Spreaders and floorboards challenges

Thursday 5 Nov, HHN, boat winterizing day 36:
Another beautiful autumn day here. They just keep coming one after the other. Up early and off with Ray’s car to the hardware store to get more paint for the outhaul cylinder, and to the laundry to wash the sacrificial blankets that we have over the comfy seat in the saloon, to protect the swede-like alcantara fabric. Since I wet-cleaned the upholstery I’ve had them bare, fully exposed to my dirtiness. Last washing-day I forgot the blankets.
In the launderette, I have my first ever moment as a senior citizen. I go to the assistant to get washing powder and she tells me it’s seniors’ day and the pre-prepped little packages are for seniors only. “You’re not a senior, are you?” she asks, looking me in the eye. “No, no, of course not, no, not me!” But then “….well, I am retired, but I’m only 58”. She beams at me, as if gloating, “well, then you are a senior, anyone over 55 and retired is a senior”. And promptly puts not 1 but 2 bags of powered in one of my hands and a dollar in the other. Apparently, seniors also get a $1 off for their washing. I absolutely don’t consider myself a senior, but if there are financial benefits, why not? The little episode gave me a penny-drop moment though. If I’m now officially a senior, we need to get this boat in the water and get going, because clearly, I don’t have much time left!

Oh, and while in the laundry, I put a load of ropes into one of their super large machines. Having asked permission first, of course! My strategy is that if the machine doesn’t get destroyed by these heavy sheets and halyards, then I’ll bring in the rest of the lines to wash too. So much easier to clean like this, rather than stomping up and down in the paddling pool on deck. The only downside is the total and utter birds-nest of knotted rope that comes out at the end of the wash. Normally, I have Oana to unravel it for me (it’s her thing … making things neat and tidy) but this time I have to do it myself, and I’m a bit annoyed that is takes me 20 minutes to do it; 20 minutes lost to this lovely outside weather.

Back at the boat, I don’t seem to get too much done, just lots of little bits. Once you reach midday the sun seems to head west and set awfully quickly these days. Outside time is precious. I do manage to put the final coat of paint on the outhaul cylinder, and also mask-off and paint the multipurpose antenna and re-thread the lead-lines back through the boom.
But the job I really wanted to get stuck into was dismantling the damned spreaders and cleaning the corrosion. I’ve drilled all the rivets heads of the top pair, but hunt as I might I just cannot find where I’ve placed my set of punches, which I need to knock all the rivets through. So annoying when you don’t have the right tool for the job.
While on the subject of spreaders, given the expensive cast stainless end fittings are all still in perfect condition, and it is only the aluminum bars that are corroded, I had enquired with Selden HQ in Sweden if they would sell me aluminum extrusion lengths so I could cut them to size to effectively make new spreaders. They got back to me today saying “firmly no” to selling me the extrusions, but they would happily make us 3 complete sets of new spreaders at a price tag of … wait for it …. U$13,000! My god, that’s over $2,000 for each piece! I’d better get our spreaders up the ladder and on deck in case anyone steals them! For that price, it’s clear we will be living with these corroded ones for a few more years yet. But it does make a point. The price for yacht parts increases exponentially with length of yacht. Anyone thinking to jump from say a 40ft to a 55ft needs to think about this point. It may only be 10ft longer but I guarantee most parts will be at least double the price.

In the evening, I make an experiment with a new way of fixing down the flooring in the cabins. Right now, and from factory, they are all simply screwed down with long wood screws. But on some floorboards that I frequently lift up to get at things, I’ve had to use longer and longer screws over time to get them to “bite” and secure the board. So, I’m changing over to using bolts. The bolt part is easy. It’s the nut that’s the challenge.
I have chosen to use what they call self-tapping insert screws. You drill a larger hole, and screw in the insert, which also has an internal “nut” thread for the bolt to screw into. I’ve purchased 100 M4 bolts and insert screws. I try first on a piece of scrap plywood and all goes well. The insert screw make for a very positive anchor. But no such luck on the actual floor. I find the substructure wood to be much softer than I expected, and the damned M4 inserts just pull straight back out again. It’s disappointing. I really had high hopes for this. I’ll have to think more on this, but right now it looks like I should have gone for M5 not M4 as a size. Trouble is, the M5 bolt heads, at 9.2mm vs 8mm, will likely be too big and protrude above the floorboard.

Final job before bed is to put the newly cleaned sacrificial blankets onto the chairs. And while doing so I have a thought. Maybe, while we winter in Bucharest, I will make proper fitting “crew covers” rather than these blankets. But to do that I need patterns. Long story short, I removed one chair and completely dismantle it to get good patterns made of shrink-wrap plastic. And when I’m done, with the chair rebuilt, my plan for an early night is again out the window ☹