Tag Archives: TRIPLE THREAT

Triple Threat, 38 years old and counting

A case study in remediating gelcoat blisters

By Bruce Niederer — GBI Technical Advisor

My father, rest his soul, and I bought Triple Threat together sometime in the mid-’80s. We raced our ’81 Pearson Flyer hard together for the next 15 or so years, including 12 Port Huron to Mac races. The purchase date is lost to history, but the details surrounding how many times the boat needed a new bottom—meaning a new epoxy barrier coat—are forever etched in my psyche. It’s all the sanding that accompanies repairing gelcoat blisters that has addled my IPA soaked cranium. One just doesn’t forget those seemingly endless hours of self-imposed torture. Continue reading →

We mixed and applied a third coat thickened with 406 Colloidal Silica Filler to create the non-skid texture.

Creating a Non-Skid Deck

by Bruce Niederer — GBI Technical Advisor

Above: We mixed and applied a third coat thickened with 406 Colloidal Silica Filler to create the texture for the non-skid finish on the deck.

This racing season onboard Triple Threat has been filled with the usual mix of tedium, laughs, and excitement. It’s a good thing when the exciting part is due to close racing and fast downwind surfing-it’s a bad thing if the excitement occurs when the foredeck crew nearly goes overboard because the deck is wet and the non-skid finish has the texture of a Slip n’ Slide! I’m happy to report no instances of skidding off the foredeck this year, as there had been in years past, because this year the non-skid finish was brand new. Continue reading →

Replacing Damaged Balsa Core

By Bruce Niederer — GBI Technical Advisor

Above: Surprisingly, much of the damaged balsa core on TRIPLE THREAT was well bonded to the glass skin, as it was to this section of skin around the chainplate. The bad core that didn’t come out with the glass skin was removed with a chisel.

I love my boat. I love to spend time with it-sailing it, working on it, improving it.

I think I need my head examined. Continue reading →

When Things Were Rotten

By Bruce Niederer — GBI Technical Advisor

Bruce’s law: The amount of time and effort required to complete an unexpected boat repair is exponentially proportional to how soon you planned on launching.

I am sure I am not alone in this observation. Such was the case this spring as my father and I prepared Triple Threat, our 30′ Pearson Flyer, for another season of racing. I knew the bow floor boards, made of marine plywood and falling apart, would need to go. I had started to build replacements over the winter using foam core, fiberglass and epoxy. But when I climbed aboard and removed the old ones, Bruce’s law kicked in big time. Continue reading →