Fairline Turbo 36 restoration

[TurboRoss]

Good day

Ok so this is what we have completed so far since owning the boat in November ....

Pressure wash & Re-antifoul
Machine polish of hull
Replaced every seacock
Rudders - dropped out and new seals on order
Re-wire the whole boat
Wiper motors stripped back, rebuilt and sprayed - replaced in full working order
Aft cabin windows out , resealed and replaced (water was leaking behind the vinyl in the wardrobes but it was dry to touch - worth checking if you have a turbo )
New toilet in aft cabin
6 new bilge pumps
Wabasto heater removed, re-plumbed and fitted back now in full working order
Bilges scrubbed clean from top to bottom
Every bit of fabric re-upholstered (not fitted back yet )
Bathing platform underwater blue LED fitted
Radar arch removed and being repaired/ renovated
Old nav equipment binned - new gear on way
Vinyl removed from front cabin - replaced with new
Saloon helm position front glass window removed and replaced - new seals (was leaking)
Brand new set of stripes on the hull (old ones took 3 days with a heat gun to remove)
Windlass brushes serviced / cleaned / chain marked , chain locker cleaned out (no drain holes by the way ) and re-stowed
All speakers replaced with more powerful units

The list goes on , that doesn't include all the man hours !

Now I've cleaned the bilges we have noticed quite a heavy oil leak from STB side motor. Pics below , also the port side motor has a small oil leak and water leak from impeller housing.

Just looking at the pictures , has anyone else had leaks from this area ?

Also the exhaust for port side motor is near impossible to reach to check all the connections , we've cut an inspection hatch in the aft cabin under the port side wardrobe .

[TurboRoss]

Here are the access panels off , so we can run all the wiring and get the floor up to gain access to exhaust connections.

[TurboRoss]

Here i am today cleaning and polishing the hull ...

LOOK at that shine ...not bad for 27 years old. I get a lot of people stop and make nice comments on the boat



These photos are pre- new metallic stripes being applied

[Murv]

I appreciate I may be slightly biased, but what a magnificent thread!
That's a huge amount of work you've put in, I'm sure you'll be amply rewarded
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the hull polishing, in that I hate doing it but love the results! That truly is a deep shine you've got going on there.

Is the oil leak from the oil cooler? The engine survey report from mine reported minor oil leaks from the oil coolers, along with the comment that "they all do it" although mine are just the odd drip so I just let the absorbent pads catch it.
I had a water pump rebuilt on mine, the leak was picked up on the survey. I was too far away to try and repair it myself so had an engineer do it, it was quite an expensive repair but had no issues since.

I think they're an amazing boat the T36's so it's lovely to see one being restored.
I'd never be in a position to buy a new boat, but from nosing around some new models at boat shows, there doesn't seem to be much out there that's as well suited to the UK climate, or as roomy as the T36.
Plus, I'm really not keen on the new electronically controlled engines, I far prefer the concept of cables and very little to go wrong when operated in such a harsh environment.

Looking forward to seeing the finished pictures!

[TurboRoss]

Hi again

Thank you for your reply - really appreciate it . Its taken non stop work to get the boat just to this level and theres so much more to do. You've mentioned the absorbent pads - didn't think of that so ill get some tomorrow. The more i work around the Turbo the more i see what a spacious boat it is , so much room and no tight spaces to crawl around in except the engine room of course !

Hopefully the oil leak can be fixed but the access is terrible alongside that fuel tank. Also noticed the raw water exhaust outlet fitting (the metal part that sits on the bulkhead between the engine and the aft heads ) is dripping rusty water into the bilges , so thats going to get changed too. The other side is another matter, almost impossible to get to without my custom made hatch.

Murv - did you ask me about the black trim for the windows? Its trend marine apparently who stocks that.

Whats on my list for tomorrow? Well its machine polish the other side & topsides then apply the wax, drop the helm seat off to the upholsterers , and we start to remove all the floor boards from saloon (going to clean them up, fit new brass lift rings in them ) and take them into dry storage for now.

When we get round to redecorating , we are going to tone down all the dark wood - keep some to show thats it a classic yacht but just brighten it up in places.

does anyone know what that wall covering is on the shower walls? Its like paper

Ive got a friend meeting me down the boat who's going to help me change the hot water boiler under the deck ...its leaking. And whilst he's there the shower mixers , taps and generally check the whole system over. See the picture below !!!

Monday my new speed log transducer gets fitted and any day now the new radar arch will be finished and fitted back on . Looking forward to that .

Ive still got to work around all this !

Thats it for now, ill be busy tomorrow so will take a few more pictures of the progress .... almost forgot 6 week lead time for new seals on the rudders so it might be out the water for a little while longer .

Ross

[Severn]

Have to agree with Murv a fantastic thread, although obviously I am biased as well!

Sadly I cant help with the oil or water leaks, thankfully I have not encountered any leaks greater than an aft deck hatch when it rained heavily and a leaking shower tray in the forward heads.

A quick one with regards to the shower mixers if it helps? I refurbished all mine and it takes no time at all. The service kits are still available for them. When I got mine the mixer part of the taps had seized so the plastic bit you turn to adjust the temperature stripped on the barrel and another one that I tried to free up with a pair of maul grips sheared off. The service kits have replacements in them and the plastic parts are available as well. All the other tap valves I replaced with 1/4 turn ceramic valves which I think are far better than the compression type valves.

Replacing the texture walls in the head is on my list as well as it has held onto the mildew and I have tried a dozen mildew treatments to remove it with no sucess.

I am toying with the idea of taking mine around Scotland at the end of July which will turn into an around Britain trip as I will be setting off from the Bristol Channel. I need to get a slight over heating issue sorted first, I am hoping a flush with Rydlyme will cure it, if not I will have to strip the heat exchangers.

Just out of interest have you got a holding tank if so where is it? Its another job I am intending to tackle, I think I am going to get a shaped tank to fit snugly in the bilge under the helm seat. A few Turbos I viewed had a generator there but I have no generator so it seems a sensible place to install it.

Good luck with the work and I look forward to your next update

[Severn]

I have just had a quick thought of someone who may potentially be able to help you with some of your questions.
I first came across superheat6k on the Sealine forum (when I owned one) he did post on here when he had a Turbo36 so you could look him up and message him or go to his Ocean Belle site https://turbo36.wordpress.com/ and try his email address. I have never spoke to him directly but from his posts he seems a good guy who will always help people if he can.

[Murv]

Ross, thanks very much for that, I need to get my door rollers from trend marine, so will order some window trim from them at the same time.

I think it is paper in the heads, one of my next jobs will be to redecorate as although there's nothing wrong with mine, it just looks a bit tatty. I suspect mine has been painted previously as the White is a bit thin in places so I'm hoping to just paint over the top.
Would be interested to see what others have done with it though!

I totally agree with Severn's comments regarding the mixers for the showers, I had exactly the same issue. I think I got my rebuild kits from Amazon, along with some new rotary controls which has brightened them up a bit. I should have a list of part numbers somewhere if it's of any use, although I seem to remember it was easy tracking down the parts. I was just surprised that everything was still current and available!
There are some really good videos on youtube that demonstrate how to service them so that you can see how they come apart as well.
My mixers were seized so solidly that I had to soak them in plusgas and use heat to remove them but once out, it was a straightforward and satisfying job. I do make a point of turning the mixers regularly now to prevent it happening again although I suspect mine had seized with Years of no use, rather than Months.

Also, another excellent suggestion to have a look at Trevor's site. I don't know if he comes on here any more as he has a Corvette 320 now but he's an exceptionally helpful, and clever, man. I very much wanted to buy his boat, but the timing was just a little out for me.

Looking forward to watching your progress!

Severn,that's exactly where my tank is, we also don't have a generator. Our tank is actually very small, more of a gesture than anything, but on the plus side it still allows good access over the top of it to the front of the starboard side engine.
At a guess, it's maybe 75l in capacity? which is only enough for about 3 days use with 3 or 4 on board. I suspect it's an off the shelf option that happens to sit neatly between the wooden supports, but if starting again I'd be tempted to see if a custom one could be made slightly higher and a lot wider to increase capacity.

I also had a slight overheating issue, I was too tight to buy rydlime but ran Fernox 22 through which bought the temperature down nicely.
It's 'lasted about a Year, but the temp has started creeping up slightly now at high revs again, so will probably repeat it in the spring.
It's on the starboard side, obviously, that's difficult to access. On the port side, where it's easy to get to and I need to remove the whole unit to get a stripped bolt out, the temperature is, of course, absolutely rock steady!!

If your trip does come off, are you going to document it? Sounds an amazing adventure!

Chris

[TurboRoss]

Hi Severn & Chris

Thanks for your replies, and the tip on the shower mixers - so ill be onto that next ! Also i'll definitely make contact with superheat6K

I don't have a holding tank in mine i have a generator instead and its located under the helm seat, unless they all had generators ? Im probably going to remove the generator at some point , its not as old as the boat as was replaced only a few years ago. Just don't think ill need it and want to use the space for something else I've got in mind.

Today I've finished the polishing and have started removing / cleaning all the air ducts leading from the deck to the inside cabin , and I've fitted the new inserts inside the stainless steel domes on the deck. See the before & after pics ! Massive difference...

Has either of you tried removing the access steps from the aft deck down into the saloon? Thought i nearly had them out today but theres screws holding it in and access to those screws is impossible !

[Murv]

Very nice!

No, unfortunately, I couldn't get mine out.
The eberspacher outlet had disconnected from the hose so I thought I'd whip the steps off and just reconnect it.
Nope.
Removed all the carpet, the wooden trim, all the screws and they just wouldn't budge. I'm either missing something, or they're stuck in with sealant as well as screws.

Please keep me in mind if you do sell your genny and don't have a buyer lined up!

[TurboRoss]

Good day !

Well I've spent the morning on the boat , I've been busy in the bilges ! Might as well start restoring this boat from there and work my way up.

First job was to clean out the oily bilges again (under helm seat) , clean and check over the generator (see pictures) I'm constantly finding botched together wiring so I'm working my way through all that . I also spent quite a lot of time going through the STB engine, cleaning it down and getting in there with a torch to check it all over . Ive seen a few leaks here and there so thats on the list to investigate .

The batteries were new in 2013 - to be on the safe side ill replace those , and the wiring on the top of them is again a bit shoddy so will tidy all that up when i fit the new, stronger ones....

The hot water cylinder gets a make over next saturday , when all the fittings get replaced and and tidied up ...Thats been one of the most noticeable things is the DIY wiring !

The pictures show me below decks - very cramped down there re fitting the bilge pump and wiring to make it safe.

Next week we are finishing up the re-wiring , new lights going in , interior panels to re fit back - side ladder wells are getting a make over , one of the davits are broken so removing that to a friends workshop to repair it, and we are making that dripper over the rear windows to take some of that water away . All exciting stuff

Will post more pictures as the project progresses !

chris - yes if i sell the generator ill give you a shout!

all the best for now

Ross

[TurboRoss]

One last picture

[Murv]

chris - yes if i sell the generator ill give you a shout!

Thank you kindly!

Excellent stuff, keep the pictures coming, she's looking stunning! It is very cramped down there, even for the routine stuff. I replaced the inverter yesterday, even that is annoying, trying to shuffle around on the battery box with various valves etc digging into your back!
Funnily enough, my batteries were also new in 2013 but I suspect that the leisure side are getting weak now, a night and half day at anchor and they won't start the port engine.
I'll be interested to see what you go for if you change yours, it seems that they really need to exactly match the dimensions of that battery box as there is just nowhere else to put them.

I assume you have the same setup as me, the two forward batteries are leisure and port start, the rear two are just start batteries for the starboard engine? One thing I'd really like to look into would be linking 3 batteries for the leisure bank/port engine and just having a single, proper starter battery for the starboard engine.

I very much like being off-grid, but power seems to be a bit of an issue which I don't think it should be with all LED lighting and the fridge down low; another reason to point the finger at the batteries being tired!

[Severn]

Sorry for my delayed reply, a bit of a busy weekend.

I am looking at a custom holding tank that does not sit too high as I do not want to restrict the access to the engine too much and it has to avoid the drain for the fuel filter as well which is a bit of a pain. Power wise I am looking at victron charger/inverter but that is a long way down on my list. Other higher priority parts and repairs to be bought/done first, aft mattress (ordered this morning), flybridge screen replacement, fridge repair, new covers......you know what it is like, one item ticked off and another two go on the list.

My engines are around the 2000hr mark now, I took a look at the engine manual this morning due to the annual service looming and the manual suggests stripping them down and cleaning them at 2000hrs. I have decided I may as well go with having them stripped down and cleaned when the annual service is done. I will look up Fernox 22 to run through as well, it cant hurt as it will get to the inaccessible parts of the raw water system. Do you have to block off the water hose to the stern gland and remove the engine anode when you the Fernox?

If I get the time and the trip comes off I had not planned to document it but there is no reason why not.

Sorry Ross I have never tried getting the steps out. I looked at trying to remove the cupboard for easier access to the heater hose behind it but I could not see how to get to the aft most fixings. I ended up having a massive battle with the hoses for the heater that had become disconnected from the Y piece that splits to the forward cabin (after removing and refitting the heater after repairing it). Thankfully due to my long arms, a lot of sweating and swearing I eventually managed to get it all reconnected. If the hose ever disconnects from the Y-piece that splits between the saloon and aft berth I have no idea how I would get to that to repair it.

You would not think the inserts would make such a difference, I think I will have to follow suit.

Enjoying the updates and the photos, you are going to have one fantastic boat when you are finished.

Paul.

[Murv]

Hi Paul, it was a real bodge when I fernoxed mine. I connected a long length of hose to the water pump, filled it with fernox saturated solution then spun the engine until it drew it through. Left it 10 minutes, then repeated, until I'd gone through it all.
Certainly not the recommended way of doing it, but I couldn't see how to connect a water pump to such large diameter hose.

I didn't remove the anode, but only because I was changing it afterwards anyway, it did turn it to mush!

I can get a picture of my holding tank if it's any help, but probably wouldn't be for a couple of weeks.