Weekly Logs 2012

These are the weekly summaries of the work that was completed on Ocelot, in chronological order.
Newest entries are at the bottom so they can be read chronologically.
This page was getting too big, so we split it into 2012 and 2013.

Positioning Ocelot above the trailer

Week 1, October 24 - 30, 2011:
We sailed down from Yacht Haven at the northern end of Phuket Island to Ao Chalong Bay in the SE corner of Phuket, and started preparing Ocelot - taking EVERYTHING out of all the lockers and putting them into big plastic storage containers.  We also removed all the sails and even the boom!  Started our contract with Golf, our main contractor, and gave him a down payment so he could start buying materials [actually, we found out later that Golf squandered most of this money].  Bangkok is currently flooded, so some things have to be bought quickly, before they're no longer available.  Manoon, the Coconuts boatyard manager, came out to inspect Ocelot and on Thursday he hauled us out with only a few heart stopping moments (like the 16 knot wind from the quarter pushing us sideways, and when a rope got caught in the propeller and had to be cut free).  Then Golf's team descended on Ocelot and started tearing the teak decks off her, as we started transporting everything to Golf's workshop for storage.  On Saturday the crane arrived and took out Ocelot's mast (along with the masts of 2 other boats).

Goodbye teak on starboard bow

Week 2, October 31 - November 6, 2011:
Erected a huge tent over Ocelot that Golf had bought with our seed money.  Workers used paint stripper to remove much of our bottom paint, and all deck hardware, including 19 hatches, were removed as the teak continued to be removed.  More packing up of cushions, mattresses, etc, and several trips to Golf's workshop to store it all.  Started stripping the mast and boom of all the steps, ropes and other fittings.  We lowered Tomcat (our dinghy), flushed the engine, and took all it to the workshop.  All fittings were removed from the cockpit, as well as the teak decks.  The transoms were ground back and the woodworker started building a mold to extend the transoms.

Pulling the wood mold off the 1st starboard extension

Week 3, November 7 - 13, 2011:
Golf's team started removing the varnish from Ocelot's interior with a heat gun.  Jon removed all of the headliners from the salon as well as all the cabins and they were all taken to the workshop for storage.  Meng, our woodworker, started repairing the whale damage in Amanda's cabin.  With the teak removed from the deck, the workers started grinding off the mastic that was under the teak, as well as grinding off the gelcoat on the cabin-top.  A plywood frame for Ocelot's transom extension was built, waxed, and 6 sheets of heavy fiberglass was laid in it before the plywood was cut away.

Ocelot sitting under her new tent home, with her mast out

Week 4, November 14 - 20, 2011:
We bought Golf a cute shop-vac so he can vacuum up all the dust from all the grinding.  Stripped all the winches and spin-locks off the top of the salon and targa bar.  Removed more fittings and mast steps from the mast and boom.  Removed the engine controls, all of the outside instruments, and the engine instruments.  We suspended our roller head‑stay as well as our cap‑shrouds from the tent frame, to get them off the sand.  Decided that the transom extension was fatally flawed and had it cut off.  Started peeling back some of the deck, where it had delaminated from the balsa coring.  This eventually led to the entire deck and coring being removed, which was not in the original plan.  Golf claimed that his sister was in a motorcycle accident with a truck and eventually died, with Golf inheriting her 2 younger children, but we found out later that this story was a complete fabrication to get more money out of us, preying on our western sympathies.  Golf also got his truck back from the shop, with its brand new several thousand watt sound system.  This is apparently where much of our seed money went.

Break while Jon and Sue fly home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, November 21, 2011 to January 15, 2012

Inside of the port hull, with antifouling paint scraped off

Week 13, January 16 - 22, 2012:
Workers continued to remove Ocelot's antifouling paint (and underlying gelcoat!) with grinders.  The top layer of the deck was removed and the decision made to remove the balsa as well, and replace it with (inorganic) foam, so workers started chiseling out the balsa.  Some finish work was done in the cockpit, fairing it after the teak was removed.  Other workers were inside, sanding off the varnish (most doors had been removed while we were away).  Golf even started applying some varnish to some small bits of flooring.

Removing the stove, with the sinks already out

Week 14, January 23 - 29, 2012:
Our new woodworker, Houa, arrived and started tearing apart the drawer cabinet by the entryway.  He also started on the galley, removing the stove, oven, and the entire sink cupboard.  Jon removed several fittings from the top of the targa bar, like the mainsail track.  Foam sheets were bought and sections cut and fitted to the depressions where the balsa had been.  Golf tried epoxying down a couple of foam sheets, but without using polyethylene sheeting, so we bought him some polyethylene and showed him how to use it.  We eventually settled on a hybrid between our 2 methods of putting the decks back, putting fiberglass and foam down in one operation, and then applying the top coats of glass the next day.  Grinders continue to work on the underwater sections of the hulls, finishing starboard side and starting on port.

Laying in the foam for the deck, above an extra layer of bi-axial glass

Week 15, January 30 - February 5, 2012:
Of the 15 deck patches that need to have foam cut to fit and epoxied down, we got 7 of them done, plus 4 smaller cockpit patches finished.  Jon foamed the line to the fridge to keep it from condensing.  Our carpenter finished building the drawer cabinet next to the fridge and started fitting our new stove and oven.  This will be a challenge as the stove is 3" (7cm) deeper than our previous stove and oven, and we don't really have the room to spare.  Jon got more of the mast disassembled, including removing our "diamond stays".  Several of our floorboards got sanded at Golf's workshop, about 3 miles (5km) from the boatyard (and owned by the same family).  Ocelot's bottoms got ground off until they're almost completely free of antifouling paint and gelcoat.  A good week!

Max, Golf & E-U sticking down the foam over the port forward cabin

Week 16, February 6 - 12, 2012:
We got another 5 of our 15 deck‑patches foamed and covered in 3 layers of biaxial glass, including our 2 most challenging areas over the forward cabins, so we only have 3 more to go, all at the back of Ocelot.  Our 2 push‑pits were removed (a major undertaking) and 2 problem areas that were under them were opened up and the balsa removed.  We started reinforcing the glass under the deck but this still has a long way to go.  The targa bar was stripped of all fittings (except the solar panels) so it's ready to be refurbished.  The design for our new rigid bimini was reworked to be simpler and stronger.  The oven area was opened up, the oven fitted, and we now have a plan for putting it all back together.  The drawer area by the entryway has been prepped for varnishing, and the varnishing of all our doors and floor panels has finally begun in Golf's workshop.

Golf laying 3 strips of glass in increasing widths

Week 17, February 13 - 19, 2012:
The foaming and glassing of the side decks was almost completed - all the foam was put down and glassed over, the hatch openings reinforced, and several strips of reinforcing glass were laid along the edges of the decks.  All that remains is to fair the side decks and then cover them with the final 2 layers of biaxial glass.  Houa is extending the entire port side of the galley by a few inches to make the new stove and oven look like they belong.  He's building a new drawer under the oven and creating a new door for the storage area next to the stove and sink.  Hem, our mechanic, took the injectors, injector pumps, heat exchangers, water‑injection elbows, exhaust manifolds, freshwater pumps, and saltwater pumps off both engines.  He also took the whole head off starboard engine.  These will be serviced and reinstalled.  We would have gotten more done this week but Golf claims he's been having severe back and leg problems, which he says have been painful enough for him to go to the hospital.  [Ed: Perhaps, but we now know that Golf is an accomplished liar so we don't know how much of what he tells us is true.  And the fact that he's out of money means that he's spending a LOT of our money on himself, possibly on drugs.]

Long-boarding the topsides, with a crab watching...

Week 18, February 20 - 26, 2012:
Although the week started off with a bang, it ended with a bit of a whimper, and we didn't get quite as much done as we'd hoped.  Jon managed to get all the gear off the foredecks, including the 2 pulpits, the massive fore‑beam, the anchor platform, and the stubborn plate that holds the aft end of the anchor platform to Ocelot's bow.  Jon and Golf designed the new mechanism for holding Ocelot's trampolines, which should be stronger and more aesthetic than our old sail‑track system.  The guys started to lay down the epoxy fairing compound that's to go under the final layers of fiberglass on deck, but they weren't able to finish fairing it smooth.  Houa managed to get the new stove and oven installed, but he's spending a lot of time on fiddly little bits like the new drawer under the oven.  We appreciate all the work he's putting in and we really appreciate the quality of his work, but we also have lots of other things for him to do.  More guys joined the team and started sanding the topsides in preparation for painting them.  Looking at other boats around us, it can take a long time to get the hulls as flat and smooth as we'd like them.  Finally, they started working on the strip behind the cockpit, the last area of the deck that needs the foam sandwich rebuilt.

Golf & Max chiseling out the old balsa behind the cockpit seat

Week 19, February 27 - March 4, 2012:
A good week!  The final 2 sheets of biaxial glass were laid down on both the port and starboard side‑decks.  We've been waiting for this for a long time!  The decks look and feel great.  We also put down our 15^th and (hopefully) final long strip of foam behind the cockpit  We got our headstay down from the tent rafters and Jon started disassembling it.  The replacements for our water‑damaged headliner pieces were cut out and epoxy coated.  The floorboards got their first coats of varnish.  Both topsides were sanded and several gelcoat cracks were ground back and explored before being glassed up and covered over with epoxy fairing compound.  Some hull‑deck joint‑lines at the bows were cleaned up and glassed over to strengthen them.  But we also found more wet balsa to replace in the floor under the cockpit table and behind the aft cockpit seat.  Nice to have more reconstruction than deconstruction!

Baw touching up the floorboards with lightly colored varnish

Week 20, March 5 - 11, 2012:
Most of the work this week was in the cockpit.  We stripped off the top layer of fiberglass for most of the cockpit floor, ground back the gelcoat, dug out the old balsa coring, replaced it with structural foam, and glassed it over in 3 separate places: under the cockpit table and on both sides of the cockpit.  We also opened up the steps going down to the companionway, chasing down rotten balsa coring.  This work is still ongoing, but we're hopeful that we're nearing the end of the surgery.  Jon started cutting cores out where the deck hardware (winches and such) bolt through the cabin‑top, so we can reinforce those areas where bolts go through the coring.  In the woodshop, Houa finished repairing those floorboards that needed it, and many of the floorboards got several layers of varnish.  Those that got repaired also had the wood tinted to match our existing wood.

Max & Golf lifting away Ocelot's instrument console

Week 21, March 12 - 18, 2012:
This was a week of investigative surgery to remove damaged wood.  Much of Ocelot's entryway wood was removed, as well as a strip of the salon floor under the navigation station and the entire helm area.  But most of the floorboards got all of their coats of varnish, and Golf's happy with the quality of the work.  Workers started long‑boarding the hulls in preparation for spraying them.  The bows got reinforced with fiberglass and epoxy mud, and an area to the right of the entryway was re‑glassed.  Two of our big cockpit hatch‑covers were stiffened wonderfully with foam and fiberglass and the other 4 are being worked on.  Work has started on stripping our fore‑beam and other aluminum fore‑deck bits in preparation for painting them, and Jon drilled out almost 100 cores around existing bolt holes in our cabin top so they can be filled with epoxy mud, re‑glassed, and the holes re‑drilled.

Ocelot sitting under her shady tent, being worked on

Week 22, March 19 - 25, 2012:
A productive week.  Both bows had 7 strips of foam bonded on, which was shaped to sharper points than before and eventually covered with 7‑8 layers of biaxial glass.  The salon sub‑floor under the nav‑station was rebuilt in glassed in foam, with cute foam and fiberglass supports.  Six big hatch‑covers, 4 from the cockpit and 2 from the chain lockers, were ground back and had foam and 2‑3 layers of biaxial glass stuck on underneath.  This has strengthened them wonderfully.  The outer hulls were sanded and the hole by the starboard forward portlight was filled, then the guys started sanding the inner hulls and under the bridge‑deck.  The speed and depth transducers were removed and their through‑holes checked and cleaned.  Boy started repairing the aft cockpit seat with glass and foam on top of the backrest, and we moved our workshop out from under the neighboring catamaran and into a small tent.  The 2 forward ports in the salon were removed (with great difficulty) and much of the area in front of them had to be opened up as the drain‑pipes for the grab‑rails have leaked, but we found 2 big stainless steel tanks that we didn't know we had!

Houa working on the port-side transom extension

Week 23, March 26 - April 1, 2012:
The week started off with a bang but ended with a bit of a whimper.  Max worked on the entryway all week, first building and installing a beam for our sliding door to sit on, then building supports and the floor just outside the door and installing them, then fitting and installing foam on the steps to the cockpit and finally cutting and shaping the foam for both sides of the steps.  Our new trampoline holders were glassed on up front, and Baw built foam fillers for the cutouts under our emergency hatches and glassed them in.  The big news is that Golf started both transom extensions, but after making good progress, that work has stalled while they figure out how to make the 2 sides the same.  Boy ground off all the gelcoat on both transoms in preparation for installing new steps and side‑walls.  Jon got the mast stripped and all the wires out, so mast, boom, and forebeam are all ready for sanding and painting.  The long‑borders have been working all around the hull and she's looking very smooth.

Jon & Baw sticking down the top of port extension

Week 24, April 2 - 8, 2012:
Houa used forms to bend each transom extension to be the same shape, then the team glassed them to that shape.  They built and installed a central spine and 5 frame pieces (4 half‑frames and an end piece) in each extension, trimmed them down carefully to slope them correctly, and covered them with foam to completely enclose the extensions.  Port extension got wrapped in 3 layers of biaxial glass while starboard was used to shape the foam for the outer wall leading down to the extension.  Max and his brother Lek foamed both sides of the entryway and then glassed in the whole entryway area, including the steps.  Jon removed both rudders and polished them up so we can install bigger lower bearings for them.  Jon and Sue went to Bangkok and Phuket Town to get "retirement" visas that let them stay in Thailand for 1 year.  Jon turned 57 on Saturday so we hosted a fun party with lots of food and drink.

The organized pandemonium of work on Ocelot

Week 25, April 9 - 15, 2012:
A productive week, despite losing 2 days to the Thai New Year celebrations.  Friday is Thai New Year (Sonkram) so nothing happens Friday or Saturday except spraying people with water and other forms of celebration.  At the helm, Max got the whole helm area foamed in, which involved 5 complicated bits of foam.  He used the existing inner layer of fiberglass as a form, but it was so flimsy that it needed significant reinforcing before he could stick foam to it.  Jon then de‑cored the area where the steering gearbox bolts on, cutting away the foam so it can be filled with epoxy mud.  Max also cut out a section of bad balsa from the long wall between the galley and the battery compartment.  At the sterns, the starboard transom extension was glassed in to match the port side.  Then work started on the outer walls coming down to the new swim platforms.  The inner and outer skins of both walls were built and epoxied down, as well as 5 internal strengthening webs.  On Friday, Golf and his wife took Sue on a tour of the Sonkram celebrations and then took her to a sumptuous lunch - Jon would have loved to go as well, but he was feeling ill that day.

Ocelot being worked on - click for larger view

Week 26, April 16 - 22, 2012:
Both walls going down to our transom extensions got their insides glassed with 3 layers of biaxial glass, and the port side wall was cut down to the correct size and shape before getting (most of) the top put on.  Max glassed in all the exposed foam around our helm, and also cut out a section of wall under our helm, foamed it, filled Jon's de‑coring holes with epoxy mud, glassed it in, and painted it with gelcoat.  Houa started working on the area in front of the salon, cutting open our new "secret compartments" and planning how we'll restore the area.  Jon started disassembling our bimini and planning how to build a new, solid bimini.

Baw mudding up the top of the starboard wall

Week 27, April 23 - 29, 2012:
Both of the newly discovered forward compartments got their walls repaired and their insides gelcoated, then Max started replacing the balsa above them with foam, getting 3 good pieces of foam put down on each side.  Max also replaced a plywood backing plate in the cockpit with several layers of glass and epoxy mud.  The starboard‑side wall going down to the new swim‑platforms got entirely foamed and shaped.  The port‑side wall got a bundle of foam epoxied into the outer edge so it can be shaped correctly.  Our rudders were taken to Luk Engineering to be reworked, and the sail‑drive lower gear‑cluster was given to Hem to be reworked.  The steering gear was remounted at the helm, marking our first reassembly.  The battery area had the rotten wood removed and work has started rebuilding it, marking (hopefully) the last of the disassembly.  Jon serviced the autopilot drive but found it needed some cracked parts replaced.

Lek epoxying the first layer of fiberglass onto our starboard wall

Week 28, April 30 - May 6, 2012:
Our boom, forebeam, and other spars got cleaned of paint and were taken to the metalworker for some welding work.  Our port wall down to the transom got its final bits of foam and was trimmed down to shape, with holes for where the railing will bolt down.  The starboard wall not only got shaped but was covered in 4 layers of biaxial glass.  Our mechanic worked much of the week putting our starboard engine back together again.  A cut that was made down the length of both decks in November was finally patched with strips of reinforcing glass under the deck.  Houa glassed over the foam in the battery area and started crafting a rail to hold our battery straps, to hold our batteries in place.  Max continued foaming in the areas in front of the salon where the wet balsa was removed.  But Friday and Saturday were a bit of a washout (literally) as it rained hard for much of the time.

Max & brother Lek glassing the back of the cockpit seat

Week 29, May 7 - 13, 2012:
During week 29 of our Thai Refit, the port‑side extension finally got glassed in, but then Baw left the team.  Three strips of glass were laid under the deck, at the hull‑deck joint line, to reinforce a cut that was made in the deck back in November.  Hem rebuilt both engines and ran each of them, but port still needs more work so he took the head off to work on it.  Hem also gave Jon the rebuilt port lower gear‑cluster so Jon installed it and refilled the leg with oil.  Houa finished the rail he's been making to go around the battery area and epoxied it in.  Max trimmed and epoxied down several complicated sheets of foam, and started working on a cute little hatch for our new compartment.  Starboard fo'c's'l was sanded and prepped for gelcoating, but port fo'c's'l has some rotten wood that needs to be replaced.  The area behind the cockpit seat finally got foamed, and 11 areas where bolts go through were de‑cored and filled with glass strips.  Our boom, forebeam, rudders, and anchor platform were taken to Luck Engineering for welding work, and Luck sent a stainless steel guy to start our hand‑rails (2 each side), and swim ladders.  Two joint‑lines on the targa bar were opened up, filled with epoxy mud, and glassed over.

Max fitting his complicated bit of foam to the port foredeck

Week 30, May 14 - 20, 2012:
Max got the entire foredeck foamed in, laying several complicated sheets of foam.  Sue cleaned almost 100 de‑cored holes, then Lek and Kao filled them with epoxy mud and glassed them over.  The back of the targa bar was ground back and reglassed, but some of the glass didn't setup and had to be removed.  Jon epoxied plates into each bathroom to hold our new mixing‑valves.  Houa made good progress on his long foam sheet to replace the shelf in the port fo'c's'l.  Mee trimmed down 8 sheets of foam to raise our swim platforms, and glassed one side of each of them.  Our boom, forebeam, and anchor platform came back from the welder and were stripped of paint, but now we're not sure if we want to repaint them.  Finally, Hem got our port engine put back together and tested.  And we celebrated our 33^rd anniversary at a lovely restaurant on the water, well away from the boatyard!

New foam raising the floor of the starboard swim platform

Week 31, May 21 - 27, 2012:
Our main goal now is to glass in all exposed foam before we leave for the US next week.  We had a lot of rain this week, but still made good progress.  Max managed to glass in most of his exposed foam up in front of the salon.  Kao and Max also (finally) glassed in the back of the cockpit seat and the aft‑deck.  This foam has been exposed for so long that we were getting a bit worried about it, but it seems OK.  The old grab‑rail troughs were ground back and prepped to be filled, and the shelf for the port fo'c's'l got more glass.  Both swim platforms were raised by a good 3" (7.5cm) using 4 sheets of glass‑wrapped foam.  Our machine shop finished our sinks, rudders, and autopilot reduction gear.  They also delivered our swim ladders - they're just tacked together for now, but the shape and hinges look excellent, so grooves were cut in the swim platform floors to hold the ladders when they're up.  Finally, the battery box got a final coat of gelcoat so Jon moved the batteries back into it, and we found a prod we can use to fly some light‑air sails from.  A good week!

Port side grab-rail, above the windows

Week 32, May 28 - 31, 2012:
A short week as we flew back to the US on Thursday, so much of our work was preparing Ocelot for being left alone for a couple of months.  Houa put our sliding entryway door back together so we can close Ocelot up.  Lots of tools and gear was moved to the workshop - then we suddenly got a message that we had to move everything out of the workshop and into a new storage location, which produced a mad panic.  Jon drilled out all of the holes that had been de‑cored earlier, and then drilled out drains for our 2 new compartments up forward.  Luck engineering tacked together the new grab‑rails for the sides of the main cabin and added 2 additional supports to the backrest for the cockpit seat.  Finally, Jon reassembled the batteries in their new compartment, cleaning, greasing and servicing all the connections and then strapping the batteries down to their fancy new rails.

Break while Jon and Sue fly home for Amanda's Graduation, June 1 - August 5, 2012

Houa trimming the port transom & the channels for swim ladder

Week 40, August 6 - 12, 2012:
A bit slow this week as we're still gearing up.  Jon repaired a couple bubbles in the fridge fiberglass and then started the fridge so we can have cold drinks.  He also shredded the skin on his hands raising the back of our huge tent so we can start work on our new rigid bimini.  The instrument console at the helm was cleaned up and reattached.  We removed our headstay and disassembled our jib roller gear so it could be cleaned and checked.  Houa worked on the backs of the transoms, grinding out the channels where the swim ladders will hang when they're down and filling in the rest of the transoms with foam and epoxy mud.  He also rounded the corners of the grooves for the swim ladders and glassed in the port-side grooves.  We used our new laser to determine how much to jack up Ocelot's bows to get her level again, so we can paint on the new waterlines correctly.  Amanda recorded many of Ocelot's dimensions and created a solid model so we can play with different options for our bimini and the steps going down to the swim platforms.  Jon removed the old, broken wiring conduits from the mast in preparation for putting in new conduits.  Golf and Kao filled the old grab‑rail troughs with foam and glassed them over.  They also put another 2 layers of glass on the aft‑deck to strengthen it.

Houa about to shape the new foam on the starboard wall

Week 41, August 13 - 19, 2012:
A good week!  We still need more workers but we're making progress.  Our good friends from Vamp arrived and Kim spent several days helping us with our mast wiring and offering us the benefits of his considerable boat building experience.  For the mast we bought the extra tinned wire we need as well as several lengths of PVC conduit to hold the mast wiring.  The PVC was slit to go up the internal mast tracks, and diamonds were cut out of it to go around the bolts which protrude into the track for the conduit going to the masthead.  Cruising friends have offered us their scooter, so we retrieved it from Yacht Haven at the top of Phuket Island.  This will make it much easier to nip out quickly for tools and supplies.  Sue and Golf bought some more foam and epoxy so we have the immediate supplies we need.  The swim ladder grooves were glassed in and the swim ladder mounting areas were routed out and filled with solid fiberglass.  The walls coming down to the swim platforms had foam sheets epoxied to their tops so they come down at the ends of the swim platforms.  Our new worker, Mee, removed a plywood backing plate from inside the targa bar and replaced it with solid fiberglass.  Then he cut out the shelves to go above our forward port‑lights - our "eyebrows" - and glass wrapped both the supports and the shelves themselves.  We had a good discussion with Golf about money and the future of the project, so we're feeling cautiously optimistic.

Golf & Houa try an interesting variant on curved steps

Week 42, August 20 - 26, 2012:
A productive week, despite lots of rain!  The biggest gain was that the steps inside the sugar‑scoops were started - the step positions were laid out, the steps were designed, the foam was cut and shaped and then fiberglassed.  The mast continued to get polished, and we arranged all the halyards where we want them.  Both walls down to the swim platforms were raised and faired so they come down to the swim platforms correctly.  The mounting areas for the swim ladders were routed out.  Amanda measured up much of Ocelot so she could model some of our additions, like the sugar‑scoop steps and the new bimini, in her 3‑D modeling program, Sketchup.  Mee made progress on the foredeck area, creating gutters for those new hatches.  We used our laser to get Ocelot level, so we can mark out where our waterline is to go (an extremely frustrating project due to Ocelot's asymmetry).  Finally, we started on the bimini project, cutting out 5 frames to shape the bimini foam correctly.

Our finished bimini mold!

Week 43, August 27 - September 2, 2012:
We got rain for the first few days but then glorious sunshine and we accomplished a lot.  Kao and Jeng cleaned the storage lockers under the cockpit.  Both engine hatches were ground back and prepared to receive foam stiffening sheets.  The hollow on the outside of the port sugar‑scoop was filled with a light fairing compound.  On the bimini project, we cut off the old bimini support bars.  While we were at it, we extended the backs of those bars to extend our davits by 7" (18cm) so the dinghy comes up more smoothly.  Once the rain stopped we cut 5 forms for the bimini shape we want and assembled them into a good, strong frame.  Then we bought 6 sheets of foam and laid them up in 2 large layers, with glass on only 1 side.  These will be bonded together to become the new bimini.  On the sugar‑scoop steps, small shelves were installed around the inside of the port sugar‑scoop and the 2 steps were epoxied onto them.  Then the edges were fileted and glassed.  The upper starboard step had to be taken apart and reassembled, as it was originally built as an exact copy of port, not a mirror image.  Then it was trimmed down until it matched the port steps.  Mee installed some cute gutters around the starboard forward hatch, but he kept getting pulled off that project to help elsewhere.

Flipping over a large, wet, sticky, floppy sheet of foam

Week 44, September 3 - 9, 2012:
A good week!  On the bimini, we mounted one foam panel to our wooden frame/mold, leveled the mold, slit the front of the second foam panel so it would bend, and epoxied the second foam panel on top of the first, using tie‑wraps (cable‑ties) and weights to hold the 2 panels together.  Then we trimmed up the edges and put on the first of 4 reinforcing rails, this one across the front.  Golf's team got the shelves for the starboard sugar‑scoop steps mounted and then installed the steps themselves, fileting the edges and glassing them in.  Then they turned their attention to the cockpit, where they glassed in some small bits of exposed foam before starting to rebuild the rims around the teak decks.  Golf started on the targa‑bar, applying gelcoat and filler and then long‑boarding it until it's smooth.  Houa foamed and glassed both of our engine room hatches, which are much stiffer now.  Jon and Amanda measured out where the reinforcing pads for the sugar‑scoop rails need to go and then drilled out 3" (8cm) holes, which Sue then started filling with epoxy and fiberglass.  They also determined where the pad‑eyes for the prod need to go in the bows, and Jon ground out the port side so Sue could start filling it with epoxy and glass reinforcing.

Golf spraying a primer coat of gelcoat on the targa-bar

Week 45, September 10 - 16, 2012:
Most of the activity this week centered on Ocelot's cockpit (for Golf's crew) and on our new bimini (for Team Hacking).  On the bimini, we built up the back where it's going to bolt onto the targa‑bar with fiberglass, and we added 3 strengthening ribs - one on each side and one in the middle.  These were built up with thin glass strips between each layer of foam (which required lots of cleanup with sanding grinders), carefully shaped so they look nice and are easy to grab, and then were covered with 2 thick layers of biaxial glass.  Sue also filled in 9 reinforcing points where we have to bolt into the hulls - 8 for the grab‑rails to go on top of the sugar‑scoop walls and 1 for the portside prod pad‑eye up forward.  Above the cockpit, the top of the targa‑bar was sanded and sprayed with gelcoat.  In the cockpit itself, the process of preparing for the new teak was started.  The borders where the teak will go were built back up with thin glass strips and then gelcoat.  This process has a ways to go.  This was a short week - on Saturday Amanda's university buddies Liz and Monica flew in so we spent the weekend showing them around Phuket.

Poor bimini - all the holes where we injected epoxy

Week 46, September 17 - 23, 2012:
The top of the targa‑bar got polished in preparation for the new bimini.  The cockpit also got some gelcoat work, to prepare it for the new teak.  The bimini got popped off its mold for the first time, but we were concerned about its stiffness, so we drilled about 100 tiny 2mm holes through to the joint between the foam layers and injected almost 3 liters of epoxy into that joint.  We put some filler on the front edge, which was long‑boarded and shaped and then the front was glassed in.  We laid a sheet of glass over the top on the starboard side, but ran out of epoxy to do the port side.  Houa ground out the many screw holes in Ocelot's flanks and filled them with epoxy mud before putting a glass patch over them.  Both port and starboard sugar‑scoops got 3 layers of biaxial glass laid over their walls, the last sheet going all the way under the transoms.  The steps also got a final layer of fiberglass to join them together.  Port side was cut back and shaped to match starboard and then the cuts were glassed over and a final sheet of structural glass was wrapped over the swim‑platform and under the transom.  Finally, we cut away the shelf at the very front of the starboard fo'c's'l to allow access to where the pad‑eye for our new prod will go.  We cut out the inner skin of glass and ground out the foam and old gelcoat so the area is now ready to be reinforced to handle the loads that pad‑eye will see.

Baw checking the fit on a hatch riser after cutting out the holes

Week 47, September 24 - 30, 2012:
A week plagued with bad weather and Golf being out with a head cold, but we still made some progress.  We laid a sheet of glass on top of the port side of the bimini and tested it for strength, but that was about all we could do on the bimini.  Since we've been building the bimini under our neighbor's boat and they're coming back next week, we moved our bimini work area to under Ocelot.  Baw and Houa finished glassing the starboard sugar‑scoop, thereby finishing the structural work on the sugar‑scoops.  Baw tried patching some of the many screw‑holes in Ocelot's flanks but had problems with the epoxy not curing, and many patches had to be ripped out, some of them twice.  Sue did a bit of glassing on the pad‑eye mounts for the prod up in the very bows, but she was worried that the moisture in the air would also affect her epoxy.  Houa cut back the mounting area for the swim‑ladders and then glassed over his cuts, so the ladders will mount flush with the swim‑platform.  Jon discovered some new, softer polishing pads and spent a lot of time removing corrosion pits and grinder marks in polishing the mast.  Sue found some left over paint stripper and used it to take the remainder of the paint off the mast, in those fiddly places that the grinders couldn't reach.  The big news is that Houa and Baw started working on the hatches, cutting the openings and preparing the new foam risers that the hatches will sit on.  They also outlined where the new, larger hatches will go in the forward cabins.  Finally, Golf and Jon met with Num, the new Yard Manager, to work out how business will be conducted at Coconuts in the future.

Jon testing the flex of the new bimini - Nice & strong now!

Week 48, October 1 - 7, 2012:
Work this week focused on the bimini and the foam frames that the 12 deck hatches will sit on.  On the bimini, we cut away the foam and glass at the back on the underside, where it will bolt to the targa bar.  Then Jon carefully ground a nice taper into the foam so there'd be no discontinuity that might create a stress concentration.  We covered the whole underside in a 2^nd layer of biaxial glass and then laid 3 strips of glass across the back bolt surface in increasing widths.  The whole bimini seems much stronger now so we hope we're finished with the structural glass.  On the hatch frames, Baw and Houa carefully epoxied them down to the deck.  Then they punched out the foam where the bolts will go and filled those areas with reinforced "hairy" epoxy mud.  Four of the 5 hatch frames on starboard side have been glassed in with 3 layers of "UD" glass, and all 5 frames on port side are prepped and ready to glass.  We took 2 lengths of anchor chain and 1 anchor to our metal fabricator to be regalvanized.  Sue worked hard cleaning up the hatches themselves and Jon spent his idle time polishing the mast, a job that will continue for some time.

Removing port forward hatch cutout, with old hatch cutout (white)

Week 49, October 8 - 14, 2012:
A rather slow week that centered mostly on the new hatches over our forward cabins.  The hatch locations were laid out and the deck cut away, then the foam hatch rims were constructed and epoxied down.  The foam where the bolts will go, and the foam below the rims in the deck, was dug out and filled with reinforced epoxy mud, but the rims themselves still need to be glassed in.  Sue continued refurbishing the hatches but having to get a root canal on Tuesday slowed her down.  In the evenings Sue worked hard to document all the finances of the refit, what quotes we've received from Golf, what they cover, what payments we've made and what they were supposed to cover, etc.  Jon helped Baw and Houa glass in the remaining hatch rims on port side and then sanded the glass down to allow the hatches to fit nicely.  Otherwise Jon spent most of his time polishing the mast.  We worked out that a new scrubby pad will clean the mottling off the mast, leaving it ready for the Nyalic.  We spent quite a lot of time in meetings, first with Golf and Houa to determine how much more time it will take to finish the work on Ocelot (56 man weeks!) and then going over Sue's financial report with Golf, and finally with the yard management to clear up some issues.  On Friday evening Amanda returned from a month of gallivanting around Thailand with Liz and Monica so we took Saturday off to drive around to the new Krabi marina.

Baw, Amanda, Jon & Houa hoisting the bimini up

Week 50, October 15 - 21, 2012:
Bit of a short week with holidays, the Vegetarian Festival, financial meetings with Golf, and Amanda having to make a visa run, but we made a deal with Baw and Houa that if they finished all the foredeck work (including the fo'c's'ls) by 2 November then we'd give them a $330 bonus, and this has energized them considerably.  We hoisted the bimini up and set it in place so we could see how it fit and start planning the forward supports.  We also glassed split PVC pipe to 3 sides of the bimini to act as bolt‑rope holders for side‑shades and the dodger.  Baw and Houa finished glassing in the last 2 hatch rims and then started on the foredeck, laying a decorative strip of foam on each side just at deck level and filling in the slight dish in both bows with epoxy fairing compound.  Houa shrank the access hole above the new tank area on port so the hatch will clear the shelf that will go above it, and Baw started building the hatch, glassing over a foam mold (some of the foam will be removed later).  We spent all of Friday moving all our junk from Manoon's land to a small apartment we've rented right next to the boatyard.  Golf got us some stainless steel plates to reinforce the new pad‑eyes, and Jon started cleaning up the edges.

Baw's hatch and frame, almost ready to be epoxied in place

Week 51, October 22 - 28, 2012:
We spent 1.5 days helping our neighbors get their mast stepped, lost a couple of worker days to illness, dental work, and the Vegetarian Festival, but we still accomplished some good stuff on Ocelot.  The strips of trim foam on each side of the main cabin got shaped and glassed in.  Houa filled and flattened the decks of both bows and epoxied on their final 2 layers of glass.  Baw finished and installed the port hatch‑frame over our new tank area, as well as the port hatch itself.  He also finished most of the starboard hatch gutters and modified Max's old hatch so it will work.  Amanda spent many hours preparing the stainless steel backing plates for prod's pad‑eyes, before we finished reinforcing the hulls where the pad‑eyes will mount and then epoxied the backing plates in place.  We found where the prod will go and marked the best angle for the pad‑eyes, and we drilled and tapped the mounting holes for the portside pad‑eye.  Once we finished, we gave Houa the go‑ahead to install the shelf in the port fo'c's'l, which got epoxied down but still needs to be glassed in.  Sue spent a lot of time cleaning up our hatches and Jon spent his idle time polishing the mast.

After sanding, a 2nd layer of gelcoat is applied over the filler

Week 52, October 29 - November 4, 2012:
This week Baw and Houa were supposed to finish all of the foredeck work by Friday if they were to collect their $330 bonus.  This included leveling and glassing the tops of both bows, installing the shelf in the port fo'c's'l, repairing the shelf in the starboard fo'c's'l, building both hatches and the supports for those hatches in front of the salon ports, gelcoating the area around the salon ports, and installing and glassing in the steps just above the salon ports.  They made a good try but couldn't finish the gelcoat or the steps, so after a long meeting on Saturday evening we ended up giving them half the bonus we'd talked about.  Jon finished drilling and tapping the holes for the starboard pad‑eye for the prod early (to clear the way for the fo'c's'l work) then moved on to preparing the bimini for gelcoat by sanding the entire outer surface.  He also laid out and drilled the mounting holes in the back of the bimini and bought the hinges and finger‑pulls for the hatches.  Amanda polished up much of the starboard side of the mast (the side currently facing up) and the women sanded a section to prepare it for the Nyalic.  Rachel and Sue cleaned up most of Ocelot's woodwork (doors, etc) at our storage unit, and Sue cleaned up many of the deck hatches to prepare them to get new acrylic and new gaskets.

Baw sanding new gelcoat in front of the unglassed starboard shelf

Week 53, November 5 - November 11, 2012:
The big accomplishment this week was that Houa glassed in the 2 shelves above the forward salon ports.  To do this, Baw first had to finish the gelcoat work under the shelves, in front of the ports.  Baw also finished the gelcoat work on top of the targa‑bar and put gelcoat filler around that foredeck area and the underside of the bimini and started sanding it smooth.  One of those forward ports had to go to the machine shop to get the bolts removed, as they were solidly stuck.  Houa spent much of the week sanding the edge of the deck, cleaning up where it joins the toe‑rail and making sure the deck is flat.  Houa also cut out and trimmed down all 12 sheets of acrylic for our hatches.  Amanda accomplished a lot of polishing on the mast, and even more on the boom - only one of the 4 sides of the boom still needs polishing.  And on the mast we did a finish sanding and applied our first layer of Nyalic on a test‑section just above the first spreader.  The hinges and finger‑pulls for the 2 new hatches were laid out, drilled and de‑cored, and Houa filled them with epoxy mud so they can be tapped.  Jon replaced a broken davit block and mounted it to its stainless steel plate.  Sue and Rachel organized and inventoried much of the gear on Ocelot and moved several items to the storage unit.  Finally, Barak Obama won the US Presidential election (to much relief here) and Amanda got scooter driving lessons and now there's no stopping her.

Drilling & tapping mounting holes for the main-sheet track

Week 54, November 12 - November 18, 2012:
A slow week, as Houa couldn't work on Monday and Friday, and Baw quit the team on Tuesday (we eventually found that Golf hadn't paid him).  Our Nyalic test worked well, but then Amanda went off gallivanting around Cambodia with a friend.  Baw spread a bit of gelcoat on the cabin‑top, but later we found this is not the good quality isophthalic gelcoat that we'd paid for.  Golf had taken our $1,000 but only bought cheap gelcoat, and presumably pocketed the difference.  Houa made good progress in the galley, building the front facade and lowest shelf for the sink cabinet.  Jon mounted the hinges and finger‑pulls on the 2 forward hatches in front of the main cabin, and trimmed the edges of the hatches down so they clear the water‑catching gutters under them.  Jon also worked on the targa‑bar, finding the center‑line, putting the solar panels back, mounting 3 sets of blocks and their mounting plates, and drilling and tapping all of the mounting holes for the main‑sheet track.  Sue sanded another section of the mast, so it's almost ready for Nyalic, but she also put in a huge amount of work on a big spreadsheet of our costs for this refit.  From this we were able to determine very accurately how much Golf has spent on Ocelot - about $30,000 or roughly half of what we've paid him.  We had some long conversations with Golf about what has happened with the rest of our money but we're not sure he really understands what will happen if he fails us, or how successful he'll be if he makes us happy.

Rolling the epoxy into the 2 glass strips under the port hull

Week 55, November 19 - November 25, 2012:
Bit of a slow week as Golf never showed up, Baw only worked 2½ days because Golf didn't pay him, and Houa had commitments on our neighbor's boat for a few days.  Our big accomplishment was laying 2 strips of biaxial glass down the entire length of both hulls, to bond the joint‑lines from the outside.  To do this, Jon had to grind off the old antifouling and gelcoat from 4 places where supports had been placed to make sure Ocelot didn't fall over (Ocelot sits happily on her keels and needs no other support).  Jon also sanded many other areas of the hull to smooth them down a bit, and he spent more time polishing the mast.  Sue did a lot of sanding and paint stripping on the mast and was able to apply Nyalic to finish the area between the first and second spreaders.  Jon drilled the holes for the deck‑fills for our new forward tanks and de‑cored them so Houa could fill in where the balsa was with epoxy mud.  Houa worked all week on the sink cabinet in the galley, which is more complicated than any of us realized.  Baw spread gelcoat filler and sanded it smooth on the underside of the bimini.  Thursday was our Thanksgiving and Sue prepared a sumptuous feast (with only a microwave) which we shared with our Aussi neighbors.  We talked to another contractor to get prices for finishing the antiskid and gelcoat on the decks, since Golf isn't answering his phone.

A frenzy of activity all over Ocelot's decks

Week 56, November 26 - December 2, 2012:
The week started off slowly but really took off at the end, with the arrival of several more workers.  The big news is that we met with Golf and got him to sign a letter of what payments we'd made to him.  We also gave him a copy of our graph that shows what has been spent on Ocelot - about half of what we've given him.  After ripping us off like that, he had the gall to ask us to pay him for his time, even though he couldn't explain where $30,000 of our money went.  Houa spent the week working on the galley sink cabinet - apparently it's much more complicated than we thought.  Baw worked on the bimini, removing a bad bump and smoothing the whole surface with gelcoat filler.  Jon continued polishing our spars and also ground out and glassed up some whale damage from 2007.  We celebrated Loy Krathong by helping launch our neighbors and good friends, and setting our little offering adrift.  Sue dug out the hinges and latches for our deck hatches and started cleaning them - several will need to go the our stainless worker for some welding.  Sue also spent time cleaning up the toe‑rails, although we're not sure what we're going to do with them.  E‑U's team of 3 workers started on Friday and immediately started sanding the deck and applying gelcoat filler to smooth it out.  Mike and Wiwat came to tell them what's needed.  We cut some sections of large PVC pipe to use as sanding forms, so we get a consistent radius on the transitions from cabin to deck.  But a batch of gelcoat on Friday didn't harden so all of Saturday (and Monday and Tuesday) was taken up with trying to remove it from 3 areas, an ugly job.  We chose our color for the deck (a warm off‑white, now dubbed Ocelot White) and sent the color sample to the gelcoat manufacturers, but Jon realized that the targa‑bar will have to be re‑sprayed so he started removing all the hardware he'd mounted up there.  We also started looking at teak decks to see how we want our cockpit rebuilt.

Removing gelcoat goo with acetone and wire brushes

Week 57, December 3 - December 9, 2012:
The week started off by continuing to clean off the gelcoat goo that didn't harden from Friday, an ugly job that continued through Tuesday.  Our friends on Vamp gave us a hand on Monday, which was very appreciated, but then the anchorage got rough and they left.  Houa finished assembling the galley sink cabinet but it still needs trim and finish work.  Amanda came back from Cambodia but she seems to have picked up some sort of low grade bug and couldn't help much.  Most of the work was laying down more polyester filler and sanding it smooth.  Putting the correct radius on the corners, like around the hatches or where the cabin meets the deck, takes a lot of time and patience, but it's difficult to tell these guys that the decks are already very flat and they only need a tiny amount of filler.  Baw finished wet‑sanding the bimini to 240 grit and will now move up to the deck as he understands what we want.  The bimini is looking very nice and is now ready to be sprayed with its final coats of gelcoat.  Sue spent a lot of time sanding the toe‑rail and is almost finished with it.  She also delivered our headsail to Rolly Tasker for cleaning and picked up our new $1,000 headstay as well as our old headliners (which still need work).  When Jon wasn't running out to get supplies for the guys he was polishing our new prod, which was in terrible shape, or hunting for better quality electrons and building a heavy duty cord to reach them.  Our stainless steel workers from Luck Engineering came and fitted our new grab‑rails along the sides of the main cabin and the reinforced backrest for the cockpit seat.  They fit perfectly and look gorgeous, but their rails for the sugar‑scoop walls didn't have the pads in the correct places so they'll need to be reworked - a shame because they're all polished up and look beautiful.  Mike from Wiwat came by on Saturday and noted that the workers are creating work for themselves so we feel better directing them more firmly.

Lek & Baw use a bendy rod to see how much filler will be needed

Week 58, December 10 - December 16, 2012:
A pretty good week!  We had 6 workers from E‑U's team plus Baw and Houa working pretty much all week.  First job was to sand areas of rough fiberglass, then any areas that weren't flat got polyester filler and were sanded flat and smooth.  Nut made excellent progress on the many complex surfaces around the entryway.  Bank put a ton of time into trying to make our aft cockpit wall smooth and flat, but it's not there yet.  Baw has taken over as one of our team leaders (the other is Chai) and seems to have taken a personal interest in making sure Ocelot is done as well as possible, which is certainly gratifying to see.  He spent most of his time on the port sugar‑scoop, filling, fairing, sanding, and checking.  The outer wall has a big hollow in it which needed a lot of filling and still needs a lot of sanding.  Chai is nominal team leader for E‑U's workers but he spent most of his time on the starboard sugar‑scoop, making good progress.  Song worked up on the foredeck, which is a big job given all the complex curves up there.  Pooton worked under Ocelot, sanding back the bad gelcoat on the helm seat and then going after the louvers for our side windows.  Sue spent much of the week sanding the mast and cleaning up deck hardware - hinges, latches, pad‑eyes, etc - and checking what needs to be repaired, but she also sanded the grooves for the swim ladders.  She even got some more of the mast coated in Nyalic.  Jon hooked up a new high‑capacity electrical line so the tools get better voltage, and rewired the power input to Ocelot so we get simultaneous 110v and 220v power, removed the solar panels from the targa‑bar, put up awnings on 3 sides of our tent so we get more shade to work in, removed some stuck hardware from the helm seat, and he bought 2 new sanders so we don't have to pay the high rates (7%/day!) to rent them from the yard.  Houa essentially finished his work in the galley, finalizing the sink and its trim, building and mounting a new drawer, and fitting new hinges for our rubbish bin.  Mike from AME Marine came by to discuss progress and took our hatches off to be powder‑coated.  Amanda was our polishing queen, working long hours with mask and grinder on the aluminum spars -- the prod, forebeam and mast.  She also worked up computer graphics for several versions of teak for the cockpit.

Jon using our laser to mark out our antifouling paint line

Week 59, December 17 - December 23, 2012:
It was a week of attacking some big areas that need lots of work.  Baw and Lek spent most of the week on the port sugar‑scoop, which needs the most attention, while Chai worked on the starboard sugar‑scoop.  Both needed a lot of fairing of the outside walls to blend them into Ocelot's hulls.  Luk's men came and told us to mount the pads for the stern rails, and then the walls could be finished.  When the walls are finished, they'll come back to weld up the rails in situ.  Nut worked on the many walls around the entryway, an area that was completely rebuilt so needs a lot of cosmetic work.  Bank struggled with the aft cockpit seat but hasn't made much progress.  Song started the week working on the foredeck but couldn't take direction so he has left the team.  We've been promised 2 replacements but they haven't shown up yet.  Houa finished his work in the galley and moved to other salon projects, replacing: some floor supports, the top step to the starboard hull, the access door for a salon storage area, and the teak board under our front window.  Houa also sliced a slot into the bolt‑rope holders on 3 sides of the bimini.  The slots were then sanded smooth and the bimini was moved out in front of Ocelot so some soft gelcoat could be removed.  The holes in the cabin‑top where the bimini supports used to come down were filled, glassed, sanded, and covered in filler.  The 2 diesel and 2 water fill holes were drilled out and sealed with epoxy.  Sue continued working on many small projects, overseeing the team, photography, and the projects finances.  Jon used our laser to draw in the antifouling paint line on both sides of both sugar‑scoops so the polyester filler could be removed below that line.  Amanda continued polishing our spars, and finished our new prod.  We threw the workers a beer and chips party Saturday afternoon, and gave Baw a raise because of his dedication to Ocelot's rebuilding.

Baw spraying gelcoat on the outside of the port sugar-scoop

Week 60, December 24 - December 30, 2012:
A short week for us as we took almost 2 days off for Christmas with our friends on s/v Vamp, but the guys (mostly Muslim) worked all week.  Baw masked most of the foredeck and sprayed Thai gelcoat over many areas, to make sure surfaces were appropriately finished.  Houa made excellent progress, finishing several floor supports and the top step to the starboard hull and most of the headliners for the bathrooms.  Jon seemed to spend most of the week on the scooter, running errands and shopping for boat bits.  We got 2 new workers - Jack worked under Ocelot, finishing the top of the bimini and also sanding many small bits - hatches, access panels, louvers and such.  Yoong finished filling and sanding the targa bar to prepare it for gelcoating next week and moved on to the cockpit.  Baw and Lek wet‑sanded the port sugar‑scoop to a nice shape and finish.  Chai continued with the starboard sugar‑scoop.  He's a little behind Baw so has to match Baw's shape.  Nut and Bank spent most of their time sanding the fiddly bits on the main cabin.  Sue played Project Manager, carefully running herd on all the action.  Max visited and was awarded one of our new Ocelot Refit Team T‑shirts.

Thai Refit: Up | Rebuild Decks | Extend Transoms | Cockpit Area | Below Waterline | Bimini | Spars | Deck Hardware | Exterior Lockers | Salon | Galley | Cabins | Heads | Interior Floors | Electrical | Maintenance | Weekly Logs 2012 | Weekly Logs 2013

Ocelot Pages: Ocelot Layout | Ocelot's Deck | Cockpit Photos | Inside Ocelot | Kronos 45 Specs | Modifications | Refrigeration | Venezuela Haul Out | Tonga Haul Out | Thai Refit

Top Level: Home | Destinations | Cruising Info | Underwater | Boat Guests | Ocelot | Sue | Jon | Amanda | Chris | Site Map | Make a Comment

---

Lifetime Commodores of the Seven Seas Cruising Association

If our information is useful, you can help by making a donation

Copyright © 2000‑  Contact: Jon and Sue Hacking -- HackingFamily.com, svOcelot.com.  All rights reserved.