Cape Cutter 19 Association Forum

Our Audrey has developed a leak on a couple of Rubbing strake bolts. They may have been weeping for a while and dismissed as condensation but with the prolonged rain we have had on Windermere they became a problem over the weekend.
I've made temporary repairs but it will need some TLC over the winter and I'm thinking of removing the strake and re-bedding with sealant.

Searching the forum it seems that some boats are through bolted with the nuts exposed on the inside. All of mine are fibreglassed over apart from 3, 2 of which leaked. I think this is because the rubbing strake was replaced by bob when I purchased the boat and it may have been a second hand piece of timber, not all the holes lined up so they were re-drilled. I'm assuming that the strake is sealed/bonded to the hull along with the bolts and that when I remove the bolts the nuts will be held by the fibreglass. Has anyone done this before? I'm hoping the nuts are held as it will be a hell of a job exposing them to get a spanner onto them.

Andy
Sounds like a bit of a job!
Fraoch (sail no. 111) has all the rubbing strake bolts through to the cabin and then domed nuts to keep it looking tidy inside. I suppose if your glassed in nuts don't hold you could drill through and bolt them all from the inside.
On a smaller scale the nut which holds the front of the step on to the centre board casing has come loose on Fraoch and I think that is glassed in.
Let us know how you get on.
Paul

I suppose a few pics would have helped, I'll take some next week. I suspect that CC60 had the dome nuts exposed but may have had leakage problems so they were glassed over. I really hope they hold as I'll have some work on exposing them.

Andy,
I removed the strakes last winter. They were a bit scuffed and I wanted to rub down and re coat.
There were a couple of " glassed in " nuts at the stem and stern of each strake. These stayed in place during removal
and refitting.
The remainder were fitted with penny washers and domed nuts . The removal and refitting was a two man job , one
outside , the other contorted to reach the domed nuts.
On removal I noted that the screws were cut to different lengths....to allow the domed nuts to tighten before
"bottoming out". To accommodate I purchased spare screws and penny washers , selectively using these as required.
Rubbing down was straightforward , and I used International Woodskin to recoat. Woodskin is a form of woodstain/varnish
which claims to be breathable. It's not as polished as varnish , but apparently can be recoated easily.
Next problem on removal is that a couple of nuts are behind the back of the cupboards above the sink and the stove.
To gain access , I used a 30mm hole saw , centred by drilling through from the outside . The screws removed , but the
nuts /washers behind the cupboard dropped off once the screws were removed.
On refitting the strakes , I used CT1 black adhesive/sealant. I prefer it to Sikaflex as it remains flexible....it also does not
harden in the tube.
I used a bead of sealant at the upper edge of the strake and a ring of sealant around each screw. After fitting I put a bead
of sealant along the upper edge of the strake.
After some heavy duty sailing / rain this summer , no sign of leakage.........yet!!
Overall , straightforward , time consuming and the results ok.
Ian
Minnie CC19 (85)

Cheers Ian, very helpful, and not too difficult a job by the look of it. I'm just mulling over whether to re varnish or strip and use an oil finish.

Good luck with the rubbing strakes. I have used International wood skin for the past few seasons on the strakes and hand rails and I'm impressed with the result. 6 months of Greek sunlight and a fair bit wears off by the end of the season. It is so easy to lightly rub down and recoat. Kaliope comes out of the water tomorrow and I took a video yesterday of dolphins.... ignore the dolphins and check out the wood skin! www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukodMhVuODM&feature=share

Cheers

Chris
Kaliope CC67

The (iroko) rubbing strakes on our Zimp (a SA CC19, s/n 004) have to be (partly) replaced because of some rot. Does anybody know how the rubbing strakes are mounted on the hull of a SA CC19? From the inside I don't see any "mounting hardware"....

Thanks for your tips!

Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure is evidence of the existence of a higher power .. never be without it .. I used it on my strakes and handrails (having nipped up the nuts a bit .. all sorted without removal (all my woodwork was unvarnished and oiled twice a year - varnish is evidence of the existence of a lower power!!)
Nick

On my Honnor boat, there are dowel plugs covering the heads of hex bolts, sanded flush. Bob Brown sent me a handful when I needed to tighten the bolts. They are quite easy to see; is it not the same on the SA boats? I remember Bob saying the strakes were not formed into a curve before fitting (whereas Honnor’s were), so they must be bolted, surely?


Cape Cutter #86 Aurora
travellingaurora.wordpress.com

I removed the port forward strake last season. Mine were bolted on with countersunk hex head bolts with most of the nuts accessible but hidden behind a cosmetic piece of timber used to mount the storage pouches. The aft strake nuts are glassed over and I exposed one to remove it and reseal. You may get away with unbolting from the outside and the nut might stay "captive" if it spins though it will need exposing then re glassing .