Starting the Osmosis repair on this Contessa 32 refit (Project Lottie Ep5)

[@jr74ford]

Great work as always George. I'm really enjoying your videos. It's a nice change to watch someone who knows what they are doing. 95% of KZbin videos are made by DIYers. Love your work.

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks John 😊

[@robwilton9539]

George, I would enjoy your videos if they didn't have the stupid music inserts that annoy me and THE NEIGHBOURS! At least turn the bloody sound level down to below your commentary volume please shipmate.@@RefitandSail

[@RefitandSail]

@@robwilton9539 that’s fair, I get better at adjusting the music volume in the more recent vids produced. You have to remember that I’m a shipwrights/boatbuilder and occasional video maker, not the other way around but I continue to improve (I hope 😁)

[@lerch122]

can see he knows what he is doing

[@blazerboy9216]

I had this on my Contessa. She was only two years old and I had to get it repaired following the prospective buyer's survey.

[@CrewsFarm]

Excellent George. So interesting & instructive. Thank you.

[@jeancote1498]

Interesting, instructive video 👍🏻

[@cristianradu9513]

Buy a spare rudder for when the orcas chew up the current one. I have the same peeler. Didn't know about the void. Good tips!

[@RefitandSail]

Haha, yes I do have an old spare in the workshop.

[@andreasvenator]

A dream come true for an aspiring Contessa 32 owner: a Contessa 32 gerontolist! Wish we could get rid of our old-age warts the way you clean up that hull, George!

[@farmerjimbob67]

Excellent video George- really useful to see the stages of peeling 👍

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks

[@robdupre]

Another great video, great to see progress!

[@corvavw6447]

Het moeilijkste van al deze projecten is ,motivatie. Zie jezelf op zee en je blijft zin houden. En wat je aanpakt doe het goed,anders zit je er zo weer mee🎉

[@bluedogozwoofer6737]

am doing exactly the same job here in Australia, with the same tools, good video , thanks

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks, good luck with the repair.

[@gustavlrsn]

Thank you for this excellent video! I have found very similar grounding damage (repaired with some epoxy putty..) and cracking on the keel of our Sagitta 30, so this is very helpful.

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks, hope your repairs go well

[@denisconnaughton2923]

Great video George. Restoring a CO32 atm so loving it. Cheers.

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks, hope your refit is less involved that this one!

[@AndyUK-Corrival]

Great video George. The peeler does an amazing job but I imagine takes some practice to use. Andy UK

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks, yes easy to remove LOTS of hull very quickly if you are not careful!

[@efrank39]

Very well done video! Subscribed.

[@marlings]

Absolutely brilliant video, so interesting and helpful, thanks 🙌🏻

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks very much, stay tuned for more…

[@hedleyjackson5131]

Great video George you do make it look easy, I suspect not, but a great explanation of obviously a very professional preparation. I can see why we have poor results from our shop bought slide hammer needs to be much beefier.

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks, yes a slide hammer needs plenty of weight in the slide

[@julestburt]

Loved it ! Thx...

[@hippitydippity3331]

This is great, I did mine this summer similar. Ground out each blister to the good fiberglass with my Dremel, and refilled with resin/fiberglass. It took me way longer than I estimated, I was talked out of a peel (huge mistake). Very interested to see more

[@RefitandSail]

Localised repair can be ok if you only have a very small number of blisters but if the laminate as a whole is damp/wet and not dried* then more blisters are likely to form. If you had a lot of blisters then the would have been even more just not large enough to show up so you may fine a few more come and say hello over the next years. It’s hard to say how successful you will be as different manufacturers had different resins, differently skilled laminators, better or worse working conditions so even from one day to the next or one boat after another on a production line you can get different results. On this contessa one side was much worse for blisters than the other, probably laid up on a different day by a different person in greater or lesser humidity. *by dried I also mean the removal of the hydroscopic chemicals in the layup that are causing the blisters. I’m pleased you enjoyed the video, more to follow. Hope your repair works out ok.

[@trebledog]

Thank you, after all these years, I'm still learning tricks of the trade. This is very enlightening, watching how it's professionally correctly done. As a newbie 30 years ago, I attempted the same refits, repairs on a 33 ft sloop. I now know I was very sloppy about my work then, but had no recourse except to use tools at hand. I used a grinder with 80 grit to grind out and away blisters that were as large as grapefruit and hundreds of pea sized ones (when you say media blast, I take it you mean sand blasting which was not available). I also made the mistake of repairing a cracked rudder with (polyester over epoxy) and quickly learned this can't be done. With no haulout facilities I had to pull an old cutlass bearing (shaft was vibrating loose) and install a new one underwater at a mooring. I learned it's quite dangerous to take a prop off underwater without securing it first with tethers and lines to keep it from flying off, missed my head by inches, and lost the prop in 50 ft of mud and muck. The prop does not slip off, it springs off with incredible force and speed. I also learned never to leave the mast on top of barrels along the edge of a wharf with no lines securing it properly so it doesn't fall into the water when a strong wind knocks the barrells. It took an entire year, but I eventually got my boat back in the water with the help of slings and a 30ton construction crane. That was my introduction to sailboat ownership. I'd do it all over again to be back on the water. The Contessa 32 has been an obsession of mine for as long as I can remember, so I'm living vicariously thru Lottie's refit. Please post all episodes.

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it and pleased you are enjoying the series. I have also learned the hard way at times but that’s sometimes the way of things, I have also done some repairs in my early days of working on baots that I’m not that proud off but at least I did them to my own boat not a paying customer. Stay tuned for plenty more refit works.

[@trebledog]

@@RefitandSail 👍🏼

[@antonioperezgarcia9426]

Buenos días, para acelerar el proceso, hay unas mantas de vacío y con resistencia térmica , Con el vacío, estrae la humedad interior entre las capas de fibra Y al calentarse evapora más rápido esa humedad

[@jims5338]

That peeler is great! I did barrier coat last year on my new-to-me "78 Nor'West 33 and all the prep was solo sanding with a Festool- which turned into over a month of hell so bad I swore I'd leave boating before I ever did it again! Readers please learn from my folly LOL! (Luckily I didn't have the blisters you're dealing with.)

[@RefitandSail]

Sanding, I hate to think how many hours I will be doing that as part of the hull filling and faring. Deep deep joy!

[@davidsaucedo3]

Could you tell me what brand paint stripper that is?

[@emilianobernardini5610]

❤ thank you for your reply can I still ask you for tips? As I am an amateur I trying to understand as much as I can about restoring the boat from a bit of osmosis

[@debbiebebington9803]

well done so helpful I am just doing the same I have lots of voids

[@dougmylroie1794]

Thank you. It is most informative and interesting watching your work. I am most curious as to how you got into this line of work and built up your knowledge base as I have a nephew who would really like to be doing what you are doing. Opportunities are limited in South Africa without attending some college in Cape Town and spending a fortune on accommodation at the same time. Thank you for the great content.

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks for the kind comment, I’m pleased you enjoyed the video. I have have been sailing and fixing boats all my life so I guess I have have learned a lot through experience and working alongside good shipwrights, that’s been backed up with various courses along the way and to be honest you never stop learning from others and trying different things. Do you have an apprenticeship scheme in SA where your nephew could join a marine repair business part time learning on the job he also go to college. May be worth looking at as we have that sort of thing here in the uk which can work well if you can find a good and supportive company to sponsor/employ you through it.

[@dougmylroie1794]

@@RefitandSail thank you so much for your quick response. It is greatly appreciated. My nephew has just organised employment in Namibia, at least at the coast, but unfortunately not doing his dream job. I really enjoy your channel and all the tea breaks, so will remain subscribed and thank you for the interesting content. 🙏

[@davidclarke7728]

Very informative

[@RykovskyA]

Great videos. I think I’ve been in that marina this Sunday. as I’m thinking about making an offer on the other old boat sitting at the same boatyard (you even got her in one of the frames;) I think I will be looking at more videos in the coming days or would even need to get in touch ;)

[@RefitandSail]

Hi, thanks, think you just emailed me, will get back to you. G

[@James-cr5qx]

Very good video. I plan to do mine in Tunisia next winter. The osmosis is around the same stage as yours. Can I ask please how long the work will take 2 people roughly? I plan to lift the boat and peel the hull, cut out the blisters ect. Then leave the boat out of the water for a few months and return to finish the job. I'm just wondering how long the peel takes and how long to fill and fiberglass. My boat is 36 feet so a similar size to the contessa Many thanks

[@normanboyes4983]

This is great stuff, you certainly know your stuff. Mads at Sail Life on YT has a fair few detailed videos on how he tackled a similar osmosis treatment involving stripping, heating, vacuum etc al. Enjoying your videos.😀👍⛵️

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks. Weirdly it was running into and having a beer with Mads and Eva last year while sailing that made me think more about doing the videos. I’d already started the channel but chatting with them was interesting.

[@normanboyes4983]

@@RefitandSail Yeah he is a bit of a ‘polymath’ when it comes to boats and geekery, he certainly does his homework before tackling anything new.

[@jag4762]

Hi I’ve just started watching your site. So far so good, and I hear the volume levels and your choice of background music do get better😂 Love the idea of the Gelpeel planer. How many layers of new glass will you be putting back on the hull and can you explain how you blend the new glass into the upper hull; stepped edge or taper?

[@RefitandSail]

You will just have to keep watching to get the answers to your questions.

[@stephenburnage7687]

George, i have a fairly serious blister problem too (on my CAL 34) but i am in Panama so too far from you to ask for help! My big concern is how to dry out the hull (after peeling or sanding)? I was concerned that the average annual humidity here is 75% but i note that the equivalent figure for the Solent is 80%. Has humidity proved to be an issue for you, in drying out the hull? I note that you use heat pads to dry out the Contessa but there is zero chance of me finding a yard here with such facilities plus we have higher temperatures, anyway. I should add that i notice that my boat is sitting lower in the water since a yard in Mexico supposedly fixed my blisters three years back - i now know they used polyester resin for the filler and no barrier coat, so i fear some significant water penetration.

[@gabrielkirk123]

Fascinating video. Always wondered how it was done. Incidentally, on your westerly you have a really good stackpack/not stackpack idea. With two smaller bags helping to keep the sail together when down. Is this your invention. I really like it, very neat.

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks, I am pleased you enjoyed the video. My westerly came with a full stack pack but I don't, like them, yes they are easy to use but I hate all that material flapping around while sailing. my mesh sail catchers were an idea stolen from a Class40 racing boat I was working on a couple of years ago so had my sailmaker make similar for me. They work very well and are hidden under a normal (over the boom) cover when not in use.

[@R.E.HILL_]

Nice one.. Parts of that stern tube removal time-lapse is just so wrong, so very very wrong.. 😂

[@RefitandSail]

yeah it was a bit 🤣

[@dancartier561]

I just found your chanel, great stuff, I will be watch now, where did you get your hull heating/vaccum pads? I would like to get some.

[@RefitandSail]

Thanks, without pulling the old invoices out of storage I don’t recall the company but they are not an off the shelf product, you have to get them made to your particular specification (size, wattage, location of holes and temp sensor(s), type of controller, etc, etc). There are a few companies that will make them of you if do a google but be warned that that not exactly cheap.

[@gregm.846]

George.....In looking at the GelPlane I noticed that they are using carbide inserts now whereas I thought they used straight planer blades at one time. Is that an actual GelPlane brand peeler or something else from the US?

[@RefitandSail]

Not used it for about 12 months so I’m trying to remember, I did buy it in the US and had it shipped to the uk as that was cheaper than buying the equivalent in the uk. It does have replaceable carbide blades.

[@MrPbologna]

Great job George! Have a Little Harbor 44 which supposedly previously had a blister job. 6+ years later after sitting in southern waters, more/same blisters back with a vengeance @ 4-5” each and hundreds of them. Is peel and thru-hulls absolutely necessary? What’s cost over in UK? Thanks!

[@RefitandSail]

With blisters of that size then yes, it probably needs a full peel but you need to see how deep they are into the laminate really to make a plan. Do you know what was done previously? If it was just grind out then fill the blisters without any real drying of the laminate then that’s just a sticking plaster that was going to fail. Ok on a small cheap boat because a full repair is expensive but on a boat of value it’s worth doing it properly. I know my currently boat had an “osmosis treatment” that the previous owner had done but it wasn’t done well, the laminate wasn’t properly dried and now I have some blistering but only small ones but it does need doing at some point but at 40’ it’s a bigger undertaking than the one in the video.

[@MrPbologna]

@@RefitandSail thanks. I pierced blisters that did not seem deep may 1/8 inch. Some may be past gel coat of course. What’s a ball park $$ for blister job done right with 20% blister coverage of 3-4” blisters on a 44’.

[@MrPbologna]

Blisters did spray stream of water as expected.

[@RefitandSail]

@@MrPbologna every boat/hull is different as so to some extent the answer is it depends. But as a finger in the air ball-park. If I was to do it the way that I have done in the videos you have seen you are looking at circa £16-18k (GBP) but could be more if the hull does not want to dry readily and/or a second peel is needed as that’s more relam needed to get the hull thickness back. This is a rough number and does not include lifting ashore, storage coats, unstopping/re stepping mast. Replacement seacocks, etc.

[@mart11]

Nice job! Can u please tell me the name or brand of the paint removal tool? I use a proscraper now but it is a lot of work just by hand. Thanks in advance. Kind regards Mart

[@RefitandSail]

I also use a proscaper for af removal but the tool you mention is a gelcoat/laminate removal tool so not really for paint removal as it does a lot more than that!

[@elbonk178]

WOW! I didn't know about osmosis issues on boats. Does the resin in the hull age and deteriorate?

[@RefitandSail]

It’s more of an issue on older boats than new ones not because the laminate/resin ages but modern resin systems are better quality and more resistant to this problem

[@seagypsies5414]

Good afternoon.What did you remove the Gelcoat with, what kind of sander is it, can you name the make and model? I will be very grateful to you

[@RefitandSail]

It’s a tool that is made specifically for removing gelcoat from grp, gel plane is a common brand

[@kbbarton1]

It physically pained me watching you saw that skeg cap off. 😬 Is that the only way one can drop the rudder on a CO32? The peeler - is that used primarily for removing CopperCoat, or can that be used to take off bottom paint as well?

[@RefitandSail]

Yes, that’s the only way to remove the rudder but the boat has been designed with the removable Skeg cap so it looks worse than it is. The peeler is designed to remove gelcoat and/or laminate to enable drying and/or repair. I would never normally use it to remove antifouling only as it’s far too aggressive, in the case of this boat the outer layer of gelcoat and laminate needed to be removed. If a boat has many old layers of traditional AF I would normally get that removed (by media blasting) before peeling. Hope that makes sense.

[@kbbarton1]

@@RefitandSail Got it, thanks!

[@emilianobernardini5610]

Fancy a rebuilt in la Graciosa Canaria? I have a project that may be interesting to do in a magic island

[@RefitandSail]

It is a magic island, I have sailed there and spent a week anchored off Playa Francesa. Sadly I think I have too much work to do here in the UK.

[@oceanrival2744]

Hi George, do you know if it's possible to hire a Gel peeler in the UK alternatively if there are still mobile peeling services (which I seem to remember there were 20 od years ago?) Great vid wish I'd watched it before doing my boat armed with a 4" grinder and plenty of Greek sun 😎

[@RefitandSail]

Not sure if it’s possible to hire a peeler, I would not rent mine out, but I would be happy to offer a peeling service and have been asked before by a boat yard.

[@nickshipman620]

Hi George could you let me know what media the blaster used to do the hull with after you stripped it please , im doing a similar job ,and I’m getting conflicting advise on what media to use some are saying use jblast (iron silicate) and other saying I must use crushed glass ??? Thanks Nick

[@RefitandSail]

I’d need to check but I’m pretty sure it was crushed glass. Different media is used for different cleaning/substrate so best to trust in an experienced media blaster as he/she will have a preferred media.

[@nickshipman620]

@@RefitandSail thanks mate

[@stanleybest8833]

Boats are built with wholesale materials. Repairs buy retail. This is what nightmares are about.

[@daveware4117]

Sounds expensive. It would be helpfull for new guys looking to buy a boat to know aproxamate prices for this kind of repair.

[@RefitandSail]

Doing a full “gold standard” (as I call it) repair like I do in this video is not cheap but should be a lasting solution. I know plenty of companies and individuals that have done an “osmosis repair” that fails fairly quickly… I’d rather do the job once and once-only!

[@christopher-bj8de]

So you can use SS studs to attach your anodes, you learn something everyday 🤔

[@RefitandSail]

You can, stainless steel is really only stainless when surrounded by air so underwater is it likely to suffer corrosion but probably less so then the normal galvanised steel studs.

[@_r_ma_]

Great work, but please ditch the dubstep.

[@RefitandSail]

I thought it may be controversial. Pleased you liked the video if not the music.

[@chrisgardner6677]

Mahalo. I may respectfully suggest you lose the music, even during the time lapse segments.

[@RefitandSail]

Always happy to take a suggestion, I’d like to think I am better at making vids now than I was in these early ones.

[@markbailey6051]

Never do this to your boat! Fiberglass is only so thick and plaining away 98% of the glass to get to the small 2% of the blisters will weaken the hull . No boat has ever sank because of blisters. Paint the bottom and go sailing!

[@RefitandSail]

I guess you didn’t watch the video because your ill informed comment is nonsense on so many levels.

[@nigelleyland166]

Never viewed one of your vids before, you need to seriously sort out your audio editing going from whispering explanations to overly loud annoying music gets you a dislike and a reluctance to visit again, I think my nieghbours deserve better!

[@RefitandSail]

That’s a fair comment, I was learning how to edit videos on these early ones and do get better at it with more consistent volume on the more recent vids. I’m better at fixing boats than I am making videos but slowly getting better with practice.

[@MrJeep75]

I hate plastic boats