After more than a year in the canals we wintered in Port St Louis to work on Alianco
Alianco is a forty year old, Alan Pape Ebbtide with a few modifications, well built, but sadly neglected in the six years before we bought her in 2002. I was aware of some rust in the bilges and around the well set into the bottom chine. I wasn’t aware there was surface rust behind the rigid insulation held in place with spray foam. Nothing serious, but I decided to completely strip her back to a bare hull.
I cut and shut new steel into the bilges, and copied the well, which I felt was a great addition to the boat. I replaced the old leaking wooden lid (the cause of much of the rust there) with a steel one. Over-centre catches and neoprene and silicon seals ensures the top is totally watertight. One time in the canals and once at sea I've used the well to cut a fouled rope off the prop. An absolute godsend.
After weeks of hard work chiseling and grinding and painting with rust converter followed by Brantho-Korux one-pack polyester paint she was time to start her interior fit out. I derusted around and refitted the portholes and also a deck mounted chain locker to stop the water from the anchor chain ending up in the bilges.
The last part of the hull work was to fit a new Yanmar 3GM30. She was originally built with a Perkins engine, which had been replaced with a raw water cooled Yanmar. When that died we replaced it with the new Yanmar and a new propeller. Engine access is excellent. There are removable panels either side of the engine and the cockpit sole lifts up to access the rear of the engine, gearbox, coupling and stuffing box. The Yanmar is a nicely designed engine with the lifting and water pumps mounted on the front so they are easily accessed behind the companionway stairs. I had the engine fitted with a looped hose to allow for installing a calorifier if I wanted to. |