Contessa 32 Refit, Delamination Repair and Structural Mods for a long-term fix

Another Contessa 32 - Yep! This one has suffered some delamination of the secondary bonding between the hull and some of the internal structure so I have to repair but also modify the internal structure to add strength and remove one of the known issues with this class of sailing yacht (particularly those built in the 70's and 80's). Note that these are generally very well built, strong and sea-worthy vessels but they are also mostly getting pretty old now so after 50 years a bit of TLC is bound to be needed.
I’m thirsty after all that talking, buy me a beer?…. www.paypal.me/...
If you have enjoyed this video and/or learned something you can now buy me a beer using the link above to make a donation to the channel. If I end up with more beer tokens than I need then I will put your donations towards a better camera, lighting and other equipment so it ultimately benefits you the viewer. I don’t do Patreon, I don’t sell T shirts but you can help support this growing channel. Thank you
**************************************************************************************************
Links to products in this video*
Makita 9031/2 240V 30mm Belt Sander - amzn.to/47KmWtE
BLACK+DECKER 350 W Electric Powerfile - amzn.to/484eFAJ
Bosch GOP 250 CE Professional Multi-Cutter - amzn.to/46MtVBf
*These are Amazon affiliate links - they are no more expensive to you but I get a tiny commission payment if you buy the product using my link.
**************************************************************************************************
About Me
I run a small business called The Solent Boat Butler and spend my days repairing, maintaining and refitting sailing boats (often Contessa 32’s due to my long experience with them). I'm mostly in the central Solent area of the UK. Being a cruising and racing sailor with many thousands of inshore and offshore sea miles logged I like to think that I bring a great deal of real-world experience to my work and help many new (and not so new) boat owners to improve and maintain their boats. When I'm not fixing boats I also provide some own-boat sail training, help owners with deliveries, provide pre-purchase inspections and deliver consultancy services to those that are refitting their own boats for cruising or racing.
Facebook - thesolentboatbutler
Instagram - @george_the_boat_butler
Instagram - @refitandsail
Website - www.solentboatbutler.co.uk
*************************************************************************************************
Disclaimer
I hope that viewers both enjoy and learn something from my videos but please remember to take the appropriate precautions for any DIY refit works you undertake with appropriate PPE and the correct tools for the job. If you are in any way unsure as to how to go about a project or are unsure if something on your boat is safe please consult a professional. I don’t necessarily show every step of how to do a particular job so only take on a project if you know exactly what you are doing or consult a professional, I accept no liability for errors or omissions in this video, it is for entertainment purposes only.
**************************************************************************************************
Music credits
Intro Music: Bensound.com
Other Music: epidemicsound.com
*************************************************************************************************
My thanks to the owners of these boats for giving me permission to create this content based on the refit of their boats.

[@TheMickybutler]

The real-world lessons/instruction you give, are always so well taught, but this has to be your best video delivery yet, George. Nice one.

[@RefitandSail]

Wow, thank you!

[@johnhewett2525]

Having watched so many videos on renovating old boats and shaken my head as to the lack of knowledge these people have. I went to tech and learnt to laminate at my expense, here you are George giving them this knowledge for free. Great videos you always (up to now) get a like from me.

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks very much

[@gregcope5565]

EDM, sanding and glass work. A niche combination, but one that has an audience on YT! Thanks George.

[@RefitandSail]

Haha, thanks, is a bit niche! Need to spend some time looking at some new music to use.

[@servantofgod5642]

At 8:40 If you were a proper boat butler you’d have made me a cup of tea too.

[@FDK_7]

I’m pushing the like button first and then play the video. You deserve it !!

[@calvinchittock9660]

Great to see you back again! The best and most useful sailing channel on KZbin! I have a contessa 26 in Portland we are refitting, and watching your videos and the knowledge you have, is a massive help along our rebuild. Keep up the great work, and hope the subscribers come that you so deserve.

[@howardtennant5766]

Excellent work one of the best and neatest examples of repairs on a boat 👍👍👍

[@RefitandSail]

Many thanks!

[@boatMatthias]

subscribed. Have to do the same in my 1986 GibSea 31 foot with my galley some day, because the "perpendicular" stringer is cracked and detaches. I guess its from that beating of the the waves you describe.

[@RefitandSail]

The polyester grinding is the worst part, it gets everywhere and makes your skin itch (especially if you are unaccustomed to it. Good luck!

[@weburnitatbothends]

Awesome video thank you, has given me certainty that joints are better than screws alone, thanks again!

[@waterboy8999]

Very neat and tidy work George, thanks for posting.

[@buzzkillington3354]

Great to see a new video this channel is criminally underrated, since christmas I've binge watched my way up to date with all your uploads! I really enjoyed and learnt a lot from project 'lottie. Keep up the good work!

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks for that, really appreciate the positive words. I have another video filmed and ready to edit and plenty more to come so stay tuned.

[@1962gms]

Excellent work as always George. If only you'd done one on removing rusted bolts from a Gearbox/Propshaft coupling!! Looking forward to the next vid already 👍

[@TheCorsair]

Glad to finally watch a new episode!

[@RefitandSail]

Pleased to get one out, have another recorded just need to edit.

[@koolkats724]

Nice work as usual and explained in detail. 👍👍

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks 😊

[@veronicabell6652]

I have 2 sailboats that need some work and these videos are invaluable to me. Thank you.❤

[@RefitandSail]

Pleased you like them. Two boats eh? You are almost as bad as me 😂

[@paulreymond2969]

Well done George , another well presented tutorial.

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks Paul!

[@francismontocchio9910]

Looks really brilliant!

[@frederickschuster7453]

Great to see how a pro does it

[@odonkers]

Well done ! Great work and a great start to the weekend !

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks Otto. Have a good weekend

[@churchofthegreenflipflop2436]

Nice to see you back on KZbin George. What's happened to Project Lottie? Is she on the water yet?

[@RefitandSail]

Still gone some bits to do on Lottie and you will be seeing her again on the channel, just took/taken a break from that project with the owners agreement due to other commitments.

[@mathew5315.1]

Hi George, great vid as always. You smell that, you smell that son. I love the smell of flowcoat in the morning

[@RefitandSail]

😂 good film reference 😊

[@Duartechamps]

You are amazing. I wish you could be in Portugal to fix many things on my 1972 40ft swan!!

[@RefitandSail]

Nice boat!

[@Okimyhome]

Great video thank you for sharing.

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks for watching!

[@polderfischer8565]

Perfect work!

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks!

[@andypandy955]

Fantastic job well done.

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks 😊

[@andypandy955]

You are welcome your videos are so informative.

[@kbbarton1]

You should see if you can bottle the new boat smell... it could make a nice cologne. Is a single coat of Flo Coat generally sufficient or do you put a second (or third) coat on there? I joked with someone at the AGM that I might have to quit my job and come down there and work as an apprentice for you. 😄

[@RefitandSail]

Good idea, one thick coat is sufficient. Gel/flowcoat is much thicker than paint.

[@mickey1299]

Got a question George . What are your views to foam core bulkheads ? Would you consider them stronger , weaker , or a match to ply . To my mind you have the ultimate bulkhead , assuming they are correctly laid up . Noise could be reduced . Matching the surrounding structure material , they would likely join to the existing structure better . Lighten the actual weight , while actually adding strength . And perhaps the ultimate , be waterproof , so not only would the structure be less likely to rot , but could also form the basis of a watertight bulkhead . I would still clad them in ply for protection , but if the core was saturated correctly , it would become one solid mass of glass ! .

[@RefitandSail]

Foam cores BH can be just as strong if not stronger than a plywood BH. Race boats have had foam construction for years. There are some interesting new products coming out too, spoke with a German (I think) company at METS at the end of last year and they had a new foam based product that was extremely strong due to its composite structure.

[@animapulcra9205]

It would be very nice get total time stats on your jobs if that's alright with you. Nice job, well done. Cheers.

[@RefitandSail]

I do have records of the time taken for all jobs as I need that for billing and future quotes but most clients/owners would prefer for me to keep cost (and therefore time) confidential. Hopefully having seen the works you could make a guesstimate

[@bernhardschramm5823]

Great video, Georg! What type of plywood do you use for the interior of the boat?

[@RefitandSail]

The new plywood in this video is Gaboon (Okoume)

[@svlamancha9877]

Great video as always and a lovely job👍 what’s your procedure for priming the plywood/timber before laminating or gelcoat application. Also wondering if you have used Prymax GRP primer it is meant to improve the bond between resin and wood.

[@RefitandSail]

Hi and thanks for the comment, the plywood is pre-coated with resin as it can absorb some, also it can be worth roughening or scoring the surface if the strength of bond is critical, scoring allows the resin to bond to the surface better. Some plywoods absorb more than others. I then laminate over the coated surface. Not used that product but you can thin poly resin with styrene to aid absorption into the plywood but I generally don’t find that necessary.

[@colin7415]

Great video! Is it important to know what type your underlying resin is before you use polyester resin? Ie can polyester resin be used on epoxy resin? We have a 1988 Taiwan built Trader, would this be polyester or epoxy laminate?

[@RefitandSail]

It is important but it’s also fairly easy as almost all boats are made from polyester although old repairs could be epoxy. It tends to only be high-end race boats that are made from epoxy (often a resin infusion and vac-bagging). Your 88 built boat will almost certainly be poly

[@weburnitatbothends]

Great video thank you, are you worried about the rotten ply in the bulkhead at 18:10 in the video at all or will epoxy with cabosil (fumed siliica is another term I think?) and then glass over do the trick there? That's what I am planning to do for similar anyway. Awesome channel!

[@RefitandSail]

No rotten ply there, maybe a bit discoloured but all dry and sold when sounded/prepped for glass so no issues.

[@weburnitatbothends]

thanks mate@@RefitandSail

[@maeilive]

Im mostly interested in what you use and problem solving...

[@RefitandSail]

Ok, thanks for comment and feedback

[@RosemaryS2127]

Great episode. For the locker tops, what type of plywood did you use? I like the use of the flow coat.

[@RefitandSail]

It’s a BS1088 approved marine grade plywood made from Gaboon (Okoume) so light and strong with good rot resistance. I have built whole boats (sailing dinghies) from the same plywood.

[@RosemaryS2127]

@@RefitandSail Many thanks. Always look forward to your videos. I'm just about to embark on the renovation of my Westerly Centaur.

[@RefitandSail]

@@RosemaryS2127good luck, have worked on and sailed a Centaur.

[@paloureiro]

What kind of jigsaw blade you use for cutting thin plywood?

[@RefitandSail]

Sharp ones! I can’t remember the name now but they are not cheapies and cause minimal breakout of the surface.

[@Rogue-nc3pl]

I wonder if contessa 33s suffer the same problem.

[@RefitandSail]

There is a finite amount of strength in any boat (or GRP structure) but I can’t comment specifically about the 33. What I would say is that compared to other boats built at the same time contessa had /have a reputation of building to a higher standard that many others.

[@SM40]

What was censored? Owners porn collection? 😆 Nice drum and bass sound there.

[@RefitandSail]

😂 no, an address but not sure who for but thought it better to cover. Pleased you like the video and music 😊

[@servantofgod5642]

Why KZbinrs might get say only 15% of viewers subscribing is possibly because if say someone wants to fibreglass his dog kennel he might have not the slightest interest in boats but watches your video. Remember millions just surf, e.g I watched a random Korean War video the other day, I’m not interested in wars so I didn’t subscribe to it. Me personally I’m subscribed to you because I’ve been around boats since I was 3 and would watch you mowing your lawn. Hey there’s also those weirdos that won’t thumbs up or subscribe only because the author asks them too.

[@ForkOffjewgle]

Jeanneau sunlight 30 headlining........if you're looking for content😂

[@RefitandSail]

😂 had plenty of practice with Westerly headlining!

[@shawnbartley9223]

Love your video's very well done and a big help to us newbies starting our first boat will chuck in when I can but i'm sure you appreciate my plight now that I'm a broke B.O.A.T. owner. lol