Thanks for watching and I appreciate the kind words.

Thanks! I'm happy you enjoy it.

Thanks

Thanks, they become your children after a while.

Thanks.

I’m ready for another year!

Thanks, it’s been a busy year.

Obrigado! I'm glad you like it. Happy sailing!

Thanks, you too!

I did. That was actually the first thing I tried, but the ones I had were too big of a diameter to work. The sockets seem to do the trick for me.

I should’ve thought of that!

Thanks Daniel. See my episode 55 for new uncoated lifelines that I had installed. I took them off before this video and put my old ones on for now… at least until I get thicker uncoated ones. Thanks for watching.

@ how did miss I that? Sorry, I should have assumed you would know!

I might paint them white at some point, the boards are pine furring strips, so probably wouldn’t stain the same as the teak toe rails.

Bows are spaced 48” apart.

Very true. That’s one of the reasons I removed it in ep. 49.

Thanks for the comment! The latches on the steps were something I installed very early on in the refit. They keep the stairs from coming off when I inevitably trip on them and they are one less thing to go flying in a knockdown. As for putting AGM batteries back in the center bilge, both of your thoughts are correct. I would like to free up the space under the settee and there is a bit too much weight on the port side, since my fuel tank and most of my storage is on that side, including all of my heavy tools. I have noticed a slight list to port when docked. I am holding off on that however. When we start the cruise in about a year or so, I will see if more storage is needed and if I can just equal out the weight discrepancy with more storage on the starboard side.

It’s not difficult at all once you have all the parts.

There is a wood core sandwiched between two layers of fiberglass and the epoxy is to keep water from reaching the wood core and rotting it out.

@@EpoxyAndButylTape Makes total sense! :) Thank you

I relocated them under the port settee, check my episode 16. Though I may be moving them back to the center bilge if I get AGM batteries. Contessa aren’t really any wetter than other low freeboard boats. People who say that are usually the ones who never actually sailed in one.

Thanks, your boat is coming along nicely.

@@EpoxyAndButylTape lol but slowley...

Congratulations on buying a legendary boat! I did the core replacement from beneath because it’s much thinner fiberglass below and easier to fiberglass back on. Of course there’s also the fiberglass liner that you’ll need to cut open and then fiberglass back on the same way, then fair with fairing compound, and finally paint. You could, of course, do it from the top, but ask yourself if it really needs to be done in the first place. The top layer of fiberglass is relatively thick, so unless you’re decks are spongy, you probably don’t need to. I only did a small area around my chain plates and it probably didn’t really need it in the end.

@@EpoxyAndButylTape I know there is some delamination on the foredeck. It's not spongy but I can hear it move a little bit. I was confused at first because I've read some things that said the Contessa 26 has a solid fiberglass deck. But then found an article on co26 that explained the deck situation of the Contessa 26. This is my first sailboat so all of this is new to me. I really appreciate your channel.

The ones built in the UK were solid fiberglass decks. Although there are a couple of very early, Canadian built ones that have also solid fiberglass decks. Otherwise all Canadian built Contessa 26’s are wood cored. Most are plywood, but there are a few areas that may be end-grain balsa, such as around my chain plates. A little creaking is ok, but if you’re dealing with extensive delamination, you should drill a test hole to check to see if the wood is wet. If dry, all you need to do is inject some epoxy into a few holes drilled through the top layer to “reglue” the top layer of fiberglass to the wood core. Then put something heavy on it until it sets up and finish it off by painting or gel coating the holes.

Thanks buddy! If you saw pictures of my boat when I first bought it, you would understand why it was on its way to the dump before I rescued it. It was a project boat in every sense of the word.

Thanks Keith!

Thanks for the heads up. I checked and I don’t have any stress cracks in the tank.

​@@EpoxyAndButylTape Good new, getting special shape tank is not cheap.

Yes, that is the spot where it is installed. That is also the original location for the original tank, I just cut away some of the shelf to make more room in the lazarette for other things.

You’d never think that a kid’s toy can be used to repair holes in a fuel tank!

Thanks for watching. Where are you located?

Massachusetts

Hello Mike. I do not have a traveler on my boat, I use the original “inverted V” mainsheet setup that came original to these boats. Some feel that’s old school, but it seems to work well enough and one less thing to break. A few Contessa 26 owners have fabricated an elevated traveler set up on the stern deck above the tiller, but I prefer the simple approach.

@@EpoxyAndButylTape Thanks. Much appreciated.

You do want the electrical potential to equilibrate through the shaft and into the water, but as I said in the video, engine parts are coated in oil and this can make it resistive. If a lightning strike did go through the engine it would destroy the bearings, therefore I bonded the engine to the grounding plate also.

@@EpoxyAndButylTape Thanks for the [swift] reply. I've listened to that section again: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqSkmX2Vo7mrmc0si=tR456PQ6rwoW44IK&t=431 First I thought you meant that you don't want lightning current to flow away via the engine/shaft/prop (as others argue would be dangerous), but you were referring to bearing metal eaten by corrosion. After seeing this, wish my Rustler 31 was on the hard so I could get things done in the same nice. Going to be September-ish I think.

Corrosion is a concern with this set up and my most recent video (ep. 54) confirms that with the prop zinc degradation, but that’s not what I meant in this particular video. You do not want lightning to go through the engine because it would weld the bearings to the crank and destroy the engine.

@@EpoxyAndButylTape Finished ep. 54 now. Ins't it worrying that the zinc is eating away that fast?

It was expected because of all the dissimilar metals being tied together by the bonding wires. I just need to make sure to change it more often. That one was three years old, so not that new.

Nope. Not launching this year.

Thanks!

You can find a free download of the Yanmar 1gm10 workshop manual online with a little searching. That has all of the wiring schematics.

Thanks for the comment! Age shouldn’t be an issue…there are plenty of people who started sailing in their 70s and are still going well into their 80s.

Go for it!

Thanks Daren!

Thank you! 👍