@rhapsode
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Almost finished now and I have to say that there is room for improvement. The yard’s plan changed daily, sometimes hourly, depending on the snags they found. Snag 1 was that after starting to chop out the deck they discovered that they couldn’t get hold of teak to replace it.
The essential repair is a U profile length of stainless steel inserted across the compartment under the mast bracket and under the two fore and aft stiffeners. A mahogany insert fills the gap between the top of the stainless and the underside of the mast.
The profile is supported at each end by substantial blocks of mahogany glued and screwed to the main fore and aft bulkheads.
Access was gained by removing the cabinet / mirror.
The repair will do for now but I feel I have to view it as a temporary measure until I can get to somewhere where teak is in good supply. The U-profile needs to be through bolted.
The main damage that we found was that the athwartships length of timber under the window had cracked which allowed the deck to sink down.
Happy sailing.
Peter
An update – I have found a boat yard in Salvador that can do basic work. They aren’t well equipped and have little experience of sailing boats, and we are on the cusp of the rainy season!!!
However, after two days the electrics have been disconnected and the mast has been removed. Work will start on cutting the offending deck out tomorrow. I am very thankful for the advice from the forum, especially Andy Fletcher and very especially from Jeremy Lines who has been emailing me daily in response to my pleas for help.
I hope to post an update or two as the work progresses.
Peter
Dear Alan & Pat,
Do you have any photos of the work?
I’m looking to find either a very simple permanent repair or a temporary repair whilst I get the boat to somewhere where they have heard of boats and their little problems.
Happy sailing,
Peter
If it helps – we use a Hydrovane – chosen because it didn’t need steering lines running back to the wheel. All that’s needed is a running loop control line which we lead back to the cockpit across the aft cabin coach roof. Nice and simple.
Some issues: It’s just about impossible to fit the rudder from the boat. You either have to be stern-to a pontoon, deploy the dinghy or swim!
We can just about remove the rudder from the boat when in sheltered waters.
The mizzen does affect the wind flow but it is still perfectly usable.
I take the vane down when there is likely to be of a lot shipping about so that we are ready to manoeuvre and then either hand steer or use the Autohelm.
Peter
I hope it’s not too late to join this thread (I’ve just found the forum).
Rhapsode is in Salvador, Brazil and is suffering from the sagging deck syndrome (tho’ in our case the under-deck timber was perfectly dry). The aft facing section of coach-roof dropped away quite suddenly on a particularly wavy day leaving a gap of about 20 mm in the centre (now full of Sikaflex).
I’m finding it difficult to get a decent repair yard in Salvador so I need to make the job spec. as simple as possible. Also, I’m told that they don’t have teak here so it may well be impossible to replace the decking if it has to be removed.
I am wondering which solution to the rebuild is likely to be the easiest – getting access through the aft cabin or through the deck itself.
If I can’t find a good repair yard then Plan B is to fit a temporary support as best I can and then take the boat up to the Caribbean (perhaps Trinidad) to get the job done properly.
Views very welcome!
Peter
