October 14, 2020

Skeedeen Phase 6-14

Wednesday

At first check in the morning, the heavier section of fairing compound at the transom centerline seam was not yet cured enough to sand–a known and expected issue with this particular product, which features a slow hardener and often takes longer to cure in cool temperatures.  So to help this along so I could sand it today, I set up a couple heat lamps and let them warm the area for a few hours.

To complete the transmission removal and provide the rebuild shop everything they requested, I had to remove the damper place, which was bolted to the flywheel.  To gain access, I had to remove the bell housing, which was fairly straightforward although there were many hoses and appliances in the way and secured to the bell housing, such as the transmission oil cooler, but this was just an inconvenience rather than a true impediment.

With the bell housing removed, it didn’t take long to remove the damper plate.  The engine was now unbalanced and unsteady without the counterweight of the transmission, so I bolted a couple blocks to the forward mounts to act as a storage cradle.

Later, I lightly sanded, mostly by hand, the other minor patches where I’d applied the fine fairing filler earlier, then the transom seam as well.

This process highlighted a few areas with pinholes and otherwise requiring some additional attention, so after preparations I applied more of the fine filler where needed.  This was all I could do to advance the project at this time, though I did a first-round shop cleaning afterwards as I began to prepare for primer and paint soon.

Total time billed on this job today:  2.75 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  48°, mostly clear.  Forecast for the day:  Sunny, 65°