110 Cookson Lane | Whitefield, ME 04353 | 207-232-7600 | tim@lackeysailing.com
Ashantee | Tuesday, March 24, 2015
The owner requested some additional painting work in the cabin, starting with the overhead liner in the head compartment, which I'd not addressed when I painted the remaining overhead earlier. After removing a couple pieces of hardware on the overhead, and an initial acetone wash, I sanded the gelcoated surface to clean and prepare it for masking, primer and paint.
With preparations complete, I applied a coat of primer to the surface.
At the same time, I wrapped up preparations on the undersides of the companionway, forward, and lazarette hatches, and applied a coat of primer to these surfaces.
The owner had previously painted the bulkheads in the cabin to cover the original fake woodgrain laminate surface, but he asked that I do an additional coat on these surfaces as needed. So to begin, I masked off the bulkhead trim and other areas as needed to prepare the bulkheads for the additional paint. With new interior lights on hand, I also removed any of the old lights that were still in place, and repaired various old fastener holes as required.
In the galley, I removed the stove so I could get to the unpainted area beneath. After thoroughly cleaning the area, I sanded the laminate material, then applied a coat of primer.
These activities took up the bulk of the days time, but afterwards, I turned to some of the varnish work, masking off the companionway area to varnish that trim, along with the swashboards and the drink holder from the pedestal. Because of the condition of the original drink holder that I'd removed earlier, I decided it would take less time and be less expensive to purchase a new one and varnish it rather than strip, sand, and refinish the original, which was in poor condition. I'd continue this over the coming days, along with additional varnish work that would be required once I finished preparations on various other pieces.
While cleaning up the old hardware to prepare it for installation, I'd come across the waste pumpout deck fitting that had been fitted when the boat arrived, and simply couldn't face reinstalling it: it represented the worst of the worst in hardware, chintzy pot metal with a plastic cap, all in poor condition, corroded, and ugly. So as a small token, I chose to provide at no cost a new bronze fitting--something more in keeping with the rest of the hardware--as my small gift to the success of the project. I'd install the new fitting in due course.
More exciting new bronze hardware had arrived in the form of two heavy bronze cowl vents, to replace the plastic ones that had been installed before. I was happy to find that these vents were available new, as I'd not been aware of a reliable source in the past. Unlike some of the lightweight brass vents sometimes seen, these were cast bronze, dense and heavy. Traditionally styled, these would add greatly to the boat's appearance, and I couldn't wait to install them. Before installation, I pre-installed tightly the cowls in their deck plates to ensure proper alignment once installed. I added a little waterproof grease on the threads so that they'd remain removable; the vents came with flat deck plates to close off the openings if desired.
To that end, with some time remaining in the day, I decided to start the process. On deck, I masked around the existing openings in the tops of the Dorade boxes--for protection and to eventually make cleanup easier after installation--and test-fit the vents, aligning them parallel to the boat's centerline and in the proper position. I found that the original holes, which were messy and crooked, were a bit too large, so one of the four fixing screws on each vent remained over open air; I'd have to patch in some material to allow the vents to be properly fastened.
Total Time Billed on This Job Today: 8.25
Hours
0600 Weather Report:
Clear and calm, -2°F. Forecast for the day: sunny, light wind, highs into the mid-30s.
