Thursday 22 May 2014

Back in the water

The day had come to relaunch, whether we were ready or not. After spending the last night in the yard and working till nearly midnight reattaching pieces here and there, we just needed to get going. We had to wait until late morning for the tide to rise enough and then the strong current nearly swept us sideways onto a ferry wreck, but full throttle saw us head out into the river and finally on our way.

A short few hours later saw us arriving into Telaga harbour at Langkawi and checking back into Malaysia. It was great to catch up with our dear friends from Totem, but sad to think that this would most likely be the last time our sailing paths would cross. There were also some familiar faces from our Sail Indonesia rally - Adagio, Kularoo and Alleycat and always so good to see them again. Drinks on the beach that evening and great fun catching up on their news. Our second night there saw our son Chris fly in to help us sail Kittani down to Pangkor and ready her for the years storage. Always so good to have him around. Leaving Telaga, we headed down to the fiords at the bottom of Langkawi for our first night. Then a days trip south to Penang where we stopped at the southern end, and our third day was the long haul into Pangkor marina.

The lift out at Pangkor was by far the easiest lift we have ever done. It was a matter of minutes and we were up and out of the water, such a smooth procedure. Then the hard work started - it took us 2 full days to detach, de-rig, store everything away, get the tarps up, wipe everything down with diluted oil of clove to stave of mould and feel that we had done everything in our power to keep her safe and sound in our absence. So now she is snug in her new home and we are off to Kuala Lumpur in the morning by train via Ipoh and one last evening to enjoy the delights of KL with Chris before he flies back to Oz and we head to the UK for our next adventure.


                                     Heading onto the SeaLift at Pangkor Marina - Malaysia
                               
 
Out of the water and off to her new lodging for 12 months

Satun Boat Yard 3 ( PSS Boat Yard)

Having been In the yard for about 2 months, people searching for details may find this of benefit.


Pros
Cheap labour. Two types, 
one is hired via the yard and you pay between 600  - 1200 per day depending on what they do. Eg general is 600, light sanding is 800, heavy sanding is 1200. The worker (usually Burmese) still gets the same pay, about 330 per day and the yard collects the difference for the tools and elec used. Bit mean I think. 
The other is contracted....carpenters and painters. Bit more skilled than the yard workers. You pay a "boss" 1200 per day for these guys, sometimes 1500 if team leader. You will pay commission.
You can also hire carpenters / painters via the yard. Obviously you don't pay the commission, but the quality and urgency of their work can sometimes be questionable. Some are good some aren't.

 I employed a guy called Un who project manages multiple boats. He charges about 3000 per week and is indispensable for translating and getting the workers going. He gives you about 1 hour per day and as required. His number is Thailand 085 078 1959. Email is.   un_marine@hotmail.com

Yard shop...has a good range of what would be needed. I didn't bring anything from Langkawi and haven't had a problem. Un can source just about anything if you need it. Be aware that the bills from here mount up quickly.. Keep a close watch if you don't want surprises. The yard bills fortnightly but can do weekly if requested.
Good little "restaurant" just out of the yard. Open 6 days and good value..about 30 baht per meal
Tent hire for serious painting or deck work, I would suggest this is a must. The yard is busy, dusty and hot and getting wetter as the rainy season gets going.
Container hire - great for storing the treasures you will find when clearing out and getting ready to start work
The Burmese workers are the most hardworking I have ever seem. I have used 2
Mr Wen ....used for heavy sanding. 
Mr Zor....young guy with small daughter and wife who works in the yard. Fantastic worker. If you can get him, keep him. Switch him on in the morning and he goes all day. I have used him for general work, sanding, polishing,helping me re rig etc. because of the pay and his great attitude, I paid him a bonus at the end of each week.

Cons
Yard management.....they screw you down for everything. Like charging you for heavy sanding when light, light for when general. Highly recommend you keep a daily log of who you have and what they are doing and don't sign anything until you have x referenced. The other issue is use of compressor.. Make sure you check daily what they are charging you. They have charged me 8 days rental for 22 hours use...in discussions with yard mgt!! 
Also charge a live aboard of about thb50 per person per day. Not publicised. Also charge for water when washing down the boat
Painters....whilst they do a terrific job they are as slow as a wet week. 
The yard is dirty and in the dry season very dusty.

Local engineering shop....not very good. I asked them to polish a whole lot of s/steel parts and had to send it back 3 times. Sim issues with another yacht getting some work done on his exhaust manifold....3 or 4 times back to get it done right. However, their welding, reputably, is good. There is another group of welders used by the motor boat. They are excellent and can fabricate almost anything, but pricey.

General
I rented a 1 room apt with air, ensuite and not much else for 7000 thb per month...bit less if for 2 month rental. This is in Satun town , about 15 mins away. Place is called Living@home.
Locally there is a shop just out of the yard that has a room for rent. Not sure of cost, quality though. Was rented by a French couple and they didn't seem to have any issues.
Car...few hours use, you can rent from shop owner...Uns mum..bit expensive at 500 - 600 for half a day. They also hire scooters for 100 for a few hours or 200 per day, 1200 pw I went the scooter route as the roads are quiet.

Would I do it agai?n..yes.

Wednesday 21 May 2014

Satun Boat Yard 2

Now into week 7 on the hard. This includes the 2 weeks we had in Australia, so actually 5 weeks of work to date.

What has been accomplished?

Hull stripped back to the gel coat.
This took 12 days of heavy sanding due to, roughly, 14 coats of  antifoul and what appeared to be a layer of copper coat. Tough work and the yard worker - Wen - just kept on going day after day.
Once sanded, 3 layers of Jotamastic epoxy have been applied as a barrier coat. This would normally have a bonding coat to ensure antifoul sticks to it, but because Kittani will only be in the water for about a week before going back on the hard in Pangkor for a year, I am opting not to put anything on until we return from the UK.



Masts stripped back to bare metal.
Both main and mizzen sanded and then wet n dry sanded. A two pack etch primer applied followed by a coat of Penguard Hi build. Then two coats of International Interthane 990. After 6 years of looking at very sad masts, these will be lovely.



 

 


Top sides
Old gel coat was sanded and then long boarded, removing most of the wear and tear of probably 35 years. Even at this stage it was an improvement. To show up any imperfections, the hull was lightly sprayed with a can of black paint. Looked more like graffiti to me. More sanding. Fill was applied to any dents, scratches etc and then another graffiti attack and then sanded. A coat of hi build applied and then more graffiti . At this stage I was prowling the boat looking for this supposed artist, but never saw him doing it. Turn away and there it was.
Once sanded again, a coat of Awlgrip 545 primer applied. Looked great! You guessed it, the graffiti attack again. Finally, they got the 600 grit sanding completed ready for the final coats. Even now, it is almost good enough to leave. Top coats still to go. (The black paint is to identify areas still to be sanded. Very easy to miss if all is white)












Inside
All of the verticals bulkhead veneer has been stripped off and replaced with 4mm ply with a reconstituted teak machine pressed onto it. This is a much lighter colour than what was there before so will lighten the interior considerably.
New teak floor in the forward cabin
In addition, the carpet that was on the hull (very late 1970 style) has also been replaced with the same veneer together with new Vetus portholes. The latter have taken a bit of thought as to how to get them to fit. The exterior is a great fit being attached to an extrusion running down he hull. The interior was a bit more difficult and required some fibreglass grinding  and filling to make a good internal fit. Still work in progress.
All of the new surfaces will be covered with a two pack polyeurathane to keep it as light as possible and give it a hard surface.
Don't mention the dust..gets everywhere.






Fridge n freezer
Both have been causing issues with constant compressor cycling. A few cuts into the fibreglass lining uncovered water in the foam on the base of both. The floor from both was cut out, all the old foam removed and then replaced with a two pack foaming product. Good fun using this stuff. It mixes at a ratio of 50:50, a quick stir to mix and then pour quickly. Boy does it expand quickly and if too much mixed, goes everywhere. I compressed each pouring to ensure it stayed reasonably compact, but still oozes out any hole. I was contemplating taking out and replacing both boxes, but with all the internal work going on, thought I'd try his option first. We'll see how it goes.

Toe rail replacement
The aft toerail (port and starboard) had some rot. These were removed and replacements bedded down.

General
Pilot house timbers sanded and oiled. Using up the last of my Sikkens
Original solid teak inside cabins sanded and then coated with polyeurathane
Stainless steel fittings polished ( started this before agreeing to posting to UK). We'll see how it stands up to 12 months in a boatyard

Costs
Using 28.5 baht to AUD
SUMMARY  THB  AUD
HAULOUT  ฿      12,245  $        429.65
HARDSTAND  ฿      48,060  $     1,686.32
LABOUR  ฿   402,428  $  14,120.28
PARTS  ฿   201,736  $    7,078.44
CONTAINER  ฿      10,000  $        350.88
LIVE ABOARD  ฿        1,550  $          54.39
TENT  ฿      15,600  $        547.37
CRANE HIRE  ฿        5,288  $        185.54
ACCOMMODATION  ฿      10,100  $        354.39
   ฿   707,007  $  24,807.25
LABOUR  THB  AUD


LABOUR SUMMARY THB AUD
HULL ฿        21,600  $          757.89
INTERNAL ฿     113,000  $       3,964.91
PAINTING ฿     144,500  $       5,070.18
COMMISSION ฿        28,548  $       1,001.68
PROJECT MGT ฿        19,950  $          700.00
MAST ฿          8,600  $          301.75
POLISHING ฿          6,500  $          228.07
BONUS ฿        21,980  $          771.23
TOERAIL ฿          8,500  $          298.25
GENERAL ฿        29,250  $       1,044.64
  ฿     402,428  $    14,372.43