Yard 3; Part 2 with pics...

[Deep C]

Been a while since an update. had a couple days of tollerable weather... Not great but tollerable enough to move forward...

A whole lot of shiny going on!
The Big girl...


The middle girl...


Even my girl... Went from this.......

To this...



This hasn't been without its down falls. Recall a week or so ago I fell out of the tower? Well I promise that rod holders are rough on jeans on the way down...


Then we have some of that un seen shit that can make a simple trip to the yard no so simple any more... This rudder bearing hasn't budged in years. Instead my post has just been rubbing against it to make the turns... As you can see in this shot it had to be cut out of the boat. Almost every piece back in that section had to...


Then we get to the high dollar stuff that makes my butt pucker to buy but sure looks good when its done...
Our new 8 man solas A life raft...Has found her place up high and dry...


No boat is really right without a fresh poly carbonate shield keeping us out of the elements or opened up piece by piece if we rather...


Then we get to the slick new steering toys. A22 shaft on 316 stainless, beveled and honed... gonna be a ***** keeping fingerprints off... Who says gold is the most expensive metal?

[Avenger]

Then we have some of that un seen shit that can make a simple trip to the yard no so simple any more... This rudder bearing hasn't budged in years. Instead my post has just been rubbing against it to make the turns... As you can see in this shot it had to be cut out of the boat. Almost every piece back in that section had to...

Holy rustbucket Deepman, is that steel?

I'm not familiar with the way your rudder bearings are set up, but ferrous metals in salt water don't seem too good to me. Is that the support on the rudder shelf, or something else?

Looks like an expensive cost saver. I would have expected better from Albemarle.

[Deep C]

Holy rustbucket Deepman, is that steel?

I'm not familiar with the way your rudder bearings are set up, but ferrous metals in salt water don't seem too good to me. Is that the support on the rudder shelf, or something else?

Looks like an expensive cost saver. I would have expected better from Albemarle.

Worse... It's Viking!!!
Yep that the factory side upper. Mounted with steel bolts (not even stainless). Tiller arms were shot also mounted with steel on bronze...
The other side had been replaced with equally bad plastic.

Got some fancy european alloy ones like they put in those fancy go fast yachts going in now. Nice fresh bronze where its needed and the top shelf rudders as mentioned above.

At this point in fifteen months we have basically schanged every last thing that moves or conducts elctricity or that you can see inside and out on this boat... I have a running several page inventory of every system and object on that boat... I'll post it when we get back running full steam and I think the whole world will be shocked... I also think it will show that we are close to having the single finest 43/45 Viking currently on the water...

[Avenger]

I think I'll keep my Hatteras. 40 years ago they knew better than to use plain steel for the steering, or anything else for that matter.

Good luck with the work. No doubt she'll be top-notch when she's done. I'm looking forward to your updates.

[nautiduck]

Avenger I think thats off the Viking. Isnt that the one he sheared the rudder off?

[jawz12]

Avenger I think thats off the Viking. Isnt that the one he sheared the rudder off?

you're correct,that's from the viking...
trust me,viking's are not what they're made out to be...

[Deep C]

This boat was built during a "restructuring period". Pretty sure she was a "make work" afterthought... As I have been going through that boat inch by square inch, I see things one would never associate with Viking.
Although she's officially a 1996 model I'm reasonably sure that was only when they laid the hull. I have found parts from as old as 1994 that I guess they had laying around to stuff that was set up for her specifically as recently as July 1998. Each and every original piece in her is marked with hull number and when it was readied to be installed.
Some things were indeed very Viking while others like this rudder system were just flat out slapped in there. I can see "make work evidence" . The cabinet maker must have been milking this. For example... Behind where the TV was mounted there was a sheet of plywood that served no purpose. Stranger yet was that he ran like 50 screws into the plywood ... I guess to make it sound like he was working...

[Avenger]

Avenger I think thats off the Viking. Isnt that the one he sheared the rudder off?

Thanks, I figured that out when Deep said:

Worse... It's Viking!!!

Now we begin to understand why the rudders break off.

[Bligh]

you're correct,that's from the viking...
trust me,viking's are not what they're made out to be...

Do you know why? If all the screw ups and serets ever all came out at once?? the skeleton pile would kill us all/ I still can not believe they are balsa coring their hulls in polyester resin for 15 years now. I also heard those 200+ boats with bad gel coat are on their own now since viking is not going to be reimbursed by the gelcoat company$$$$$$ 300,000 a pop

[Deep C]

Thanks, I figured that out when Deep said:

Now we begin to understand why the rudders break off.

We went Sherloc Holmes one the rudder bust... For me it was a first but more common than I thought. Combination of a lot of thing and that killer of all killers... time. Aside from the crap hardware they used up top, thedissimilar metals and non top grade sets up a "battery" from the beginning.
A19 stainless shaft is ok but far from to shelf. It begins to pit after relatively short time. These pits eat at packing and promotes leaking. More water intrusion means more corrosion and the dissimilar metals in running water bring tiny bits of electrolysis even in a well bonded system.
To make thse rudders fit and turn in the lower end some engineer came up with a "cut" to make it work. Now we have all these elements etching at the foundation. The uppers at top allow some wobble. More "working" and providing fatigue.
Now when this boat was built. They weren't "designed" to be 30 knot runners. They were older style hulls that ran at say 22-24 knots. They crammed in as many ponies as they could fit and got em to go fast. Left at the gate was old design rudders that lacked hydro dynamics for higher spped. Cavitation and flex being the result. Go long enough flexing metal and it gives way.