Back on Erica, Welders from Hell

 At the beginning of April, with the weather feeling warmer, we returned to Erica. Covid was still causing problems and there was little yacht movement and many closed borders. We had known since sailing from Bermuda to Flores that there were leaks in the deck and we had already decided to remove the teak and engage someone to weld up any holes so, since we appeared to be grounded here, we decided to ask for recommendations for local welding firms. The marine workshop brought a local reputable firm down to talk to us and they said they would have no problems doing the job. We agreed to remove the decks ourselves. We would remove the port side teak, They would weld the holes, then we would repeat the process with the starboard side.

First we  (Scruffbag) had to remove the deck fittings and all the ariels, wiring etc. He worked tirelessly.  Removal of the teak was the easiest part. It had been bolted through the aluminium with no insulation around the bolts. A recipe for the corrosion that had ensued. The decks were in far worse condition than we had anticipated.

                          

                          

                       

                             

 

The easiest way was to remove the teak, remove the insulation then knock the bolts through. It sounds easy.No. Hundreds of screws, each one to be caught as it came through to prevent it becoming lost in the hull and starting to corrode. Some of them were hard to access to say the least. 

                              

 Next step was to sand the decks. Scruffbag suffers with carpel tunnel so using an electric sander was not an option for him. At 66 years old, I had thought my days of sanding aluminium decks were over. Ha!

At last it was complete and the welders came. They welded the port side holes then they left and we repeated the removal process with the starboard side. Then it rained. We had been watching the forecast so we covered up the starboard side, Then the welded port side holes leaked. Lots of them leaked. We used plastic containers.We were not happy. We were wet.

           

The next day the guys from the marine workshop called the welders. The welders said no problem.They said they would test all the welds at the end of the job and correct any leaks. We were somewhat happier and we asked them to return to complete the starboard side. They promised to come. We waited.They didn't come. We waited. The marine workshop guys phoned them.  They promised to come. We waited.They didn't come. We waited. The marine workshop guys phoned them.  

 They promised to come. We waited.They didn't come. We waited. The marine workshop guys phoned them.  When they actually answered the phone,hey promised to come. We waited.They didn't come. We waited.They stopped answering the phone, The marine workshop guys drove up and sat outside their office on several occasions. They promised to come. They didn't arrive. Ever. We gave up. We bought lots of gaffer tape and lived in a leaky boat whilst exploring every avenue to find another welder. Aluminium welders in Portugal are,it would appear, thin on the ground. 

We phoned an aluminium boat builder who put us in touch with the welder to whom his firm sub contracted all his aluminium welding. He was Brazilian and was working in France. With the help of google translate we managed to communicate with him and he agreed to come and see us when he returned to Peniche at the end of June. We stocked up on gaffer tape, watched the weather forecast and settled down to wait. At least no money had changed hands,