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The stippled (or rippled) non-skid was the original non-skid surface. This surface was pioneered by C&C and became a part of their "signature" appearance. In 35 years of sailing on many different C&C's, I have never encountered a "diamond-pattern" non-skid on any of them.
Back to your original question: the rippled C&C non-skid can be recreated by thickening the gelcoat mixture with colloidal silica (often called Cabocil). Once the mixture is thickened to the point that it will stand up in little peaks (like a soft peanut butter), it can be rolled on over the underlying smooth gelcoat. A small, short-nap roller is necessary for the application. It is best to give the underlying gelcoat a sanding first, in order to roughen the surface and provide the non-skid gelcoat with something to grip. An 80-grit usually provides a good bond. Alternatively, if you apply the non-skid coat soon enough after the smooth coat (ie. before it is fully cured), you may be able to achieve an even stronger chemical bond between the layers, without sanding. Mask off the smooth areas and the borders with a really good-quality tape before applying the non-skid coat. Needless to say, you cannot put a sealing layer of plastic over the non-skid while it cures, as this would smooth and flatten out the non-skid, defeating the purpose of the exercise. I have even known this process to be so successful that the new non-skid finish required a light sanding to keep it from being too sharp and aggressive.
Hope that this helps,Marcus from Carriden
Mk III, Hull #847
We have vinyl-coated springs on Carriden. These are preferable to bungee cord because it is easier to slide the curtains back and forth over the smooth vinyl coating and they are easier to terminate with screw-in eyeloops, otherwise there probably is not much functional difference. There are more elaborate systems out there, with pleated blinds, etc. that might look more upscale, but I have always subscribed to the KISS principle (Keep It Simple and Stupid).
Marcus from Carriden
Mk III, Hull #847
Hey Dana,
Back when I had my C&C 25 (a great boat), I had something similar happen with its keel. There were some unusual raised areas, like bubbles or blisters, on the surface of the keel. One spring I decided to try and smooth them out, as part of an overall bottom cleanup. When I started sanding the bubbles down, they opened up to reveal pockets of rust. Once I cleaned these pockets out and filled them with epoxy, there were no further problems.
The pockets of rust were apparently the result of impurities in the keel casting, where bits of steel or cast iron had become included in the lead used to mold the keel. Where these impurities were close enough to the surface to be reached by moisture, they would corrode and expand, causing the blisters. In theory, Capricious' keel should be lead with some antimony added for strength and your keel bolts should be marine grade stainless steel. Since I have never heard anyone accuse C&C of stinting on the keel bolts, I would assume that you may also have encountered some impurities in your keel casting. Can you access the area showing corrosion in order to open it up? Based on my experience, this is likely to be something minor so don't get upset until you have a real reason.
Have a wonderful Christmas!Marcus from Carriden
Mk III, Hull #847
Wrestling is for gators. Just get a bigger hammer!
Everything that I have ever heard or read says that the problems occur when you want to get the the propellor off. As long as the shaft is clean, putting it on should be simple. You may want to revisit it in a few weeks to make sure that it is still tight on the shaft and adjust the nut if it isn't.
Seriously, good luck Mike.Marcus from Carriden
Mk III, Hull #847
Hey Mike,
I have a 13-inch Martec elliptical folding prop (non-geared) on Carriden. Backing out is a breeze, as is stopping on the way into the slip. After 4 years, I have total faith in the Martec.
Interestingly, a good friend of mine also has a 27 which, like Carriden, is equipped with an Atomic 4. However, he uses a fixed-blade prop of 11-inch diameter. He is so-o-o-o jealous of me because Carriden turns in over 6 knots of speed at 1440 RPM in flat water. His boat cannot exceed 5.5 knots even if he cranks up to 3500 RPM. The downside of such efficiency in Carriden is that at dead slow (750 RPM) I am still doing 3.5 to 4 knots coming up the harbour. I have gotten used to slipping her out of gear in order to limit my speed and the screams from other harbour residents.
So, don't hesitate to have faith in a Martec, although you might want to consider the geared version.Marcus from Carriden
Mk III, Hull #847
3 years ago I replaced all of the seacocks on Carriden with Marelon ball units. When it came to the water intake for the engine, I deliberately upsized it to a three-quarter inch valve so that it would be ready in case I ever need to repower with diesel, all of which apparently need the larger opening. I then ran the three-quarter inch hose to a Marelon water strainer, which clears all of my intake water, and then ran a half-inch hose from the strainer to the water pump. This system has worked flawlessly for three seasons now.Marcus from Carriden
Mk III, Hull #847
As Windyday has pointed out, 5200 is an adhesive rather than a filler. If you intend to refinish the exterior surface with new gelcoat, then you should use a thickened polyester material for filling the crack. If you are not going with gelcoat, then use thickened epoxy as it has a greater strength and binding capacity. In either case, use Cabocil (Colloidal Silica) as the thickening agent, as this lends increased strength and holding capacity.
The cracking has probably arisen simply from the fact that the deck and the transom are two different moldings and have different characteristics of flex and expansion. You often see the same thing on boats which have a "scoop" transom in which the deck molding continues over the edge and down the stern to the hull molding. On those boats, the cracks typically occur between the transom and the sides of the hull, rather than between the deck and the transom. This is why Beneteau and Hunter love to cover those seams with big rubber moldings.
If you want a stronger, longer-lasting solution, then get some strips of heavy fiberglass cloth and glass over the joint on the inside before filling the gap. Needless to say, this is both awkward and messy. However, it will provide a strong backing for the filler and help to reduce the likelihood of future cracking. I'm not sure that it is worth the effort, though. Alternatively, you could stuff the gap with butyl caulking (Tremco tape) and then install a number of mechanical fasteners, similar to the seal of your toerail.
Good luck with the resealing process!Marcus from Carriden
Mk III, Hull #847
Chuck, you are quite right about them being on the low side for hoisting on a starboard-tack approach. However, on a triangular course, you typically approach the leeward mark (third mark) on a port tack. Since the spinnaker take-down is typically the point of maximum confusion, noise and screw-up, I find it handy to have the halyard clutches on the high side at this time, away from the actual spinnaker coming in under the boom and over the lifelines.
Also, whenever we are running a windward-leeward course we still prefer to come in to the leeward mark on port tack, as this simplifies the issue of hardening up on the genoa and driving out from the mark. So again, the port side becomes the high side, keeping the person working the cabin-top high and away from the person tailing the genoa. I hope that this clarifies the thinking that I was using in setting up my cabin-top.
Marcus from Carriden
Mk III, Hull #847
[No sooner said than lifted as an addition to the page. As a manufacturing improvement consultant friend says, "When you see a good idea, steal it with pride in your own perspicacity in recognizing it for what it is!" - Admin]
Hey David,
Glad to hear your boats made it through Ike. Up here in the north, our only compensation for the short sailing season is the more temperate weather. By the time the remains of Ike blew through the Great Lakes, it simply provided us with some great sailing weather.
The toe rail and the seam material (butyl rubber caulking) are still available up here in the homeland of C&C. Try contacting Bristol Marine in Mississauga, Ontario at 905-891-3777 and ask for Steve, the parts manager. Alternatively, contact South Shore Yachts in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario at 905-468-4340. Phone them, they don't do well with e-mail. South Shore inherited all of C&C's leftovers, such as castings, etc. after C&C finally went bust for the last time. They also probably have the original builder's file for your boat, should you be interested in buying it from them. Good luck!Marcus from Carriden
Mk III, Hull #847
Hey windyday,
I have refinished the bulkheads in Carriden after removing the vinyl covering. Incidentally, I found that the easiest way to remove the vinyl is by coating it with "Greensolv" from Lee Valley Tools. Wait 15 minutes until it bubbles up and lets go, then it can easily be peeled and scraped off. Once I was down to the leftover adhesive, I simply sanded it with some 80-grit and then 120-grit paper, using a random orbital sander and a Black & Decker "Mouse" for the edges and corners. I then prepped the surface with Interlux Pre-Kote and painted it with 2 coats of Interlux Brightside Polyurethane, using a small foam roller. There is a small amount of "orange peel" effect left behind, but the overall result is pleasing to the eye and very durable. It is also easy to clean and maintain.Marcus from Carriden
Mk III, Hull #847
Aurora makes a product called "Sure Step", which is a wax specifically for decks and non-skid areas. It contains a compound which they claim actually improves traction under pressure. I have been very pleased by my deck's ability to resist dirt and staining once I had waxed it with this and I do not feel that it was any more slippery than an unwaxed surface. Indeed, possibly less slippery.
Marcus
Carriden (Hull#847)
Hi there Windyday.
Some thoughts from personal experience, based on setting up and testing a number of cabin-top layouts over the past 3 decades:
Put the jib and spinnaker halyards together on the port side. This will put them together on the high side for a spinnaker hoist/genoa drop when you are doing the round the buoys racing with marks to port (the usual choice for race committees). Most boats have their downhaul on the starboard cabin side (optimized for right-handers) and their uphaul on the starboard cabin top, so that one person can play both lines at the same time. If you often get crew who are used to other boats, you may want to stick with this convention just for the sake of familiarity.
There is no real drawback to having the main halyard on the usual low side (starboard), but it should have the reefing lines right beside the halyard so that crew does not have to move from one station to another while reefing. It is also a good idea to have the cunningham beside the main halyard, since they are linked by their relationship to main luff tension.
In general, a racing boat with a single set of forward halyards should be optimized with from 8 to 10 lines on the cabin-top and cabin-side:
1. Spinnaker Halyard
2. Genoa/Jib Halyard
3. Main Halyard
4. First Reef Line
5. Second Reef Line (optional)
6. Cunningham
7. Boom Vang
8. Outhaul (optional)
9. Uphaul
10. Downhaul (usually on cabin side)
On my boat, I have supplemented these lines with an additional genoa and spinnaker halyard, but these typically only come into play for longer distance racing and sailing. Also, the second genoa halyard has been optimized for work with my furling headsail by being run through a halyard restrainer.
Another thought: when putting down the rope clutches, you may want to stagger them rather than lining them all up side by side. The reason for this is that their plastic handles have been known to break. Replacing the handle is simple, but it usually involves driving out the stainless hinge pin. If all of the clutches are lined up in a row, then replacing the handle will first require dismounting the clutch in order to get access to the hinge pin. On my cabin top, each side has a double and triple Spinlock XAS clutch. These clutches have been spaced so that I can drive out the hinge pins and replace handles without having to dismount the clutch body. All of the clutches lead into a total of 2 cabin-top winches, one per side, which is more than adequate. I chose the Spinlock clutches because they are more tolerant of variations in line size than the Lewmar "Wave" clutches. I will try to take some clear pictures of my cabin-top and get them posted on Black Arts so that my solutions are clear to see.
Good luck with your redesign and remember to think through the actual functionality and usage of each line in the heat of racing before you make a commitment. It may be a nuisance to redirect a halyard to the other side of the cabin-top now, but it may well pay off in much cleaner access and usage at a future date. The cost of hardware is trivial compared to your investment in time and possible frustration.
Marcus from Carriden (Hull #847)
I have made a number of forays into Danny Klacko's parts bins over the years and I am pretty sure that he will have appropriate sheaves for you. When you call him, be sure to have the right sizing information on hand: Sheave diameter and width; diameter of the axle hole. As David pointed out, Danny is usually caught up actually doing the metal work, but he is a good sort and tries hard to be helpful.Marcus from Carriden
Mk III, Hull #847
From my own experience, you have no choice but to take out the plugs, tighten the screws and then replace the plugs. Having now done dozens of plugs, I recommend drilling the plug out with a 3/8-inch Forstner bit (these are special bits for drilling flat-bottomed holes). If you carefully centre the drill on the plug, you will be left with a clean hole which will easily accept a replacement plug.
I am currently engaged in a project which involves epoxying the nuts in place inside my outer grabrails, then plugging the holes and coating the outer grabrails with 3 coats of West epoxy, covered with 2 or 3 coats of Cetol Natural Teak. According to the West Epoxy web site, this should provide the optimum, longest-wearing surface for the exterior teak. By epoxying the nuts in place with Marine-tex, I hope to be able to simply tighten the screws from the inside to deal with any looseness. Ultimately, the hoped-for goal is to be able to remove and rebed the grabrails simply by unscrewing from the inside, never having to drill the plugs out again. I'll let the forum know how this works out in the long run, both the epoxied nuts and the West epoxy coatings.
Marcus
S/V Carriden, Mk III, Hull #847
In my experience, virtually every rudder with an embedded rudder post will take in water over the season. It is impossible to maintain a tight seal around the shaft as the rudder flexes under load and the center of most rudders is hollow (usually foam-filled). In our yard, there are two kinds of boats: those whose rudders get drained in the fall and those with rudder problems, such as splitting and cracking. There is also a third category: boats which belong to masochists who pull their rudder every fall and store it indoors. They are a small minority.
Every fall, when we haul my boat out, I drill two 1/4-inch holes in the rudder, one near the top and one near the bottom. This allows it to drain and dry out over the winter. In the spring, I fill the holes with 3-M filler and then make a slight dimple in each hole before I paint the rudder. This dimple allows me to drill in exactly the same place the next fall (don't want no swiss cheese on my boat!). If you are going to do this, bear in mind that the top hole should be far enough back to clear the rudder post and that the bottom hole should be far enough up (3 to 4 inches) to clear the solid bottom portion of the rudder.
Marcus
Carriden, Hull #847, 1980 Mk III
Hi John. I replaced all of the thru-hulls and valves on my Mk III last year and found that I had similar problems. Of the six valves which I removed and replaced, I could only unscrew two of them. The rest had to be cut off. The technique which worked for me was to use a cutting disk on a rotary tool (eg. Dremel). With the cutting disk, I would cut around the threaded shaft of the thru-hull, between the hull and the valve. The brass of the thru-hulls was fairly easy to cut, but the positions are always awkward.
Once the valve had been cut off, I sometimes had to bivalve the nut on the inside of the hull which holds the thru-hull itself fast. I would use the same cutting wheel to cut the nut in two or more locations around its circumference, then use a honking great screwdrive to pry the pieces apart and away from the shaft of the thru-hull. Once the nut is off of the threaded shaft, the rest of the thru-hull was easy to remove.
Before you do all of this damage, have you been persistent about freeing the valve? If you can get the valve working through repeated applications of penetrating oil, then you can probably work past it to punch out whatever material is sealing up your thru-hull. I would want to be convinced that the valve is beyond saving before I cut it out.
Good luck and bring some liniment for contorted muscles.Marcus from Carriden
Mk III, Hull #847