December 1, 2023

Calliope Girl 20

Friday

To get the day started, I made up a drawing of the water tank as per the actual mockup, and added in some details regarding fittings locations, inspection ports, and baffles.  Now I could send this off to some vendors for quotes and timeframes.

Next, I vaccummed out the inside of the boat in all areas, ridding everything of the dust that had settled since my last sanding efforts.  There’d be more mess ahead eventually, but at least for now it was workable.

The owner expressed interest in having me remove the rest of the ceiling strips in the forward cabin in order to address the failed coatings in the area and repaint.  Although access to the space was awkward at the moment, given the steep curves, upon assessment I decided that this was as good a time as any to get the job done, as there wasn’t really any other pressing work requiring me just then as I transitioned from the water tank work and surface prep towards some of the new work (and was awaiting materials for the new construction anyway).  The forward ends of the ceilings featured wooden trim with more screw holes than I had ever seen in such small pieces–at least two screws (and/or holes) in each of the planks.  These took a while to remove, as the screws were tiny, with slotted heads, and in fairly poor condition.  I only fussed with the screws because I didn’t want to damage the ceiling strips themselves.

Eventually, I removed the trim, and moved on to the ceiling boards.  These were secured with more of the tiny, slotted screws, and the chore quickly became aggravating, not to mention fruitless, as the screws were mostly bronze and in poor condition, and the slots were filled with varnish and corrosion.  Soon enough, I determined that if I couldn’t remove these strips some other way, I’d be there still…or else would advise leaving the planks in place.  However, I found that with care, and not too much effort, I could pry the boards loose from their supports–there was just one small screw in each of four supporting strips along the length–so this sped up the removal process significantly, though the screws remained in the boards.

At some length, I successfully removed all the ceiling strips from both sides of the forward cabin.  Now I could, when the spirit moved me, clean up and sand the fully-exposed hull.  (I’d also have to do the quarterberth sometime, so I’d make a fun day of it sometime soonish.)

Eyeing the pile of screw-filled boards on the bench, I sighed deeply and, fully knowing there was no better time than right now to remove the screws, set to the task.  I had to use pliers from the back side to spin out the screws enough that I could grab them with the pliers from the visible side to remove them completely, as the tiny screws (#4) were installed through small or nonexistent pilotholes.  However, soon enough the work was done, and future me would greatly appreciate that now-me had done the work, well, now.  Now-me is good that way.

Total time billed on this job today: 5.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation: 31°. partly clear. Forecast for the day: Sunny, then a chance of rain, increasing clouds, 50°