We love reading about boat owner's stories and the details behind their boats, the destinations they've visited and the experiences they've had. We also love the lesser-told stories, not least about the 'other side' of boat ownership - the repairs.
The following article was written by owner and Plymouth Yacht Haven berth holder Mr Farmiloe for the Hallberg-Rassy Owners Association (HROA) and their association's magazine, The Blue Line.
It was published in The Blue Line's Winter 2024 edition and details how Mr Farmiloe tackled deck repairs on his Hallberg-Rassy, Pegasus, with help from Nathan Bone Yacht Repairs at Plymouth Yacht Haven.
Reproduced by kind permission of HROA.
We purchased our much-loved Hallberg-Rassy 39 in July 2023 and renamed her Pegasus. I know the arguments about renaming boats but nevertheless went ahead with it. However, it was not until the early part of 2024 that we considered addressing the issues of her deck.
The deck problem had revealed itself, partly due to the age of the vessel. She was launched in 1994 and the deck caps covering the screws were only about 2 mm thick and were lifting in various hard wear areas of the boat. In the 1990s Hallberg-Rassy used domed screws and although there was no ingress of water, it seemed prudent to address the matter before things got worse.
Having consulted Hallberg-Rassy, their advice was to use stainless steel Hexagon flat headed screws (which can be purchased from the Hallberg-Rassy shop) to allow greater depth for a deck plug, combined with a stronger adhesive and the solution was evident. At the same time as we were contemplating this remedial treatment, it was obvious that in the heavy traffic areas of the deck the caulking was coming out and needed attention.
The day of judgment came in late April 2024 when we finally took the decision to treat the problems of deck plugs and caulking. We had long discussions with Nathan Bone, CEO of Nathan Bone Yacht Repair in Plymouth and initially we lent towards restricting the work to be done with a view to saving on costs. Eventually it became clear that the whole deck required treatment and after due diligence, we instructed them accordingly.
Nathan Bone Yacht Repair have sustained high praise in the southwest of England and beyond for many years. The company were extremely attentive of our requirements and one man alone, Robin, commenced the tedious task of replacing over 3,000 screws and deck plugs. He then recaulked the whole deck to irradicate any further problems.
Progress was slow at first but only due to the most dreadful weather in April and May of 2024. June arrived, the sun eventually came out and work on Pegasus increased at pace.
Looking back on the process, complete replanking of the yacht would have been cost prohibitive, however, by contrast, we have achieved something bordering a new deck at half that amount. Through their diligence the company have left us with 9-10 mm of teak and a well found and sound deck for many years to come.
This article has been written on our experiences on the yacht Pegasus and although it favours a yacht company, neither my wife nor I, have any commercial association to it. All of the opinions herein are ours and not an advertisement for the company.
Thank you to the HROA Blue Line magazine editor for a copy of the article, and to Mr Farmiloe for sharing his experiences with Nathan Bone and his Hallberg-Rassy 39, Pegasus.
