Another Cockroach
More maintenance. Today I emptied the forepeak for cleaning and leak tracking.
In the bottom of the forepeak was roach #2. Thankfully very dead in a little puddle of saltwater. I presume that at some point he came on board with fruit or vegetables which are normally stored in the forepeak.
It looks as though deckhead leaks are going to be a problem as the teak deck ages. I decided to check as many areas as I could reach. This headlining above the heads clothing locker is very neat but difficult to remove given minimal clearance. There were no leaks but opposite on the starboard side was another leak.
With hindsight teak decking is not a good idea. It looks and feels lovely but during installation a perfectly watertight deck is turned into a sieve as many holes are drilled to secure the decking. These holes are not sealed and the decking screws self tap into GRP. Another problem with teak is that in the tropics it becomes too hot to walk on.
Chain locker. The windlass motor is just visible at the top.
Another teak deck hole. Not visible here but the results clearly are. The hole is right above the motor and ipossible to reach without removing the entire windlass. Salt water has dripped onto the motor causing extensive corrosion.
My solution was to attempt to force some filler into the hole, clean and grease the motor and install a plastic cover (half a large water bottle) to divert water from the motor.
Forepeak showing windlass wiring and a leaking pulpit securing bolt.
Pulpit securing bolt with starboard side light wire. The pulpit was repaired and reinstalled by Northshore prior to delivery in August 2005. It leaked in two ways, through the hole in the deck and through the hollow bolt.
It is difficult to seal as the GRP surface is not flush and the pulpit pads are very small. I resealed it again in Gijon in October 2006 but it still leaked. A proper solution would involve sitting the pulpit on teak deck pads and trying to create a flush surface on the deckhead. Meantime I sealed it again
In the bottom of the forepeak was roach #2. Thankfully very dead in a little puddle of saltwater. I presume that at some point he came on board with fruit or vegetables which are normally stored in the forepeak.
It looks as though deckhead leaks are going to be a problem as the teak deck ages. I decided to check as many areas as I could reach. This headlining above the heads clothing locker is very neat but difficult to remove given minimal clearance. There were no leaks but opposite on the starboard side was another leak.
With hindsight teak decking is not a good idea. It looks and feels lovely but during installation a perfectly watertight deck is turned into a sieve as many holes are drilled to secure the decking. These holes are not sealed and the decking screws self tap into GRP. Another problem with teak is that in the tropics it becomes too hot to walk on.
Chain locker. The windlass motor is just visible at the top.
Another teak deck hole. Not visible here but the results clearly are. The hole is right above the motor and ipossible to reach without removing the entire windlass. Salt water has dripped onto the motor causing extensive corrosion.
My solution was to attempt to force some filler into the hole, clean and grease the motor and install a plastic cover (half a large water bottle) to divert water from the motor.
Forepeak showing windlass wiring and a leaking pulpit securing bolt.
Pulpit securing bolt with starboard side light wire. The pulpit was repaired and reinstalled by Northshore prior to delivery in August 2005. It leaked in two ways, through the hole in the deck and through the hollow bolt.
It is difficult to seal as the GRP surface is not flush and the pulpit pads are very small. I resealed it again in Gijon in October 2006 but it still leaked. A proper solution would involve sitting the pulpit on teak deck pads and trying to create a flush surface on the deckhead. Meantime I sealed it again