| Kaholee Refit |
February 20, 2007 My first step this morning was to trace the outline of the fuel tank on the hull, so that I could see its general footprint. Then, I maneuvered the tank out of its space and into the cabin so that I could make the last preparations before its final installation. The first order of business was to paint out all the areas beneath the cockpit and in the cockpit lockers. This is why I marked the tank location on the hull: so that I could paint beneath the tank but leave a border of unpainted hull around the perimeter for now so that I could epoxy in the needed blocking to secure the tank later. Using a blow gun and vacuum, I cleaned out any remainign dust and debris from the lazarette, aft part of the hull, and the cockpit lockers, as well as the engine room and bilge area. Then, I cleaned all the surfaced to be painted with acetone to remove dust and other contaminants before applying a coat of Interlux Bilgekote. |
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This durable paint comes in two colors: white and dark gray. We wanted a medium gray, so I first mixed up a custom batch of paint using a 1:1 mix of gray and white, which substantially lightened the color. I mixed up two gallons using one of each color, which would be plenty to complete all areas that required paint. I applied the paint with a large, older brush; I had planned to use a roller, but in the tight and curvy spaces aft, there was no easy way to use a roller tray, and I found that it was easy to simply use the brush. I painted all the areas of the hull that I could reach. The paint covered well with one coat. I left some areas of the hull near the forward end of the cockpit lockers unpainted for the moment, since I needed the raw fiberglass to attach the blocking that would secure the fuel tank, and also wanted the bare hull available for installing the backing plates for three seacocks that I would install in the area after the fuel tank was in place. I also left a large portion of the starboard cockpit locker bare for now, so that I wouldn't scratch the paint when reinstalling the fuel tank later. Once the work in these areas is complete, I'll paint out whatever remains. I painted the hull beneath the cockpit well, and extended down into the bilge aft of the engine room, as well as throughout the entire engine room itself. |
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Later, I repeated this process on the man bilge areas beneath the cabin sole, portions of the lockers beneath the v-berth, and the settee lockers on the port side. I had some modifications ahead on the starboard side, so until those were done I left the starboard side alone. Before painting the bilge, I discovered an old knotmeter through hull that I had forgotten about, so I removed that, but left an unpainted area around the hole so that I could patch it with fiberglass. Once that's complete, I'll fill in the missing paint. |
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