| Kaholee Refit |
March 9, 2007 I began today with a second coat of paint on the settees and v-berth--exciting stuff. I know it doesn't matter since these areas won't generally be seen once the cushions, etc. are in, but I really like the contrast of the gray berths with the white hull ceilings and surrounding areas. It's somehow appropriate. (Or at least I think so...) With the painting complete, I prepared some of the tools and materials for Monday's push to install seacocks and ports. |
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All of the original bronze ports--six opening and four deadlight frames--were in good condition, with their original weathered bronze patina. They had been carefully removed some time ago by the owner, and reassembled with the screws in the proper locations. Now, I began to disassemble the ports for preparation and installation. Because of known issues regarding the mounting screws for these ports, I felt it was important to keep the screws in the proper orientation so that they'd be sure to go back in the same holes later. To this end, I taped each screw to a sheet of paper for each port, with the screw in the appropriate position around a crude outline of the port that I scrawled on each sheet. |
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As I disassembled each port, I cleaned up any remaining residue from old bedding compound or sealant as necessary, using a scraper, putty knife, and wire wheel in a drill. The old plexiglass in the deadlights was slated for replacement, so I removed the old, which seemed as if it had been installed with hot melt glue. The existing glass in the small, opening ports was in good condition and didn't need to be addressed now. In similar fashion, I cleaned up all 10 ports and set them aside for installation. I continued the pre-installation process by installing the new 1/4" Lexan plastic, four pieces of which had been precut and transported along with the boat from New Mexico, into the outer half of the bronze deadlight frames. To do this, I first dry-installed the piece to ensure its proper fit and to allow me to trim off a bit of the protective plastic covering the Lexan; I ran a sharp utility knife around the edge of the port frame to score the protective sheet, and then peeled off this border, leaving the remaining protection in place for now. Then, I ran a bead of butyl rubber sealant along the inside lip of the port frame, and set the frames over the Lexan on a flat surface, pressing down all around to seat the plastic firmly in the sealant. To hold things in place while the sealant cured, I clamped the frames to the bench with some strips of wood over the top, and left them alone over the weekend. I chose butyl sealant because it's highly flexible and strong, and also because what might be the otherwise default choice--polysulfide--is not applicable for use with many plastics, including Lexan, because of a reaction that can remove the plasticizers from the plastic and weaken or otherwise damage the material. Silicone is certainly not a choice, nor is polyurethane, which is too permanent for use in this application. |
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In what is always a positive sign for a large refit project, my order of wood--70 board feet of mahogany and several sheets of plywood--arrived today. While the plywood is essential for completing the basic interior structures still to come, the solid mahogany is the window dressing, as it were, and I was looking forward to milling and installing the solid wood trim on the boat's interior and exterior. Included in the supply were two beautiful, wide boards for the new cockpit coamings. |
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To finish up the day, I collected a variety of gear and boat parts from storage; I'd be needing many of these parts in the near future, and wanted easier access to them. Then, I applied a coat of semi-gloss white paint to the two plywood settee backs to finish them off. |
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