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Welcome to the world of Contessa's!

First, don't panic.  Your boat is over 40 years old and has not yet fallen apart.

And apologies in advance for a long post.

The foredeck of my 1976 Contessa makes a crackly noise but is dry and otherwise sound.  I have rebedded everything but the toerails on my boat which addressed any leaks due to absent and failed caulking.  I have found damp plywood under the poop deck (adjacent to the transom) due to leaking and poorly installed engine vents.  My firs suggestion to you might be to start looking at your boat in this area to learn how it is constructed. 

Your boat predates mine and is an early example of how boat builder's experimented with using cores to make their boats lighter.  For modern boats, the inner and outer skins are similar in thickness, just like the top and bottom of a steel I-beam.  This takes the best advantage of using cores (whether wood, balsa or foam) to lighten a panel.  In the case of our Contessa's plywood was used as the core (or the web of an i-beam) -- it is heavier than balsa but was commonly available and familiar to builders who were migrating from wooden boats to frozen snot fibreglass.

If you lift out one of the clamshell vents you will see that your deck is a sandwich comprised of gelcoat, between 1/4" and 3/8" of solid glass and resin, 1/2" to 3/4" of plywood and finally another skin of fibreglass which might be as much as 1/16" thick.  There are photos showing this style of construction in the gallery.

Also note that the plywood may not be fully encapsulated -- mine was not.  The builders laid a tow of wet glass over the plywood but left two of the four plywood edges exposed.  The good news is that in this configuration the plywood will dry itself out once you address how the water got there in the first place.  If you want to see another part of your boat, try lying on your back in the foot-well portion of your quarterberths.  There is no liner here and you should be looking up at the bottom of the winches and the reinforcements for the side decks.  The point to understand here is that the builder used the plywood to stiffen a spongy-feeling deck but the strength came mostly from the fibreglass and not the combination of glass and core.  For the most part, the bottom flange of the i-beam was never made so the real strength in the deck remains in the upper fibreglass layer.  Fibreglass is a plastic composite -- it is EXPECTED to flex -- so again, don't panic.

The crackle in the foredeck on my boat is an old problem and may go right back to the original construction of the boat.  It is not uncommon for boat builders to fail to use sufficient resin in layups and this leads to dryspots.  Wood and balsa commonly soak up resin like sponges and make leave the boundary between the core and the adjacent glass dry before the resin kicks off.  Also, remember that the core that Taylor's used for our boats was plywood.  In larger panels such as a cabin top, there may be a void between the flat plywood and the cambered deck.

Next step:  one area I would look at would be the condition of the mast step.  It is a poor design IMO and directs water into itself.  You should get a moisture meter and compare its
state to the rest of the boat.  You can learn a lot about your boat from a moisture meter and a few holes drilled upwards from inside the boat.  Also, follow your nose -- does the boat smell rotten -- moldy or mildew?  Do you see water streaks or leaks inside the cabin?  If not, then your deck may not be too bad.

The liner is just that -- a liner.  It is a skin which is loosely attached in a few places inside the cabin.  It is intended to hide the rough underside of the deck and reduce condensation.  In your Contessa it is not structural.

Something else:  rotten deck cores are a very common problem in all boats and there are many ways to make the repair.  Although I am in Canada, I have worked in the boat repair business and I would be shocked if a deck re-core for boat this size would cost more than $5k.  And you can help the shipwright along the way by removing and reinstalling various fittings (you'll be trading off epoxy rashes for days of 4200 stickiness but you will save a lot of labour as well as learn more about your boat).

Finally, my advice is the same as Seeadler's:  go go sailing.  The boat is great funm and even with a creaky deck it will be a pleasure to sail.  As you learn more about the boat you can decide what repair projects to tackle.

Christopher

Thanks!  I moved the through hull.  An effort to be certain but I am happier with the arrangement.

Sorry -- no pictures yet.  I could have sworn I shot a few...

This is a fun project.  And thus far I have been fortunate to have other projects with higher priority. 

Ian is right -- reattaching the rub rail may prove to be a bit of an adventure and he has given some great information about how to achieve success as you do the work.

For interest, the rub rail on my boat was installed using small slotted oval-head screws -- no rivets.  Sealing this area is the challenge.  On my boat there is a foam gasket between the aluminum and the fibreglass boat.  Were I concerned about leaks from the rail I would begin with a low-effort fix;  specifically I would pull each screw (one at a time) and re-install them along with a daub of 4200.  I would avoid shifting the aluminum piece relative to the boat to preserve whatever seal remains between he aluminum and the underlying glass.  This strategy would stop all (or most) leaks through the screw holes so that I could rule out these holes as the source of the leak.

I have a question:  was the rub rail leaking?  My experience with leaks in this area has directed me to the bolts along the traveller.  Given how much of a PITA it is to remove the nuts from the bolts which secure the traveller I opted to drip a little of Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure around the heads of each of the traveller bolts.  I give the cure a couple of minutes to penetrate and then wipe off any excess.  For my boat this immediately solves the leak problem for a season or two.  Specifically, I go from 2-4 litres of water in the quarterberth lockers following a rainstorm, to none -- dry lockers.  When the leak reappears I apply more Creeping Crack Cure and the leak disappears again.  This leak reappears every two- to three- seasons.   

Good hunting....

Christopher

My experience with leaks in this area has pointed to the travellers and not the rub rail.

I had the same problem with posting pictures.  If you can figure it out I would love to see both stove installations!

Oh -- one other sharing.  This job is costly in materials and is a huge time vortex.  I had not planned to do it at all this year and circumstances forced me into it.  Ordering all the various bits and scheduling the work took so much time my poor boat spent the season high and dry. 

So here is the explanation:

As shown in a previous post when I tried to install traditional seacocks in this area they interfered with one another.  Therefore I had to chose between moving the holes or finding another solution. 

My existing through hull fittings sit flush to the hull surface and the fibreglass in this area has been recessed accordingly.  This makes a fibreglass bubble inside the boat about 4" in diameter and as thick as the hull in this area -- about 3/8".  Relocating the holes was going to be a BIG hassle and I feared doing more harm than good.

Groco makes a Flange plate which looks like the triangular bottom of a traditional seacock and has the standard straight thread.  The top threads on the plate are NPT (tapered thread) so that standard ball valves and other fittings may be employed.  IT IS NOT IDEAL but it is a solution for situations such as this. 

I played with 90 degree elbows (as depicted) and 45 degree elbows.  I also considered using elbows both above and below the valves so that they could be mounted vertically.  These are in at about 45 degrees to the waterline.  If you try this route bite the bullet and buy the extra fittings do play around with this.  Your boat may be different from mine and you may be able to work out a better arrangement for your boat. 

Also note the location of the handles of the valves -- they are long and any installation must take their positioning into account.  You need to be able to have the valves both fully open and fully closed without interference.  Ideally you also need to plan for a persuader of some kind.  These ball valves are very stiff to turn.  I have not yet worked out what to do with the engine control cables shown in the picture but I expect I will be moving them around a bit.

Yes I made huge backing plates.  This was for several reasons.  The original installation did not use valves and hence did not have the weight and loads associated with them.  Then new valves and fittings are very heavy and are very stiff to turn -- I wanted to be certain that I would not be tearing apart the boat if I had to use a lot of force.  I can stand on these if a situation (very unlikely) arises where I need to do so.  Also note the curvature in the hull in this area.  These plates were originally 2" thick and I machined out the centres to less than half that for the boat's curvature.  Because the fibreglass in the are of the actually through hull fittings is recessed into the boat I also had to carve circular indentations into the undersides of these plates.  They are a bit less than 3/4" at their centres.   There was a lot of grinding and fitting and grinding and fitting.

The plates are coated in epoxy and everything has been bedded with 4200.  I used about a tube on this job. 

The original install did not have the three anchoring bolts.  These are silicon bronze and were easy enough to source out of New Jersey but were extremely costly to ship to me in Montreal.  It worked out at about $10 a bolt but it is a proper install.  I read somewhere that stainless and bronze were not galvanically compatible.  (Of course my boat lives in fresh water...)

Outside the boat I had to drill and countersink for these anchoring bolts as well as touch up the Interprotect bottom paint in the area.  Some boltheads lie flush to the hull, but the lower bolts are in at an angle.  This is because of the hull curvature.  I'll jam a little butyl or 4200 in to level the holes in the spring before applying antifouling paint.

You will also note the close proximity of my engine coupling to these valves.  The port side is so close that I could not spin the 90 degree elbows onto the flanges.  Therefore I assembled these fittings on a vice to get them tight, and installed them in the boat as complete assembles.  Installation is a two person job but it goes quickly (especially after days of prep work).

Hindsight -- The original boat had a perfectly good installation for the cockpit drains.  The weak links in these assembles are the hoses.  Annual maintenance should take care of this with ease and give good piece of mind.  For interest, when I shared my tale of this project with a surveyor he said that ball valves were recommended but not required.  I could have used gate valves or left well enough alone and had no valves at all.  Since my boat lives in fresh water gate valves work just fine and would have solved a lot of installation headaches.

If you have questions or comments fire away.  I am happy to share what I have learned here. 

Christopher

I am in the process of tackling this project and will post pictures in due course.  What started as a simple job has turned into a huge and expensive hassle because of the location (and interference) of these drains.  In hindsight I should never have started as the original installation was fine.

I FINALLY have all the pieces in hand and hope to goo them into place this week.  I finished applying the Interprotect around the flange bolt holes today.   

Wrt to your questions:  (a)  It seems to me that if you are experiencing massive flooding related to these drains then you probably have done major structural damage to the boat and have bigger problems.  This is a very strong part of the boat and the weak link is the plumbing.  Your seasonal inspection and maintenance should take care of it.

(b)  My solution also uses 90 degree elbows between the through-hull and the valves.  It was either that approach or a great deal of glass-work to relocate the holes.  For the proper install, I have all pieces in bronze and am using the Groco flange adapter plates.

(c)  Relocating the valves to the quarterberth lockers -- I wouldn't.  The lockers are not very deep and I believe you will have clearance issues.  And the valves will still be difficult to access during a voyage once there is stuff in the lockers.  Plus you will loose storage space. 

(d)  If you must have instant access consider plumbing the drains to the bilge area forward of the engine.  On my boat (#166) this would place the valves between the batteries and the engine.  You will definitely be using elbows in this location.  Actually -- as I write this I am already rejecting it.  The levers on the ball valves are too long to swing in this area. 

(e)  For faster access to the existing valves consider installing a bronze or stainless deckplate in the cockpit sole.  You can reach through it to close the valves (assuming they are not too stiff or are seized).  However, I'll bet that you are just about as quick removing the bolts on the cockpit sole panel as you would be unscrewing the plate.

(f)  Transom drains are a great idea but the transom is above the waterline so water will not flow out once the level reaches that of the drains.  I recall reading something about a Contessa owner who fitted dinghy-style flapper drains so that his cockpit would empty more quickly if filled by a large wave.  These freeing ports would handle the bulk of the water and the last few inches would pass through the existing drains.  I always thought that this would be a good idea but I have not yet felt an urgent need for it.  Improving the companionway drop-boards would go hand-in-hand I think.

Good luck with the projects....

Good tips Ian!  That one about the LEDs was a new one for me!

Bravo!  Nice work!

I wonder if the mast profile is relevant?  The Contessa mast (certainly for my 1976) is much more substantial than that of a similarly sized J-24.  Modern masts tend to resemble racing masts, hence are much more bendy, and would therefore benefit from more tension in the rig.

I also suppose that one could use 3/16" wire for both the upper and lower shrouds but tension to 500 and 350 as appropriate.  Stretch would mean a bit more play in the lowers when the mast is under load but I would consider this acceptable given that most of our boats are at the dock 99% of the time.  (Sadly!).

Anyway rig tension is another thing to play with in the spring!