Lackey Sailing | Arietta Phase 2-15

November 22, 2021

Arietta Phase 2-15

Monday

The new scupper backing pads, as well as the liner cosmetic patch, were well-cured after the weekend, and following a light sanding I touched up the fairing compound where needed to fill pinholes and fine-tune the liner repair and fillets around the through hulls. I used a quick-curing acrylic fine filler that allowed me to sand once more later in the day, leaving this area ready for the next steps, including primer, paint, and the seacocks’ reinstallation.

For now, though, my focus was on preparing the main decks for high build primer. I removed the masking tape–now somewhat worn and scuffed–from the toerails and other areas where I’d applied it to protect during surface prep, then vacuumed and solvent-washed all areas to prepare for final masking.

Next, I masked as necessary for the high build primer to come, starting with the forward hatch and companionway, then the toerails, ports, cockpit coamings, and poop deck. For now, I left the cockpit bulkhead and companionway open, so that I could continue next time with getting started on a couple projects in the cabin, but I set up and partially masked plastic sheeting that would eventually cover the cockpit, keeping it folded back at the forward end for access for the moment.

To integrate the new deck paint with the areas I’d painted during phase 1, particularly at the aft end of the sidedecks outboard of the coamings, I planned to apply the high build up to the paint line I’d left before, then, before finish primer, extend the new work further aft, sanding and fairing in the transition at that time, so that ultimately the topcoats would blend more easily.