110 Cookson Lane | Whitefield, ME 04353 | 207-232-7600 | tim@lackeysailing.com
I finished up the fiberglass cutting for the new cockpit core areas, setting aside the cut pieces for later use. I didn't want to get into a dirty sanding project, since the boat was clean and the continuing cockpit work was my priority for the day, so instead I worked on several smaller jobs throughout the morning, moving parts of the project forward but mostly waiting for my fresh, overdue resin supplies.
With limited resin supplies on hand till later in the day, I cautiously used what I had to complete several sub-projects, beginning with filling two round holes in the hull in way of the section requiring new core: one in the center of the topsides repair, which I'd drilled earlier as a test sample; the other the old engine exhaust outlet near the waterline. I masked over the holes from outside and filled them with a thickened epoxy mixture, the first step in my patching process. Sometime later, once the epoxy had partially cured, I installed fiberglass over the insides of these holes; I'd ground out a recessed area around the upper hole during an earlier sanding process, so the glass here could be flush on the inside. Later, I'd grind and patch these holes with fiberglass from outside.
Because I had the opportunity, since all the core was removed from this section, I thought it would be good to install a single layer of fiberglass over the exposed inside of the outer skin (is that confusing?), to help tie the large repair on the outer skin in with the surrounding areas before installing new core and inner skin as part of the expected repair. To this end, I prepared a piece of fiberglass cloth cut to appropriate dimensions for the job, thinking I might be able to get to this before the end of the day, depending on other things.
Meanwhile, I masked over and filled various small screw holes and other openings in the exposed inner skin in the cockpit areas, preparing them for the new core, as well as preparing other openings for their repairs, including the two topskin-only patches on the starboard bridgedeck. Once the new core and top skin was in place over the cockpit, I'd approach the final stages of the repairs to the bottom skin from inside the boat, along with those areas on the sidedecks and elsewhere as needed.
With time on hand, and enough resin for the job, I wet out and installed new fiberglass over the starboard bridgedeck, and installed a circle of new core and fiberglass to fill an old round hole near the companionway.
When the new resin supplies arrived in mid-afternoon, I got right to work wetting out the core, and installing the four sections in the cockpit, bringing the day to a close.
Total Time on This Job Today: 6.25 hours
