I've nearly finished all of my projects. The boat is repainted and the boat has been mostly reassembled.
For completeness I will run through the projects that have been completed since I last posted:
Reinstalling the Cabin Sole
The top fiberglass "skin" of the cabin sole was fastened onto the new balsa core with a ketchup consistency mixture of epoxy and colloidal silica. The fiberglass was held in place with many, many sand bags and a few bags of concrete. I am guessing that I put between 350 and 400 pounds of weight on the floor. Seams were faired with a frosting consistency mixture of epoxy and West System Microlight 410. I couldn't be happier with the way this turned out. The floor is super solid now and looks great. I painted the sole with the same Interdeck nonskid that is on the decks. I can't seem to find all of the photos of this process.
Hatch Repair
The forward hatch was cracked in the middle of its forward edge. I decided to put a fiberglass "band-aid" on top of this area. The repair is mostly cosmetic, but should add a bit of strength. I decided to reinforce the back edge in the same manner. Around four layers of fiberglass were applied (each piece successively larger, see Don Casey's books for more info). The repair was faired into the rest of the hatch and the area was sanded.
Deck Repair
I found a bad spot on the starboard side around the forward portion of jib track. There were a couple of leaking pieces of hardware there and that had ruined the core. I found the extent of the rot by drilling holes outward from the bad region, I then cut the top portion of fiberglass off and dug out the bad wood. New balsa core was epoxied in place. I then layed up a new fiberglass deck in this area. This was my first experience with fiberglass and I didn't find it to be too challenging. As with everything the key is good preparation. I did many layers, many more than I thought would be necessary. It should be very strong here.
Painting
The entire painting process took forever. It is an endless cycle of sanding, sanding, cleaning, painting, sanding, sanding, painting... ad infinitum. I put on two coats of primer, three coats of Brightsides, and two coats of Interdeck. I used the "roll and tip" method for the Brightsides and got a reasonably shiny finish, there are many many variables in getting a good finish but the most important are: substrate preparation (sand and clean) and the paint/thinner mix:
Masking out the non-skid areas was a very tedious task. I didn't get it exactly perfect, but I think it looks respectable. I got some vinyl fine-line tape from an automotive store and outlined all the non-skid areas. I then masked out the rest of the exterior with normal blue painter's tape. Corners were radiused by tracing a quarter and cutting the tape, an idea I borrowed from Tim's excellent restoration of Glissando.
So, that was painting. I don't think I've ever been so happy to be done with something. It looks pretty good, but the true test will be to see how it holds up. I wouldn't do this again if I didn't have access to an indoor painting facility. It took forever because I was a limited by weather. Warm enough to paint = warm enough for copious amounts of insects here in the South.Putting it back together
I first reinstalled the windows. I spent a long time cleaning these up in my shop. The aluminum frames are not in too bad shape, pitted here and there but in decent condition. I used a synthetic steel wool (real steel will leave deposits that will rust) and aluminum polish to make them shiny. I used 3M 4200 to bed them back in their openings; the frames were tightened just enough to make the 4200 ooze out. After the sealant had cured for a few days the frames were tightened fully.
This is essentially the process for the entire deck, rebed the equipment in sealant, snug them down, wait for the sealant to cure and then crank the hardware down tight. After the deck had been painted it was impossible to see where the hardware was previously installed from above. In some cases I drilled a small pilot from underneath to locate the hardware. I consulted photos of the rigged cockpit I had taken previously just to make sure things were going where they belonged.
There weren't any real surprises throughout the deck rebuilding process. The only problem is that it is mostly a two person job, one on the bolt and one on the nut. In some cases small pieces of hardware were previously installed with screws. I have replaced all of these with bolts all the way through. Backing plates were installed on some hardware and very wide washers on others.
A point of interest is the new mast step/organizer plate combo that I got from Rudy at D&R Marine. I bought the new SS tabernacle to replace the original cast aluminum piece. The original used one large bolt through the center of the cabin roof with two screws to hold it in place. At some point in this boats life the screws had been replaced and three medium sized bolts held it in place. It was not a pretty setup as the bolts went through the cabin top at an angle and had broken the headliner. The new tabernacle uses four bolts. Unfortunately the bolt patterns for the halyard organizer plate and the tabernacle didn't line up. Three drill bits and a lot of cursing later I had the two pieces mated. Additionally, the tabernacle pin on the mast had to be relocated to accommodate the new equipment. Drilling this hole was nerve wracking and I spent a lot of time measuring and remeasuring prior. Getting the alignment right for the tabernacle itself was equally critical and challenging. Boats this old have changed a lot over time and are twisted, warped and contorted in subtle but important ways. In my case the headliner centerline and the boat's true center were not perfectly aligned, this makes the measurement process tricky. In the end, it went in beautifully and I am really proud of it.
This is essentially the process for the entire deck, rebed the equipment in sealant, snug them down, wait for the sealant to cure and then crank the hardware down tight. After the deck had been painted it was impossible to see where the hardware was previously installed from above. In some cases I drilled a small pilot from underneath to locate the hardware. I consulted photos of the rigged cockpit I had taken previously just to make sure things were going where they belonged.
There weren't any real surprises throughout the deck rebuilding process. The only problem is that it is mostly a two person job, one on the bolt and one on the nut. In some cases small pieces of hardware were previously installed with screws. I have replaced all of these with bolts all the way through. Backing plates were installed on some hardware and very wide washers on others.
A point of interest is the new mast step/organizer plate combo that I got from Rudy at D&R Marine. I bought the new SS tabernacle to replace the original cast aluminum piece. The original used one large bolt through the center of the cabin roof with two screws to hold it in place. At some point in this boats life the screws had been replaced and three medium sized bolts held it in place. It was not a pretty setup as the bolts went through the cabin top at an angle and had broken the headliner. The new tabernacle uses four bolts. Unfortunately the bolt patterns for the halyard organizer plate and the tabernacle didn't line up. Three drill bits and a lot of cursing later I had the two pieces mated. Additionally, the tabernacle pin on the mast had to be relocated to accommodate the new equipment. Drilling this hole was nerve wracking and I spent a lot of time measuring and remeasuring prior. Getting the alignment right for the tabernacle itself was equally critical and challenging. Boats this old have changed a lot over time and are twisted, warped and contorted in subtle but important ways. In my case the headliner centerline and the boat's true center were not perfectly aligned, this makes the measurement process tricky. In the end, it went in beautifully and I am really proud of it.
The cabin was also reassembled. To my happy surprise the compression post went back in nice and snug (after jacking the cabin roof up about a quarter of an inch). Unfortunately, during this process I managed to put a crack in the floor. It is along an area that has no core and will not receive any weight. This is going to have to wait to get fixed. Disappointing, but it is hardly noticeable and should not affect on the structural integrity of the cabin floor. I then set about reinstalling the bulkheads and putting the galley back together.
I think that I can get the boat ready to sail in one more push. There is only one somewhat major piece of hardware to reinstall: the stemhead. This has a challenging aspect to it that I will describe soon. Other than that it is mainly cosmetic stuff inside the cabin and a few odds and ends like the compass and some cam cleats. In a fit of frustration I also pulled all of the electronics out and bought a new battery. I am going to redo this at my leisure as lights aren't required on a vessel this size anyway.
So, that's it. It's nearly time to go sailing.
