| Bolero
Project |
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 In my planning for the week's work, I'd written down that today would be the day for installing the coachroof. I'd also written down that today was the day to apply high-build primer to the cockpit, so as I stood in the boat at the beginning of the day, I contemplated both jobs. I was looking forward to installing the coachroof, but looking around the cockpit I realized that I had a lot of pre-paint prepwork to complete, and that realistically, I couldn't possibly do both jobs effectively today. In the end, the cockpit won: it was far more important to get the paint process started, since completing the cockpit seats couldn't happen till the paint was done, and I needed to be able to start the seats soon to keep the whole process moving along. Because of other commitments that would take me away from the shop on Wednesday, this was a perfect time for primer, since typically the primer likes to sit a full day after application before sanding, or else it loads the sandpaper. It turned out I was right about the prep required: it took half the day to prepare the cockpit for primer. I had to tape off the various edges required, and cover up the seat supports, coamings, and bulkhead to prevent overspray. I also taped off the center portion of the sole over the existing slatted section to prevent primer from getting into the bilge and other unwanted areas; this is also where I'd have to stand/crouch during spraying. Finally, I covered the cabin trunk and adjacent decks with plastic. |
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Afterwards, I cleaned up, solvent-washed with Alexseal A9049, and sprayed on three coats of high-build primer to all cockpit areas. The nature of the old hull liner was so imperfect to begin with that I'd not attempted to make it perfect now, so the high-build would help make things just a bit nicer before applying the finish primer later in the week. I planned a flattened, semi-gloss (at most) paint surface for the cockpit (hull sides) to further avoid exacerbating the flaws in the old liner; most of these areas wouldn't be directly viewed once the boat was complete anyway. |
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Finishing up the primer coats in early afternoon, and with no further work possible in the shop because of the fumes, I saw the perfect opportunity to head out and run some needed Bolero-related errands to pick up the again-modified mainsail (mast slugs added) and to pick up the six glass port blanks (two spare), made from 1/4" laminated glass and cut to the template I dropped off last week. |
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