Refit of S/V Jean Marie
Deck Refit - Part 2
by 
Jean Service & Capt. Tom Service

Although we replaced the Lexan clear sections in the butterfly hatches before we left on our last cruise in 1987, after 12 years of service they are leaking again and due for replacement (a standard problem on these boats).

Much of the dodger’s strength comes from the generous camber built into the top.  The "bill" nicely shades the main cabin companionway and gives limited shelter from a light rain.  The leading edge of the dodger top is quite strong and the gray vinyl strip provides a secure handhold.  The fabric top is attached to each of the 4 bows with lacing and chaffing strips, much longer lived then the typical zippers used for this purpose.

The fanny bars are tied together fwd of the mast by a short length of coated lifeline wire fitted with a pelican hook.  This stiffens them up in the athwartships direction, while allowing easy access to the whisker pole.

The whisker pole deck fitting has been replaced (the old one had weathered teak cheek plates and was home to a mold farm).

Several times while out reefing the mainsail on dark and stormy nights I promised myself (and Jean) "fanny bars" when I got the time and money to install them.  I cannot over-emphasize the margin of safety that they provide for a relatively small investment.  With the addition of the fanny bars and the strong leading edge of the dodger, I now have a safe haven, and much greater security, while working at the mast.

The mast boot hasn’t leaked since we installed it in 1987.  (Jean says: why did he have to say that!?)  However, it is scheduled for replacement before we go back out cruising.  Would you believe that we made this important seal from a heavy-duty trash bag, silicone caulking, and duct tape, covered by a yacht acrylic sun cover?

The Scanmar Autohelm self-steering wind vane auxiliary rudder and trim tab unit are mounted on tube brackets on the stern.

The Avon 6 man life raft is mounted on the aft cabin companionway sliding hatch sea hood.

All the electric power lines and coax cables in the radar arch are routed to the top level up through the fwd bow legs to fore and aft goosenecks fabricated of 1 ½" SS tubing.  The cables exit the goosenecks in a downward direction (with drip loops turning up).  Additionally, the openings of both goosenecks are flared (for chafe prevention) and packed with caulking.

The radar arch was designed to mount all the stuff that we used to jury rig with PVC pipe and hose clamps on the old stern rail, plus all the new gear that we have added.  It is designed to function at 3 separate horizontal levels, and combines the functions of radar arch, stern rail, and closed mooring / towing chocks.  It is constructed of heavy wall SS tubing throughout; the main bows are 2" in diameter and the stern rail 1 ¼".

Lower level (from starboard to port)

Dinghy fuel Jerry jug holder.

Aft main bow and stern rail form a closed chock aft for med-mooring or towing (the main bows and handrail stanchion bases are fabricated from ¼" SS plates, thru-bolted to ¼" aluminum backing plates).

Outboard motor bracket on the top of the stern rail (to be added).

Stern gate has brackets for a MOM-8 man overboard rescue module.

Just port of CL is a Life sling in a FG stowage box. Over the Life sling and outboard is a Force 10 propane barbecue. Behind the Life sling and outboard (under the barbecue) is a bracket to mount a 6 pound propane tank for the barbecue.

At the aft port corner of the upper hand rail is a 26 foot HF whip antenna base mount. Tube brackets to hold a swab and fish gaff will bolt on the forward side of the antenna mounting plate.

Another towing / mooring closed chock is formed on the port side similar to the starboard.

On the port side a bracket between the main bows supports a 40 pound Danforth anchor.

Intermediate level (from starboard to port)

Forward main bow has a fishing rod holder.

Aft main bow has a life harness padeye.

CL 1 inch SS vertical tubes that run between the center of the aft main bow and the upper handrail have the wind vane mechanical control cables run inside them. A mounting plate between these tubes supports an Aqua Signal series 40 stern light.

Port main bows have a life harness padeye and fishing rod holder similar to the starboard side.

Top level (from stbd to port)

A pre-drilled plate is ready for a Furuno 36 mile domed radar (mounted on a manually pinned tilting bracket).

Scanmar Autohelm wind vane self-steering horizontal axis sensing unit is mounted CL. The 40" aluminum sail can be tilted back to "reef" it in high winds, thus reducing the unit’s sensitivity).

CL on the aft bow is a third life harness padeye (for use when setting the wind-vane up).

CL on the forward bow is a 50 watt deck light on a swivel bracket (directed up at sea to light up the sails, and directed down inport to illuminate the deck).

Port side is a broad band omni-directional TV antenna & amplifier, a GPS antenna on a 36" SS stalk (to put it above the radar beam), and a horizontal SS arm to support the upper bracket on the 26 foot whip antenna. This HF antenna is canted outboard to clear the reefed windvane.

AM/FM band antenna is mounted on the port upper corner of the forward main bow. The backstay will be rigged with insulators, giving S/V Jean Marie two independent HF antennas (one for the SSB, and one dedicated to the weather fax receiver).

We were never really comfortable with the stays’l deck connection.  Perhaps this design was suitable for charter boat service in the Caribbean, which was the function the vessel was designed for, but a blue water cruising boat will use her stays’l in heavy weather, and a proper mechanical attachment right through the bow is what is really needed for passage making.  In a good blow the stays’l will pull the foredeck up, and allow the stays’l luff tension to decrease.  We tied the stays’l stay into the hull to eliminate this situation.

The stays’l stay is secured to the foredeck through an angle bracket that ties the stay to the deck, and an athwartships beam that spans the foredeck.  This teak beam is located on the interior overhead at the chain locker / vee-berth bulkhead.  To make room for the necessary hardware, the fore and aft ¾" plywood anchor rode divider was removed and replaced by an athwartships grid divider located just fwd of the chain pipe.  The top of the grid divider has a hinged door for access to the fwd locker.

The fwd synthetic rode locker now stows 200 ft of ¾" double braid nylon and 50 ft of 3/8" chain for the port CQR back-up anchor.  There is not enough room for our old 3-strand line to stow in here - but the double braid lies in very nicely.  Removing the fore & aft rode separator also solved the problem of the chain on the stbd Bruce anchor piling up and jamming in the chain pipe.  (Which it did every time more than 50 ft of chain was recovered.)  Now, 200 ft of 3/8" HT chain free-falls into the chain locker without hand raking.  As long as my daughters, the self described "boat slaves" were aboard, raking chain was not much of a consideration.  However, as a Mom & Pop boat we are trying to become more efficient!

The stays’l bracket was tied to the hull by the following series of hardware: a ½" X 13 SS stud was screwed into the existing angled and threaded hole in the existing bracket bottom plate, a Wichard SS eye with a ½" X 13 threaded hole was screwed onto the stud, a 5/8" jaw-jaw turnbuckle was attached to the padeye (5/8" was a bit of overkill, but we had a spare one), a custom set of ¼" SS chainplates (drilled to accept 5/8" pins) attaches the turnbuckle to a custom ¼" SS padeye, the padeye is attached to the hull by sandwiching the padeye – a teak fairing block – the hull – and an external backing plate – with ½" SS bolts (heads on the outside).  All of this hardware was aligned with the angle of the stays’l stay, and it intersects the bow just above the static WL.

This rig really stiffens up the foredeck, and is what we need for serious offshore work!  Jean sez: I thought that was what we were doing on our first circumnavigation… silly me.  Hey, nothing is easy or cheap that has to do with preparing a vessel for offshore conditions.  Too many folks worry about fancy paint jobs and stereo systems, when we should be thinking about preparing our boats for sea.

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