A quick stop leak fix on a yachts exhaust water trap

The idea was to dress the area off with epoxy and 410 gram woven 45/45 biaxial glass cloth but as soon as the leak was inspected it was clear that epoxy was not going to bond to it while still damp.

The boat needs to be in service a few hours soon, removal of the water trap was not really what was wanted, the hole is quite small, so what can we close it off with as a temporary fix?

The answer was easy tofind and already on the boat, two large stainless hose clamps were joined to make one that was larger, a spare cork sanding block was the other component, such cork is quite flexible and its also water proof.

If the leak had of been larger a second or third clamp would have been put in place.

A proper repair will be another job for the rainy days?

Roy

The run in the bay was about three hours doing around 1600 rpm , the fix worked and not a drop of water leaked out, so another dry bilge day!

How to repair a wooden door with a rotten lower cill

This will not be the same in all cases but when the lower part of this door showed signs of wet rot I removed the door, turned it over and then removed the rotten wood.

This is the door and after repair with our epoxy and a mix of micro balloons and fumed silica powders. The door has been repainted with Plascon Paints really nice oil based paint.

The rotten wood was removed from the back of the door and just up to the painted face of the door, then filled with a mix of epoxy and filler powders, then a backer of 12mm okoume marine ply offcut was clamped into place, no fasteners of any sort were used.

Works fine!

Epoxy kits can be either posted of sent by courier to you, the cost is R420.00 Vat Inc, plus post and package.

Roy

Car wheel balance, how to do it correctly

A friend has bought a really nice all wheel drive Volvo estate, its just about perfect but in spite of having the wheels balanced twice, there continues to be a vibration between 70 to 80mph, read how the problem was solved!

Nice story.

Roy

Hi Roy,

I mentioned the other day that my wheels were out of balance in spite of me just having them done? Well, today I went to a small owner run business, just the owner and his son and they had been going for 25-years. What the son did made the other lot look like amatures.

First he took the wheels off then placed them on a rig and proceeded to dig all the small stones out of the tyre treads. Then he took a flat blade and scraped all the dry mud from the inside of the alloy wheels and there was quite a lot of this and as he said when this is wet it can put the balance right out. Then he put them on the balance machine and added weights where the laser beam told him to. I decided to have the back wheels done too and the total was 24-quid. The balance machine costs £6-grand so he has to do a lot of wheels at 6-quid a wheel to cover that price. I then took the car up the M1 and give it a blast to 90-mph and it was perfect, so a proper job done this time.

Notty.

British Seagull outboard restoration

This motor should have been out of here some months back but the replacement petrol tank from the UK has yet to arrive, we have a postal strike in South Africa, I assume that is the problem?

To have the motor ready for the customer I removed a tank of a spare motor, only to find and after I resprayed it that the fuel exit is on the opposite side of the tank, which means I have fitted the tank back to front.

Check the pin next to the flywheel, that is one of the two grounding pins on the back of the tank for allowing you to rest the motor on hard ground.

Not the worst problem I suppose?

Roy

Cleaning old paints off with a bead blaster

Once was the time when any paint cleaning was normally done with paint removers and  lots of down time while I waited and then had to wash clean, no longer is this the case.

A spare South African assembled 1967 Hillman Imp speedo pod, in stock and perfect for restoration.

Work completed and in the cabinet.

Inside area was also cleaned up, special attention being given to the threaded rods.

Back to new and ready for the DTM black spray painting later today.

Job has been done and it was a fine day for spraying paint. This was the first application, after which the paint was wet sanded with 600 grit fine paper before the final coats were applied.

The instrument that fits inside is special, its an export issue and in kilometers as the Hillman Californian which came off the assembly line in February 3rd 1967 in Scotland was then exported to Mozambique.

Roy

The best chrome plating in the country?

Of that I suspect so,  much depends on any number of issues and what the metal looked like to start with? In this case the Hillman Imp front and rear bumpers were not too bad, they were still over forty years old though.

Rob holds up one of his two re chromed bumpers, he was lucky we had a nice set of overiders to fit as well, also re chromed and to the same high standard.

Quality like this does not come cheap, as Rob!  Even the cost of delivery was more than I paid to re chrome the front and rear bumpers on my 1966 Jaguar 3.8ltr S type, I suppose its called inflation as that was over thirty years ago.

Note that center hole for an engine starting crank handle, was the Hillman Imp the last car made in Great Britain with a hand crank starting?

The car will be back from the trimmers soon, the bumpers will be fitted then.

Fellow Imp Club members in the UK tell me that the finish is better than the original Rootes Car Co product.

Roy

More HBYC marina upgrades

The process of maintainance on the HBYC marina is an ongoing event, as mentioned most works are sub sea so not readily visible, not so with the new walkway bridge and landing.

Brand new planks were installed yesterday, ready for the summer season and the arrival of the world cruising yachts.

Out with the old and in with the new.

The clubs launch is a real workhorse, used for placing bouys and by the divers when doing the annual chain maintainance.

Roy

The DS 15 sport boat foil

This was a foil that we laminated and then CNC shaped the required profile into, the rudder also.

We then packed and shipped to Jim the customer who did his own final shaping and glass works, we supplied the glass and epoxy also.

Jim made a nice job and finish, the main kit for the boat is now with him and we can look forward to pictures of the build as he progresses.

Roy

Vintage and classic car restoration in Cape Town, RSA

A use for Superform bending plywood was shown to me by a customer when I was making a delivery  to him recently, the mock up of an old sports tourer had the seat buckets made from Superform bending plywood.

The car my delivery was to be used on was in much better condition and is due to be at a classic car show in just two weeks, its a Riley by the way.

Check the roll of 3mm Superform cross grain on the right, I rolled it up for ease of delivery and handling. I expect it will also be used for seats and also making light weight panels.

There are a number of these cars most just as a bare chassis, the request to CNC produce a Roadster Touring body was discussed, we would need a buyer of course, any takers out there?

Roy