Even if the Armagnac seems to be in good condition, the first sea trips show leaks in the forward cabin, notably around the deck hatch. In addition, the deck paint seems to be peeling off in places. These are all clues which encourage Florimond to imagine a complete restoration of the deck.
On an Armagnac, the deckhouse is made of polyester, but the deck was built of plywood. Over time, the humidity eventually rots the wood in places. Florimond therefore decided to carry out an in-depth renovation.
Stripping the bridge
The first step is to strip the bridge. Armed with a belt sander, our young sailor spends a full week removing all the old paint. What he discovers underneath is not looking good. The plywood deck is leaking and rotting in places.
Remove rotten wood
Once the wood was bare, Florimond removed all the blackened wood parts. For this he attacked the wood with a router. By taking deeper and deeper steps. Depending on the area, he dug at different depths: 5, 12, 15 or even 30 mm. Each depth was dictated by the thickness of the plywood available for repair. In some places, our handyman even went through the deck!
Preparing parts
Florimond will then build a puzzle with wooden pieces to replace the rotten wood. The whole art consists of recreating the shapes so that they come as close as possible to the broken bridge. These pieces are then glued with epoxy resin filled with silica. If necessary Forimond maintains the pressure with screws. They are then unscrewed and the holes filled once glued.
An epoxy finish
Finally, Florimond has provided epoxy protection on the entire deck followed by painting and anti-skid. With such a deck, this Armagnac should regain the pleasure of sailing for a long time to come.
A large and long construction site
In tackling this project, Florimond did not think it would last so long. In the end, the boat remained in the yard for 6 months, even though the young man spent about 6 effective weeks on it. But the discovery and the experience he gained made him happy.
On the budget side, this renovation amounts to slightly more than 1500 euros, including materials, launching, dismasting and storage under shed.
Cello at sea
With his Armagnac, Florimond joined adrien Wiot's Kelt 8 and the "Cello in Sail" association.. . With their sailing boats, this group of friends sail along the Brittany coast to offer classical music concerts at the port of call.
If you want to follow the "Cello in Sail" project, you can find information on their Facebook page.
