Read on Fontaine Pajot Owners and Buyers
If you're a Fontaine Pajot Helia 44 owner, or prospective catamaran buyer this article is for you. Here we deep dive into work done on one of our favourite vessels the Helia 44. Sometimes niggles are hard to diagnose and with life at sea away from a yard this can become a frustration. There comes a moment when it's time to haul out of the water and get to work. Here we present some practical marine engineering on Fontaine Pajot forty footers.
Discover engineering insights to help you maintain your Fontaine Pajot Catamaran and get tooled up with skills needed to stay ship shape and safe at sea.
Should I buy a Helia 44?
Helia 44 presents huge volumes in the saloon and accommodation areas are complemented by elegance in contemporary design. With 4 cabins and 4 bathrooms plus air conditioning throughout, these make cruising Australias East Coast even more enjoyable all year round.
Large portholes in the catamaran's hulls increase natural light by 30% while delivering enhanced views and a stylish aesthetic. Brilliant panoramic vistas from the saloon allow even more natural light to illuminate the interior.
Vessell Background
This particular Helia 44 spends most of its summers cruising Australia's East Coast. It's well maintained and never used in rough seas so no major issues were anticipated. It has a factory sail rig with only minor add ons and the power drive is factory stock. Like most most other well maintained Fontaine Pajots this one comes out of the water every six months for a routine checkup and scheduled repairs. This time though it was time for a revamp. It was a real pleasure and a priviledge to work on one of AHI Marines favourite cats: the Helia 44.
Refitting Custom Rub rail
Fontaine Pajot rub rails eventually need a replacement. This helia 44 was no exception. It's important to service and check the rub rail fittings periodically to avoid water coming in. Even the smallest leaks and dribbles over time will seap into the super structure and start to de laminate and warp internal fittings. Thankfully none of this had occured as the vessel was out of the water as part of a service schedule to replace parts ahead of time.
The procedure is fairly straight forward. First a solvent softens the fastening glue of the previous rub rail. It is carefully peeled off and the surface is prepared by light sanding and peeling away old glue and fixation material. After alcohol is wiped over to remove any greese a new epoxy is applied ready to take on the new rail.
The new rail is carefully applied in one go and held in place to allow initial curing of glues. Further fixes are applied to hold it firmly in place.
The crucial detail to remember about rub rails is
This Case Study is being actively written: to check back in and see the full write up published in September bookmark this page
Chrome/Firefox Hold down Cmd + D or Ctrl + D.