Getting ready for the first splash

Chapter 1: Getting ready for the first launch

Over the last weekend we finished preparing for the first launch. I had to put on the labels and the boat name and my wife did the last cleaning and storing all kinds of dishes and stuff.

boat name and registration number

I'm planning to add the waterline stripes, but I have to measure it when the boat is in the water. 

7.5kg Bruce anchor

nice and cozy .. not for so long, once the kids will start to play :-)

pillows and sleeping bags

Chapter 2: Getting ready for the first reclaims

Two weeks ago, we had to reclaim the gelcoat stress cracks in the inner laminate under the cabin ladder.

stress cracks on the bilge inspection hole

inspection hole (rectangle support frame between the hull and inner layer)

collapsed inner laminate layer on the top of the ladder

It turned out to be caused by the wrong placement of the boat on the trailer, resp. the keel rollers were in bad positions and were pushing the hull against the deck through the ladder. According to the factory 90% of the boat weight should rest on the keel area bellow the centerboard where the ballast is located.

the left roller should not be there !!!

The trailer was, however prepared by the dealer which was not aware of this weak point of the construction. The factory guys confirmed that they had the same issue in the past. Anyway, they went to the dealer and fixed the issue. The dealer modified the trailer by adding two more bunks and shortened the ladder by a few millimeters, but the crack on the top of the ladder appeared again ... oh well.
We then decided that he will rebuild the trailer completely so the keel area will be supported by two large bunks instead of the rollers. These bunks spreads the load much better now, but only time can tell.
So now we have to live with a few stress cracks in inner layer :(
 
I would highly recommend to ask for all mandatory documentation to the boat like the manual, the crane lifting area and the more importantly how to store the boat on the trailer properly !!!
Problem with Dalpol is that they do not provide any kind of the manual.

repair done by Mr. Linhart (not as good as the initial fix by the factory)

factory fixed only the cracks on flat surfaces and not in the non-skid

I was told that repairing the non-skid is not easy. Hmm, nothing new to me. I know that it can be fixed as you have a piece of the non-skid mold, but I can live with that. I will probably fix it by myself later on when I have a time, but now I'm focused on getting her ready. It's about the time.

factory added more layers of the fiberglass

I have also some very thin cracks on the sides of the floor in the same area, but this is not a big deal.
Don't forget that we have hull #27 so it's not perfect. On the other side, I have to admit that all were repaired pretty fast in 14 days.
This was also nice opportunity to drive a few hundreds of km and practice the behavior of the loaded trailer when I was moving the boat back and forth to the dealer.

When I was in the mood of modifying the trailer I've changed the front bow stop. Originally there was pretty bad carpet, which was stretching the bow. So I cut the pads with the carpet and replaced it with the V shaped thermoplastic bow stop which does not make any stains.

modified bow stop