| Bolero
Project |
Monday, March 3, 2008 I began the day by stepping backwards. Continuing work on the new chainplates and associated reinforcement, I began to lay out a cutline on the hull liner in way of the chainplates on each side. In order to bond and reinforce the new knees, as well as further reinforce the hull-deck joint, I had to remove part of the liner so that the new work would tab directly to the hull. I marked out an area on each side of sufficient size to accommodate the new work. |
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Using a small grinder and a cutoff disc, I cut away the liner according to the mark, beginning on the port side (left photo, above--before cutting). In short order, I had removed the piece and exposed the hull. At this point, however, it became clear just how lightly secured the liner actually was, and, thinking ahead to the other new work in the cabin and associated with the new main bulkhead (where I'd also have to remove part of the liner in order to adequately tab), I made the rapid decision to simply remove the entire liner in the forward part of the boat. This is a thought that had been under discussion at an earlier time, though at that time I had been under the impression that the liner was more thoroughly secured to the hull, with less air space between, and would therefore have been much more challenging to remove; ergo, at that early stage I had determined that removal wasn't necessary, nor prudent. When one sails uncharted waters, one is bound to encounter a dead end or two that forces a course reversal, or at least a search for an adjacent, but less rocky, path. Such paths always seem more clear as one looks back. In any event, I made some new reference marks to cut from: 4" aft of the forward bulkhead (which was just aft of where the liner actually did become fully secured), and about 6" aft of the eventual bulkhead location amidships, to allow for tabbing space on each side. Then, I cut along the lines with my grinder, as well as along the top edge of the liner as required. It was a relatively simple task to remove the liner; the laminate was flimsy to begin with, and the two layers of material contained therein were poorly bonded to each other, so the removal was a combination of rip and tear and tug to release it from its globular resin bonds to the hull, assisted where necessary with a small chisel for persuasion. The good news was that removing the liner revealed that the reported additional (and of original construction) hull reinforcement in way of the chainplate area did indeed exist, though given the old chainplates' means of attachment (through-deck alone), and the fact that the reinforcement didn't appear to extend through the hull-deck joint and to the underside of the deck, I questioned what real value it had in the first place. |
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Next, I ground away the blobs of resin (many of which had never even had contact with the liner), a fairly unpleasant and dusty chore. When I had removed the heavy material with my big grinder and an aggressive disc, I switched tools and sanded the entire areas with my sander and 40 grit discs to clean up the hull and smooth it sufficiently for future work. Of course none of this area would be exposed in the finished product. During the process, I also worked to grind the two existing repaired areas at the chainplates to better allow them to accept new material and transition onto the adjacent surfaces. After cleaning up the dust and remaining debris, I finished up with a thorough acetone wash to clean the hull and remove any remaining grime. |
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To begin the reinforcement of the hull-deck joint at the chainplates on each side, I cut two layers of 1708 material, the first about 12" wide by 24" long (for a 12" overlap onto hull and deck), and the second several inches larger in each dimension. This provided several inches of material on either side of the actual chainplate slot locations. To begin the installation process, I formed some fillets in and around the old reinforcement at the hull-deck joint to create a smooth transition as necessary. As noted previously, the character of the previous work on each side of the hull was somewhat different, so the port side required less work than starboard. Then I epoxied the two layers in place, first the smaller layer then the larger one, and covered the laminate with Peel-Ply, which would keep the laminate smoother (since I had more work to do here later), avoid the need for grinding, and also prevent and/or self-remove any amine blush formation. The top photos show the starboard side; the lower photos show the port side. |
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I wrapped up the day with another coat of fairing compound, as necessary, on the cockpit areas. |
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