Update for no. 061, now ALYA
After buying our Nic 31 in may, we started to dismantle a few things for revarnishing. We discovered to our surprise, that most of the bolts attaching the teak toerail were badly corroded and leaking water behind the hull liners. Dismantling all the internal furnishings was now necessary, and the refitting program was therefore extended to something a lot more ambitious. What we have done since we signed the sales contract amounts to a lot of work but still few usable results. Here is what we have done:
- dismount the whole interior
- remove all the brown covering of the inner mouldings
- remove and clean the deck hatches, replace the plexiglas and remount the hatches (thank you "SIKA")
- remove, clean and remount all the headliners
- remove, sand and remount the handrails on deck
- remove all the toilet gear and order new Lavac (a holding tank will be ordered shortly)
- remove both toerails (the hull-deck seal seems to be still in good shape)
- order two brand new teak toerails
- mount new soft lining on the inner moulding
- order new wooden panels to upgrade the interior
- order new upholstery
- dismantle all the electrical circuits
- mount new electrical tubing
- order and mount a new electrical panel (Blue Sea Systems from West Marine)
- Mount a FET battery isolator
- Mount the shore power connection and a battery charger
- Order a new mainsail from a local sailmaker who will manufacture it taking into account all my wishes (I dropped the North, Elvstroem or Hood idea, because it is just too fancy for the kind of cruises we are planning).
We think it will take about 6 to 8 more weeks to complete the work we started, but we hope ALYA will be a splendid sample of the Nic 31 design.
Later this fall, she will get a new engine with a regulated alternator to enable us to charge gel batteries.
I would appreciate your thoughts on the following:
1. When you get new upholstery, I would be interested to know the type of foam you were recommended;
2. Why were the North etc designs of mainsail too fancy? Were they loose footed?
We got shore power fitted this year. We fitted the connector inside the large port cockpit locker. This seems to work well. The cable runs out of the bottom of the drain channel when we are hooked up to the shore power. When unconnected, the coiled cable can stay connected inside the locker.
refit
We had to replace a portion of the toe rail aboard October several years ago and gaining access to the bolts was a real challenge. We weren't prepared to dismantle the interior so had to create access holes through the cabinet lockers to get at the bolts. It sounds as though you've had to dismantle the entire interior in order to replace the entire toe rail. WOW! My hat is off to you. It should be beautiful when you are done. Good luck. Have any pictures you'd care to share?
Re: Update for no. 061, now ALYA
Hi Andy, we are back for two short days at home.
All the upholstery is made with Bultex foam and the cloth "LikeSuede".
I decided against one of the big sailmakers, because when I thought about our cruising plans, it made little sense to have a high-tech cloth with a fancy cut. I want to be able to fix things myself, if needed. Sandwich material is quite difficult to repair without the proper infrastructure. In addition to this, the loft we have selected will do everything I want, including triple stitches and stitched eyes.
Re: refit
Hi October. You are right, the new toerail in Burmese teak is beautiful. We are now putting the interior woodwork back together and it looks quite nice. The upholstery will be finished shortly. I have almost finished the electrical cabling including battery isolator, switch panels and battery instrumentation.
Now I am working on the rig.
I will publish a couple of pictures in a few weeks when my computer system is put back in shape.
Further upgrades
We have sailed to La Rochelle on September 22. and the boat is now on the hard with the new engine being fitted. We selected a Yanmar with 30 HP including a Mastervolt alternator.
Refit
Hi Andy, no pictures yet. I forgot my camera on board.... We will go back tomorrow to finish changing the through hull fittings, change the zinc anode, put her back in the water and make the engine test runs. Then we will take a few days off to sail in the area before coming back to La Rochelle to fit the new cooker/stove ( a paraffin system from Bertschi) and other things.
I hope we will be able to sail to the next meeting to show her and get to meet other Nic31 owners.
By the way, I got a logo for our new mainsail from Hood in the US. Looks great.
Re: Update for no. 061, now ALYA
The engine has been mounted and is ready, the through hulls are all set and today on 5 PM we will apply the 2nd layer of antifouling. On thursday we leave La Rochelle. Hoping to meet you all on the next Nic31 meeting (wherever it is ).
Next Nic 31 meet
Jib sail
You say you might try to make the next meet.
The next is scheduled for 26/28 May at Dartmouth. It looks as if we should have from six to ten boats coming. Some details are on the discussion site but I will be putting out full details in a few weeks.
My e mail address is peter@foston.org if you would like to make direct contact
Peter Foston
Peter Foston
Unregistered User
(27/1/06 4:29 pm) Reply
Next Nic 31 meet
Jib sail
You say you might try to make the next meet.
The next is scheduled for 26/28 May at Dartmouth. It looks as if we should have from six to ten boats coming. Some details are on the discussion site but I will be putting out full details in a few weeks.
My e mail address is peter@foston.org if you would like to make direct contact
Peter Foston
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