to bring the CQR aboard.  (Hey, 2 out of 3 is the best we could do…)

A SS tube was welded to the port aft leg of the bow pulpit to stow the anchor windlass manual operation lever.  The bow pulpit running lights were recessed into SS protective boxes in the pulpit so that they are inboard of the bow rail.  All navigation lights are being replaced with series 40 Aqua Signal lights.

A cleat was mounted on the deck just fwd of the vee-berth hatch to secure the stays’l furling line while in-port to allow the hatch to open clear of the furling line.  When secured to this cleat, the tail of the stays’l furling line will lie lazy on deck to the furling blocks.

We designed this rigid framed dodger to have the same exterior lines as the original top supplied by CSY.

The frame is of welded anodized aluminum heavy wall tubular construction.   The main bow is 2" in diameter and provides substantial athwartships rigidity in the dodger’s frame.

Top handrails are handy from the side decks.  (Doesn’t it just frost you when some pilgrim comes aboard and immediately grabs the fabric on your folding dodger, pulling the frame about 6" out of alignment?)  When we leave the cockpit to go fwd at sea, those sturdy handrails give us a positive handhold all the way to the fanny bars and the mast.

A separate handrail, attached with standoffs to the aft main bow, gives a standing helmsman a handhold from any position in the aft section of the cockpit.

The dodger is thru-bolted to the cabin top with 6 bases made from ¼" plate. Although the clear vinyl wind-screen would likely carry away, the frame attachment hardware is sized to resist the frame being swept off its mountings by a boarding sea coming down the deck.  A lack of structural integrity is a common weakness seen in many rigid frame deck shelters.

Three 12vdc dome lights are built in to the underside of the frame to provide a reading light in each of the fwd corners of the cockpit, and a CL light over the cockpit dining table.  The wiring for these lights run inside the main bows to the main cabin interior overhead.

The sunshade zips on and off the back edge of the dodger and laces to a telescoping frame mounted on the aft side of the boom gallows.

Future projects - Although this dodger presently has a fabric cover, the frame is designed to take a fiberglass / closed cell foam honeycomb shell (we expect that this will be a hurricane season summer project during our next cruise).  Also, we eventually plan to make clear vinyl curtains to enclose the cockpit at anchor, and a vinyl "watch curtain" that hangs to the cockpit deck from the aft bow for comfortable watch keeping at sea.

>>> Deck Refit - Part 2 >>>