Re: Is it time for the dreaded beam replacement? [2 Attachments]

Jim offered: > I would get a scope and try to check the beam to see if it is collapsing. If you've got long arms, you can reach up from the bilge access in the main saloon floor and feel around for large lumps of rusted steel. Visual inspection of the three tabs (two to port, one to starboard) at the base of the main bulkhead can also reveal damage. You probably don't need a scope to make a first-approximation inspection. Alfred Poor 1973 Tartan 34C #288 "Jambalaya" (former owner of 1969 Cal 29 #132 "Pentaquod" and beam-replacement veteran)

Well, my arms are not that long, but I did get a cheap USB scope yesterday and will poke around there in the next few days. Maybe I can get it in from the bilge as you suggest, as well as from the port side settee. The more I think about it, the more the cabin roof worries me. Even though the beam seems like a nasty project, it's at least more or less a known quantity. But the roof... I just hope it's not rotten and can be fixed without tearing the boat in half. On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 8:54 AM, Alfred Poor <ap… [at] verizon.net> wrote: > ** > > > Jim offered:**** > > ** ** > > > I would get a scope and try to check the beam to see if it is > collapsing.**** > > ** ** > > If you’ve got long arms, you can reach up from the bilge access in the > main saloon floor and feel around for large lumps of rusted steel. Visual > inspection of the three tabs (two to port, one to starboard) at the base of > the main bulkhead can also reveal damage. You probably don’t need a scope > to make a first-approximation inspection.**** > > ** ** > > Alfred Poor**** > > 1973 Tartan 34C #288 “Jambalaya”**** > > (former owner of 1969 Cal 29 #132 “Pentaquod” and beam-replacement veteran) > **** > > >

Well, I inspected the beam with a scope yesterday. There's about 2-3 inches of rust (height-wise) on the bottom, but it doesn't look like it is rusted through. The scope actually didn't help much, but I managed to get my hand in the middle and port side of the beam and scrape the rust off a little bit. So, if not the beam, what else could've caused the roof to sag? There's the crack at the hatch entry point, plus the door to the head compartment is jammed, so there's definitely something wrong... Cheers, Alex. --- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, Alex Kunadze <krollokot@...> wrote: > > Well, my arms are not that long, but I did get a cheap USB scope yesterday > and will poke around there in the next few days. Maybe I can get it in from > the bilge as you suggest, as well as from the port side settee. > > The more I think about it, the more the cabin roof worries me. Even though > the beam seems like a nasty project, it's at least more or less a known > quantity. But the roof... I just hope it's not rotten and can be fixed > without tearing the boat in half. > > On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 8:54 AM, Alfred Poor <apoor@...> wrote: > > > ** > > > > > > Jim offered:**** > > > > ** ** > > > > > I would get a scope and try to check the beam to see if it is > > collapsing.**** > > > > ** ** > > > > If you've got long arms, you can reach up from the bilge access in the > > main saloon floor and feel around for large lumps of rusted steel. Visual > > inspection of the three tabs (two to port, one to starboard) at the base of > > the main bulkhead can also reveal damage. You probably don't need a scope > > to make a first-approximation inspection.**** > > > > ** ** > > > > Alfred Poor**** > > > > 1973 Tartan 34C #288 "Jambalaya"**** > > > > (former owner of 1969 Cal 29 #132 "Pentaquod" and beam-replacement veteran) > > **** > > > > > > >

Hello, If the corrosion is not that bad or you are not going to replace the old beam, I would highly recommend coating/spraying it with marine grade Lanolin. The stuff totally stops corrosion. We use it on our boat after our rigger told us about lanolin. The problem is finding a place in the U.S. that sells the marine Lanolin in spray format. West Marine carries the small jars of the grease, but I have not seen the spray. Also, their price is very high. Seems marine lanolin is hard to get in this country. The only place I have found that sells marine lanolin in North America is this place. http://www.thermoboat.com/prolan.htm Here are some videos on Lanolin: http://lanoprotect.com/applications/marine/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-UgX8fLl9c C Chubb --- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, "kotyara73" <krollokot@...> wrote: > > Well, I inspected the beam with a scope yesterday. There's about 2-3 inches of rust (height-wise) on the bottom, but it doesn't look like it is rusted through. The scope actually didn't help much, but I managed to get my hand in the middle and port side of the beam and scrape the rust off a little bit. > > So, if not the beam, what else could've caused the roof to sag? There's the crack at the hatch entry point, plus the door to the head compartment is jammed, so there's definitely something wrong... > > Cheers, > Alex. > > --- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, Alex Kunadze <krollokot@> wrote: > > > > Well, my arms are not that long, but I did get a cheap USB scope yesterday > > and will poke around there in the next few days. Maybe I can get it in from > > the bilge as you suggest, as well as from the port side settee. > > > > The more I think about it, the more the cabin roof worries me. Even though > > the beam seems like a nasty project, it's at least more or less a known > > quantity. But the roof... I just hope it's not rotten and can be fixed > > without tearing the boat in half. > > > > On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 8:54 AM, Alfred Poor <apoor@> wrote: > > > > > ** > > > > > > > > > Jim offered:**** > > > > > > ** ** > > > > > > > I would get a scope and try to check the beam to see if it is > > > collapsing.**** > > > > > > ** ** > > > > > > If you've got long arms, you can reach up from the bilge access in the > > > main saloon floor and feel around for large lumps of rusted steel. Visual > > > inspection of the three tabs (two to port, one to starboard) at the base of > > > the main bulkhead can also reveal damage. You probably don't need a scope > > > to make a first-approximation inspection.**** > > > > > > ** ** > > > > > > Alfred Poor**** > > > > > > 1973 Tartan 34C #288 "Jambalaya"**** > > > > > > (former owner of 1969 Cal 29 #132 "Pentaquod" and beam-replacement veteran) > > > **** > > > > > > > > > > > >