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Equinox Project | Tuesday, April 7, 2009 I spent a good part of the morning work session installing the fuel tank with the supplied straps, installing the connection kit and fittings, and connecting the fill, vent, supply, and return lines to their appropriate fittings. |
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| Afterwards, I connected the exhaust hoses, now that I had the clamps that I needed on hand. |
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Some flexible vent hose that I'd ordered arrived, and with that in hand I could finally install the last pieces of deck hardware: two cowl vents on the poop deck, to replace in kind the old ones. Installation was non-noteworthy. The deck fittings included blank-off plates that I planned to install for transport, and remove the vents so that they couldn't fall out and get lost. |
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Next, I turned to the gelcoat patching. I began by mixing some uncatalyzed gelcoat with bits of color paste to approximate the color of the deck's existing gelcoat. Over the course of four slight adjustments, I fine-tuned the color to match the existing as well as I could, dabbing some of the uncatalyzed mix on the boat itself to allow it to slightly air dry and form its actual color, as gelcoat, like most pigmented substances, changes color in subtle ways as it cures. |
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Once I had the color mixed, I catalyzed the gelcoat and mixed in silica till I formed a putty that I could trowel into the various holes that I'd prepared earlier. I overfilled the holes to allow for shrinkage. Then, I sprayed PVA (the purple stuff in the last photo) as an air inhibiter over the gelcoat to allow it to cure for the remainder of the day and overnight. |
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Various miscellany rounded out the day's progress. Tomorrow I planned to purchase ship's batteries, a few needed small parts, and fluids for the engine in preparation for a test firing. |
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