Re: Mast step truss, inevitably:(
Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 3:27 pm
Not sure exactly what the truss is sitting on, Mark. Could be lead ballast; probably just another 5" of thickened polyester resin. The second resin pour, if you like, wouldn't have offered much if anything in structural or compressive strength. It seems like Albin used it to provide lateral support to the truss and (naively!) to isolate the mild steel from water. Which never works. There is a hose (limber tube?) poured into the resin, intended to transfer water from the V berth area down to the general bilge compartment. The truss itself is capped with FRP. What could go wrong?
It's a sailboat. Water will get everywhere, Albin -- including every part of the bilge, including down the sides of that encapsulated mild steel truss -- and now it is stuck there.
So yeah -- we'll need to replace the lateral stability function of the poured resin. Not difficult to achieve with epoxied wedges and fore-and-aft thru bolting. The laminates at the keel/hull transition are a full 1" thick and you can brace to them with every confidence. There will need to be positive drainage from the truss compartment, and some air circulation/inspection access wouldn't hurt matters going forward.
Every boat, old or new, production or custom, has a few real head-scratching features. The really big issues others have documented or I've found thus far with the Albin Ballad are the steel mast step truss; the un-tabbed main bulkheads; and the genoa track backing. We are attempting to address all three at once, which is a handful. But once sorted I think the boat will be good for another 40 years of reliable service.
It's a sailboat. Water will get everywhere, Albin -- including every part of the bilge, including down the sides of that encapsulated mild steel truss -- and now it is stuck there.
So yeah -- we'll need to replace the lateral stability function of the poured resin. Not difficult to achieve with epoxied wedges and fore-and-aft thru bolting. The laminates at the keel/hull transition are a full 1" thick and you can brace to them with every confidence. There will need to be positive drainage from the truss compartment, and some air circulation/inspection access wouldn't hurt matters going forward.
Every boat, old or new, production or custom, has a few real head-scratching features. The really big issues others have documented or I've found thus far with the Albin Ballad are the steel mast step truss; the un-tabbed main bulkheads; and the genoa track backing. We are attempting to address all three at once, which is a handful. But once sorted I think the boat will be good for another 40 years of reliable service.