I broke a bow tang off the bow on my 95 mystere

I broke a side stay tang off 6 years ago or so.. I knew it was a matter of time before the bow tang went (http://www.thebeachcats.c…nc=viewtopic&topic=11540)



I had bow tangs fabricated a few years back when a friend had a broken bow tang on his mystere

I figured I would document it here to help anyone out in the future

I have created an album to host the images - http://www.thebeachcats.c…ictures?g2_itemId=123629

Tang broke while on the water
Rig did not fall (was held up by spin bridal)
I went out to the bow and tied off the furler to a line I wrapped around the bow





Broken Tang (and one from the other bow) -

So with the help of a friend, chisel, putty knife and crow bar .... off come the decks


Yesterday I sanded down the decklids to level off the old glue (and started sanding on the bows to level them off too) and while I had the lids off, I epoxied the bulkheads to the walls (they had some glass on them attaching them, but not a lot)

More to come ...



Edited by MN3 on Jul 25, 2016 - 12:54 PM.

Thanks Andrew! This is going to be super helpful when inevitably one of mine fails. I've been looking for good photo documentation of the repair and haven't found it yet.

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
--

Glad to help out ~
this really is not that hard of a job, but putting a chisel to your boat and small sledge to knock out the tang is painful.

I'm gonna add a few lb of epoxy to my boat (bulkheads) but I should have a stiffer boat when done

SideNote: the bulkheads directly under the beam they have a few "lightning bolts" running through them (are cracked) - I will be adding some new glass/epoxy to reinforce them

While i have the decks off....
I am going to add some epoxy to the bulkheads
used west system epoxy and microfibers to create a paste that I used

Last night I took some pics from behind the bulkhead that is directly under the beam

we had to cut holes into this bulkhead 6 years ago to gain access to the side stays.
at that time (under advisement) I used some epoxy and "sealed" the lip of the cut so water could not get in.
It seems I should have replaced the cut out or glassed over it as it has now developed "lightning bolt" style cracks that are all coming from(or going to) the area we cut out.

went to store - purchase 4' x 8' foamboard was $75 but i showed him the messed up corner - he said he could replace it, I asked for a discount instead. He gave me 30% off. - Fiberglass Coatings, Inc. St Pete Rocks!



made templates then cut foam




epoxy sides and tops


back side and added a spline for added strenght


While i had access, i added marine grade silicone from underneath both hull ports




Edited by MN3 on Aug 02, 2016 - 12:47 PM.

I appreciate the detail you are showing on this repair. Every time someone takes on on of these repairs and shows others how it is done it brings the value of all these boats up. These are not overwhelming repairs when you understand the steps and the materials. These boats are not "shot" when they are slightly damaged. Doing the repairs correctly simply extends the boats life substantially.

It is also interesting that you got to this repair when you did. Things were definitely starting to happen that would have made for a very bad day on the water.

dg

--
dg
NACRA 5.2 #400
This End Up
Original owner since 1975
--

Quote

I appreciate the detail you are showing on this repair.......It is also interesting that you got to this repair when you did. Things were definitely starting to happen that would have made for a very bad day on the water.

Glad to help other cat sailors -

This was an expected event, I had the replacement parts fabricated years ago and will sail with much more confidence in my vessel after this.

I am glad i found out the bulk heads were so blown out - i should have kept a better eye on them (they have ports close) - the forces trying to rip apart these bulkheads is immense.

Today i cut open the lat bulkhead that we installed many years ago when i put in a big hatch so i could glass up the entire cracked bulkhead top to bottom

I just realized it is wood and not foam, so it's coming out and will be replaced with much lighter foam cored epoxy







Edited by MN3 on Aug 03, 2016 - 11:20 AM.

old lat bulkhead was made of wood and had to go


checking out the glass i laid up behind the existing bulkhead



looks good to me

heavy glass added to front of cracked bulkhead




after it started to get thick i used wax paper to smoosh it into every nook and cranny

epoxied in new bow tangs


Bulkhead glass all cured


Added tape to top of decks - added glass to the lip (for a nice clean area to epoxy back on


2 tubes of West System six10 per side


used straps to squeeze deck to boat - used weights on the bow tips


nice shot of the six10 oooozing out of the deck lid and deck

many layers of thickend and pigmented gelcoat - last coat had wax additive

Then 10 sheets of 80grit with an inline-sander
5 sheets of 220
20 sheets of various grit for a powered mouse detail-sander
a few sheets of 320, 400 and 600 for a hand block sander





Site is importing these 90" off and currently wont let me adjust

That's it - stick a fork in me

there are some small imperfections in the new gel-coat that i could spend another week on to get it Show-Room-Perfect but since no other area of this boat is close .... i'm basically done

I'm going sailing on it this weekend (as soon as this Tropical Storm Hermine gets out of here - there is a local race on sunday too)



Edited by MN3 on Aug 31, 2016 - 03:12 PM.