To The Water, Mate!

We have been spending many hours over the last month making and sewing cushions, upholstery, curtains, and mattress covers.

This photo is of the cushions made and upholstered for the dinette, which also folds down into another bed. We added another inch to the original cushions to add more comfort.





We custom designed a V-shaped mattress for the Berth using a queen sized memory foam mattress we were able to cut the mattress diagonally along the bias, flip on side of the mattress to meet the other one at the angle, then made a custom cover that would allow the mattress to be folded up in half should we have to try to get it back out of the door.


The upper and lower bunks were made of memory foam 4" thick and upholstered with asian themed material which contains clouds and, of course, dragons. By removing the straps of this top bunk from the ceiling, we can drop it down to become the back of a "settee" with the lower bunk being the base.

Beneath the lower bunk is the black water tank, the macerator pump, water pump and plumbing.





This photo is another shot of the dinette, but of the other end. Howard loves to have lots of photos, even if many of them are alike. He wanted to take photos every single day to post on here, but you really can't take photos of some of the things we do like wiring - especially when I am the one doing the job but I am also the one usually taking the photos. Can't seem to figure out how to take a photo of me working somehow.

Dinette was upholstered with a soft brown leatherette material that is mildew and moisture resistant.


We used a futon mattress as the cushions of the main salon settee, it provides the right slant for the back and is comfortable to sit on. Here I am working on the computer, waiting for the signal to get back to work.










We purchased a bunch of wood pulleys and blocks on Ebay to rig our sails and lazy jack systems. Took several days for Howard to learn the techniques for braiding and splicing the rope but he did a great job. Unfortunately for us, we had to take both masts back down to rig it. However, while they were down, I gave them another coat of waterproofing and paint. We also replaced the mast light and installed the necessary all around light required by the Coast Guard.



Can't believe the price they get just for rope! We tried to reuse the small rope on the front mast for the small sail, but now we think we better replace it for new rope as when we used a chunk of it one time, it broke too easily. Don't want that to happen when trying to raise or lower the sail!

The schedule "lift off" to put the boat into the water was for Saturday morning. However, at the last minute the marina owner decided that it would go in on Friday around noon. Next, of course, we waited and waited. Finally they brought the lift over at 5PM! Everyone who had seen us working on the boat, including the local newspapers, had planned to be there to watch the boat enter the water on Saturday and were pretty mad that they changed the time and date without telling anyone and everyone missed it except for the few that happened to be around the marina on Friday afternoon. Here the lift is being maneuvered into place to lift her up.

There were a lot of "onlookers" to "help" get Chut Loon into the slings and remove all of the supports. After it was placed into the sling, Howard had to paint the few spots that could not be reached when the supports were on the boat - under the support pads and the very bottom of the keel.







Chut Loon lined up to be lifted.

Darkness falls as we head for the channel. We had the agreement that we would leave the boat in the sling overnight just in case we have any major leaks or problems.










Getting hard to see what is happening now, not a good time to do this if you want photos, but what did they care?











The agreement to leave it in the sling, of course, also went down the tubes, because the marina owner watched as we entered the water and we were not taking on much water, only some slight seepage in the main bulkhead. Soooo....he just kept on walking the boat on out of the slings without even telling us or getting our agreement to do so! Luckily, they were right that Howard and I had done a fantastic job of caulking as we never had more than 2 inches of water seep into the bilge at any time!! And this boat had not seen water in almost 10 years!!!


After getting fueled up by local marine fuel distributor the next day, our friend Curt helped us move the boat out and into a slip nearby where we would stay a few days and make sure the seepage wouldn't get worse. Howard watches as Curt tries to back into the slip..however, this boat is so big that we bottomed out trying to back it in, so we turned around and came in head first. That was better anyways, as there would be no way to get off the poop deck and onto the dock if we backed it in.




The next Wednesday, it was time to take Chut Loon on a three hour excursion from Pequoson to Fort Monroe, where we have a lease on a slip. Our daughter Courtney came along for the cold ride, and Howard was in his prime at the helm with the watchful eye of Curt advising him on how to read currents, etc. Susan was not going to freeze her butt off so stayed inside the cabin where the heat was on.




Susan comes out to check on the status of how long the ride will be - maybe she'll take a nap in the berth and keep warm under the covers?



Was afraid Susan's motion sickness would act up but luckily no problems. Went back inside to wait for the time to help with docking.







The sun was shining, but don't they look COLD?














OKAY! We got docked okay with Curt's help and Courtney's of course, pretty easy with four people on hand. Since then we have found that three people minimum is really needed to handle this monster at docking and undocking. We have done it once so far with just the two of us, that was very difficult, but with practice we'll figure out the easiest way.









Time to practice driving, docking and undocking, over and over again.












Come in nice and easy now, SLOWLY, don't use too much helm.....












Howard checks on clearance - getting ready to take it out again.











Turning around, practice, practice, practice.














Nice view of the boat name. I need to add a few more dragons around the outside until I reach the needed seven, as "Chut Loon" means "seven dragons" - currently she has three. One on each forward deck support and a large one now in front of the small mast.










Another photo from when we were sitting in the Pequoson channel first day in the water. Dinghy riding on top.











Curt took us out on a three hour tour of the Chesapeake Bay on our first day out. After sitting for so long, and with just an all over fluid change, filter changes, and a couple small repairs, the big Mack 150 engine fired right up and runs very smooth.

Curt gave us the first training lesson on our own boat. We thank him for all his time and effort as well as Frank and Doreen Schooley for their time and company while in Florida, and being patient enough to answer our many, many, emails with questions on just about everything.





Photo of boat at noon, day of launch. Plenty of sunshine for photos then.













Right before lift off and launch.











Final view before launch.

We hope to have a lot of fun with this boat. Just got in the electronics to put on it, so now has installed Garmin chartplotter, depth finder, speed, etc. That will be something for Howard to play with and gives Susan peace of mind of not hitting the bottom and getting stuck.

We have slept on the boat several nights and love the soft rocking of the waves to sleep.

Sorry it took so long to update this blog...so much going on. Now with winter setting in, we won't be able to do to much on it and I don't like going out in it in the cold bitting wind. Will keep in touch on our next excursion. Thanks for Reading.

Florida Training Session - With Dolphins!

We took a "training" trip to Florida the last week of October, to visit our friends Frank, Doreen, and Kate Schooley and their chinese junk, the Concubine.

Frank and Doreen were so gracious as to welcome us to their home and give us hands-on training for sailing a junk. We really enjoyed learning so much about these wonderful boats, and most of all the 8-10 dolphins that swam along our bow for over an hour!



There was even a nice little baby dolphin swimming alongside his momma that kept crossing our bow, what a wonderful day!



Howard goes to the front to help Kate lower the main sail. For a while, Kate was hanging over the side of the boat playing with all the small jellyfish that seemed to be everywhere in Charlotte Bay.

Frank was very informative about how to raise and lower the traditional sails of the junk and their construction. Especially noteworthy was the unique rigging for these traditional sails.






Howard checks out rigging construction and digs for more information from Frank and Doreen. Howard watched everything intently and took lots of pictures related to the construction of the sails and all rigging.

Susan watches intently as Frank describes sail construction and points out materials used for sails, battens, and rigging of the fore sail and main sail. Next Frank trained us on how to reef the sails and how to use them to get the best wind.

Howard even got a turn at the helm, which brought out the little schoolboy in him.

Frank demonstrates rigging on the fore sail.

Frank at the helm, Doreen supplied a wonderful lunch for everyone. We will never forget our day in Charlotte Bay with our new wonderful friends and the dolphins.

As we ended our visit, we were supprised when Frank and Doreen gave us a wonderful box full of "treasures" for our boat, including a windlass, anchor parts, decorative brass items and more.

We are very appreciative of everything the Schooley family has done for us, the numerous emails exchanged before we even met, discussing the unique attributes and possible frustrations in owning and sailing a unique boat, the chinese junk.

Thanks for a wonderful training session!

We will cherish this experience forever, again many, many thanks to the Schooley family and the family of dolphins that travelled with us.

A FANTASTIC TRIP!

I Would "Rudder" Be Sailing!

Our horse trailer has worked out wonderfully as a storage unit while working on the boat. We don't have to trip over everything while we are working this way. We ARE still trying to sell it though, since we no longer have horses and it won't haul the boat.








Now it was time to work on the rudder which was missing. The original solid teak rudder was thought to be still around the marina by the marina's owner, but could not be found. Thoughts are now that either hurricane Isabel took it a few years ago, or somebody got a nice five-finger discount!

The new rudder has been welded up and the diamond shaped holes cut into it with a plasma cutter by local man for us. Next a special metal epoxy was applied before painting to help fend of corrosion and metalurgic erosion in the sea.




First, Howard formed a metal "shoe" to run along the front of the prow and keel to protect the front of the boat from damage against unknown obstacles along the bottom of the sea channels.











A close look at the new rudder. Thoughts had gone into making it out of stainless steel, but quotes were around $1,200.00! People want you to pay for full sheets of stainless and regular steel even if you only use a portion of it, and they plan to keep the leftovers to use but charge the next guy for full sheets also, what a rip-off. So, we bought the full sheet ourself and yet when trying to recycle the leftovers, worth over $50.00 they only wanted to give $9.00 so we just gave it away to friends at the Marina. Same problem for the shaft..everyone wants to make too much money off of boat owners.


Our friend, Curt, has been very helpful with finding items or people that have the equipment or supplies we need. He is also the person who has helped sand down the hull of the boat in preparation for rebuilding. Curt was allowed to use the Marina's equipment and therefore did the welding on the rudder for us. Thanks for all the help, Curt! This picture was taken during the "thinking" process of rudder design. Note that the rudder is still raw steel at this time.




Susan worked diligently on the window screens, although space was very limited. Next projects include a hatch cover, seat cushions, and bunk mattresses. The morning tempertures, however, have only been in the 30's and highs only in the 50's which makes it pretty chilly working inside the boat right now, but we'll keep working on her.

A lot of work for the little sewing machine, but it keeps on sewing.




The Rudder has the diamonds cut out in this photo and Howard is re-checking for any needed adjustments or alterations. Also had to install a steel bottom on the keel here to hold the bearing for the bottom of the rudder control.









Plate steel was set up and clamped into place with wood clamps during the "thinking" process before welding parts into place. Had to make sure the angle was correct for the rudder placement.

We Are Seeing RED!!

Susan has been working on making screens for all of the windows on the boat. Using Sunguard brand high-density material, screens for each window is measured, cut, bound with Sunbrella seam binding, and then attached to the windows with stainless steel twist-lock studs and grommets. The Sunguard fabric and Sunbrella seam binding are both made to be UV and mildew resistant. The Sunguard material allows you to look out of the windows with ease, but makes it difficult for others to look in (unless you have the lights on at night of course). This material is widely used by RV'rs for privacy screens.


This is a view of the lower cabin with screens attached. These screens will also help with water runoff and of course, BUGS!


How do you like the brilliant RED? We love it! We also decided to paint the "boot stripe" gold to match the rub rails, and you can see the first coat of bottom paint has been applied.






A great view of the paint job from the starboard prow...We will apply 2-3 coats of Interlux Brightside Top Paint (red) to complete the topside painting. Two coats of the gold on the "boot stripe" have been applied.










After all that work, nappy time anyone? The new memory foam mattress has been made and installed in the V-Berth...time to try it out!











Shore power outlet has been installed in the "poop-deck" and we are plugged in. Another look at the new red and gold paint jobs. Sore arms after that as everything had to be hand painted by brush.

Also note the new screens on the upper cabin. We decided to make the side screens as one long screen as there are three windows on each side with only 3" in between each window which would not leave much room for attaching the twist-locks in between each window. The large picture windows in the rear have individual screens attached.

Caulking Done, Now Prime and Get Ready To Paint!

Two coats of Pre-Cote primer were painted above the water line after the seams had been puttied and lightly sanded between coats.

It gets more exciting as we get closer to actually seeing the changes. Some work that gets done does not really reflect all the time and effort put in to get things completed and ready to sail.

It took over two months to complete all of the caulking and seam puttying before she was ready to paint.


Howard was so happy when he was able to pound in the last piece of oakum and then finish puttying the seams. Next step is to paint primer bottom paint on the underwater section...brownish-black color. Then we will add another couple coats of bottom paint to finish it.

He became quite ingenious on ways to sit under the hull in semi-comfort to do the caulking...two cushions from the dinette, a rug thrown out by a neighbor, and a step stool worked in his favor.





Susan's tasks were rolling the cotton and oakum into "ropes" for Howard to hammer into the seams. Each "rope" was rolled on the leg to tighten the rope and pull out unusable sections of sack webbing that was stuck in the oakum sections. The cotton ropes were used above water in the smallest, tightest seams that the oakum was too large for. In some seams, Howard had to combine two to three ropes into a larger rope based upon the size of the seam he was working on.

Electrical Nightmares

It took us several weeks working on tearing out all of the old electrical wiring and installing new 120 volt and DC electrical systems on board. Most of the old wiring was in such bad shape and there were no labels as to what wire went where, that it was more logical to start over and make sure that everything worked correctly.

This is the new 120 volt panel, now mounted on the side of the main helm. Slots without labels are available circuits. A couple of them are 5 volt, which are almost useless for anything.




We didn't completely rewire all of the 12-volt DC systems, as the wiring for the overhead lights was still in good condition. They really had the wires snaked around in all directions, between the two bulkheads, along the ceiling beams, and under the floor boards. With this new panel, which is located in the galley area, the switches light up red when in the "on" position, that way we don't forget about them and end up with dead batteries.





Installed two new bilge pumps in the two bulkhead areas with automatic switches so that they come on whenever water has seeped into the hull and pump any water out immediately. The pumps can also be set for manual operation, but why would you do that?








This is a look at the wiring nightmare that we started with under the helm. The AC and DC systems were intertwined with one another and without a logical plan. Now it is neatly wired and labeled in case we need to locate a problem.




The large red lines are actually cables for the transmission and throttle, which also were threaded through the electrical lines, and the chain goes from the ship's wheel to the rudder. There are two complete helms aboard, the main helm here and the one on the flybridge which also has temperature guages, horn buttons, and cables to the transmission and throttle.







This is what the wiring looks like now that the wires are routed correctly, nice and neat.


Tall box on the right (starboard) side of the helm is where the wiring, cables, and chain come down from the flybridge helm. Currently the cables for the transmission and throttle are corroded and will be replaced shortly.

Almost ready for the Water!

Caulking continues and is hard work on the below water line area as most of the work is overhead, especially under the boat. Used white for all seams and area above the waterline, and brown for seams below the waterline. A couple more days to finish everything and she will be ready to go into the water. Planning on launching first week of November or so.


Susan continues to work on the salon area, oil staining the teak inside. She has all of the ceiling ribs stripped of the approximately seven layers of old varnish and most of them sanded down, ready for finishing.


Starboard side of the boat has all seams filled with oakum, now waiting for more seam compound to arrive to finish the seams, then it will be ready for the final painting.


The rear of the boat shows that most of the seams below the boat are filled with okum, and Susan checked EVERY screw and nail plug to ensure water tightness and then painted each and every one with primer paint. Now it looks like the boat has measles. Howard stuck the propeller on the shaft to check the distance needed for making a new rudder.


Most of the boat seams are filled with okum, currently waiting for the arrival of the inal boxes of okum to finish the port side. Another day or two and the caulking will be completed. The UPS truck drivers had been told to leave all packages at our door, but for some reason they left one of those tags this time, and Monday is a holiday of course so probably won't get it until Tuesday. Seems like everytime we get on a roll, something throws a wrench in it. Today, with the storms that came through, Howard could not even get within two blocks of the boat due to flooding closing off the roads, so the boat is probably sitting in water right now. Just hope she doen't float away!

Have Okum and Hammer - Let's Caulk!

Howard prepares to get started on the caulking of the boat seams. To do this, the seam is first primed with above or below water priming paint - you cannot use above water paint below the water line and vise versa. Then "okum" which looks like shredded up gunny feed sack material that has been spun into ropes and soaked in a natural oil and bentonite, is pounded into the seam with a wood mallet. Howard made his own mallet, as the only other place we could find one was in Great Britain. It didn't take Howard long to determine the right "thunk" sound that indicted that the okum was properly sent into the seam, using the mallet and a "hardening iron".


After the okum is set into the seams, then the seam is re-primed with primer paint. After the paint is dried, then seam compound usually made of linseed oil, whiting, and some kind of setting powder is applied and worked into the seam. In the old days, the setting powder was red or white lead.


We are currently using our horse trailer as a storage unit to hold the teak lumber, etc., to keep it all dry and handy without having to climb in and out of the boat to get each item needed.


We have gotten a lot of comments on our dragons which are on the bow, Susan took almost three weeks sanding, priming, determining the proper color scheme and painting these beauties. They are really turning peoples heads around here.

Dog Days of Summer

Galley or kitchenette:

Left side of the galley with white "glass liner"
panels in ceiling to protect from moisture and grease. Hanging cabinet with brass wire doors separates galley from the dinette area.

New u-shaped galley counertop to provide more workspace. The refrigerator will go under the cabinet on left side.













Right side of galley has dish and glasses cabinet, all woodwork is teak. Small round sink for galley with separate 6-gallon freshwater tank for drinking water only that has it's own small faucet. New shelves in lower cabinet area. Behind the refrigerator is the 6-gallon hot water heater. This water heater gets some preheating help from the heat of the engine. All 110 volt electrical needs re-wiring yet.








The window over the galley sink allows for lots of natural light. New hoses, clamps, etc. new 4.5 hp full boat automatic water pump. Deck fill for drinking water installed into the nautical blue counter top.


New marine plywood installed in storage area beneath dinette and in storage cabinet at the end of the bunks. Rigged upper bunk to lower down and become the "back" of the lower bunk converted into a "settee".

All damaged teak was replaced and now wait for final sanding and refinishing. How time flys when you're having fun!


Head or bathroom to landlubbers:



Inside the head, the wood floorboard were inspected and repaired where needed. The floor then had an inch of concrete smoothed over it, a drain placed in the floor for shower water drainage, a step up support built for the toilet. We purchased a new toilet in case there were problems with the old one more than what we already knew anyway. A new pump for the old toilet cost the same amount of money as a brand NEW toilet, go figure...anything called "marine" is twice the money as household version of the same thing. The floor was then waterproofed with "Gluv-it" sealer and painted a nice nauical blue.

The wall supports needed to all be replaced due to water damage and the we placed white "glass liner" material over the walls. This helps with water runoff and brightens the room up. We also put the material on the ceiling to prevent water damage there.



We installed a stainless round sink with a combination sink/shower faucet. The handle pulls out 6 feet for shower usage. A flexible shower rod will help keep water off the wood door. Under the floor boards we installed a shower base unit that automatically pumps the used water outside the boat via a thru-hull connection.





We installed a macerator pump on the waste line to create more usage of the 36-gallon waste tank. There is also a lockable valve to switch the waste to outside dump in allowable areas via another thru-hull connection. All Coast Guard regulations pertaining to dumpage are followed to the letter. Installed all new thru-hull connections, hoses, clamps, etc. to ensure proper disposal of waste and prevent leakages. There is also a bilge pump beneath the floor to take care of any small spillages. All new wiring and connectors. Access to all connections at any time provided for by hidden access panels.


V- BERTH or main bedroom:

The porthole wall was repaired (water damage) and new teak laid on porthole wall, along with new teak and framing for the sides of the berth walls. New marine plywood laid for mattress area.




Still need to get a mattress, and finish the woodwork before this room is done.





Berth doors were removed and rehung to open out into the dinette area instead of into the berth to make more room for entering and exiting the bed area. Small door under the porthole wall goes into the prow of the boat where the water tank fill tube from the deck comes down. There is also a 2.5x2.5 foot excape hatch in the roof directly under the porthole area.







Howard thinks it's time for a break! Under the two sides of the v-berth, we installed two 52-gallon fresh water tanks made of a flexible plastic. The area under the berth used to have three stainless steel custom made water tanks, we are told, but they had disappeared before we got the boat. Two 110 volt electrical outlets were in the walls of the berth, but with such limited space, what could you possible plug in?






Two heavy electrical wires that went nowhere were removed from under the berth, and all new water lines were run from the freshwater tanks to the deck fill, galley, and head. Luckily the berth has good air flow as you have two double-sliding windows; two portholes; and the escape hatch, all of which can be opened for fresh air.

More news to come next week!

Exterior Work Continues

We carefully inspected all caulked deck boards and cabin wall caulking to find weak spots or missing caulking. Each spot found had to have all the caulking removed, then the seam cleaned out and make sure it is dry, then tape off each seam and recaulk for water tightness.

The entire inside of the hull had been painted battleship grey, which has prevented the boards from soaking up moisture when we wet it down. We have tried to wet it down with having gunny sacks laid inside the hull with water sitting in it as a way of trying to get the boards to swell up so the seams are smaller. The paint is preventing alot of the swelling that would normally occur. John, author of many articles in Classic Wood Boat and Traditional Boats maggazines in Great Britian has been alot help with technical questions on caulking and repairing, thanks John!

Howard inspected every board and rib for damages, replacing or repairing where needed. Some places had wide gaps between the boards and small strips of wood are installed to narrow the amount of okum and caulking that will be needed to make it water-tight.

Every screw and old square nail was also inspected to make sure they held tight - used mostly stainless steel and bronze screws for replacements, builders of the boat had used square cut nails which some are rusting away. We have to watch metal usage to prevent "galvanic" erosion.


Wood plugs or epoxy mix was installed in every nail or screw hole in preparation for the final sanding before painting the primer on the hull above the water line. We hired two local guys to sand the entire hull of the boat for us as that was a really physically tiring job, holding a heavy sander up alongside the boat for hours. It took the two guys four hours to sand the hull and keel.









New stainless steel double track was installed on all 14 double sliding windows of the upper and lower cabins, over $1000.00 in materials alone! The windows previously had been caulked, had foam around it, or otherwise "glued" into place without the ability to open them. Now all the windows work smoothly. Problem is, how do you devise a lock system that can secure the windows all closed when not around the boat? Something to ponder.




The boat also has two solid picture windows on the rear of the salon, and three large windshield windows, two of which can open outward. Then each window trim had to be refinished or replaced inside and out. This project took several days to finish.

Time slips away from me!

I have fallen behind on my postings and I am sorry I let it slip for those of you who have been following our progress...new photos have been taken and will be uploaded tomorrow with updated information. In the past month we have sold our house in KY, moved into an apartment here in VA, been back to Nashville for doctor's appointments, and worked on the boat nearly every day. Howard is such a slave driver! Of course we only work 3-4 hours per day on it..kind a putt-putting along, huh?

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

We have been rained out of a lot of work...losing 2-3 days out of every 5 days. Being unable to work much on the outside, we have been working on the cabins - removing more damaged plywood, stripping and sanding woodwork, etc. We had to completely remove the concrete/tiled floor of the "head" as it had major cracks in it, and needed the floor boards replaced due to water damage. We replaced the floor boards, laid new plywood, replaced seacocks, thru-hull drains, plumbing,and then relaid a concrete base with drains for shower and stool. Now taking a week off due to the heat wave and taking a trip to Kentucky. Will update again next week.