Lackey Sailing | tim lackey

Tuesday

In the galley, there was a narrow area above the storage shelf where the hull was covered with an old vinyl liner, much like that in the quarterberth that I’d replaced earlier. Actually, this vinyl material was in place throughout the boat, but this section in the galley was decrepit, heavily stained, and the owners asked that I replace it with the same material as in the quarterberth.

The original liner had been installed before the cabinetry, so it extended past the shelf and into the space beneath. I used a sharp knife to cut the material even with the top of the shelf so I could remove it. Several pieces of trim at the bulkheads at either end also held the fabric in place and covered the raw edges, so I removed these in order to release the fabric, after which I could pull it away from the hull and remove it. Access was tight at best; at the after end, I could barely fit in a hand and arm over the fiddle and with the minimal clearance beneath the deck.

I used the old liner to rough out the width of the new fabric. I decided to wrap a little of the fabric onto the shelf during installation, which I thought would look nice and finish off the area better.

After dry-fitting the new material and making adjustments and relief cuts as needed. I permanently installed it with spray adhesive. Clearance at the aft end was so tight that I had to spray the adhesive into a cup, then with maximum effort reach into the space with a brush to get some on the hull and fabric. Once the new material was in place, I reinstalled the trim at the forward end, but left off the aft trim since there was quite simply no way to install it, whether by hand nail (as original) or with an air tool, as the clearance was simply too tight. Fortunately, this trim wouldn’t be missed nor visible.

To wrap up work for the day, I applied another coat of varnish to the back side of the v-berth door.

Total time billed on this job today: 2.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
33°, mostly cloudy. Forecast for the day: rain, mixing with or changing to snow, 30s

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Monday

The owner delivered this boat to me back in the fall, at which point I covered the boat and stored it for the winter next to the shop. I’d done various upgrade and maintenance tasks to the boat a year earlier, and now the owner requested that I rebed the large windows, which were leaking badly. In addition, he mentioned that the chainplates–which I’d rebedded during the earlier phase–were also leaking again, at least in part because the screws securing one of the cover plates hadn’t held, allowing this plate to pull up.

A few days earlier, during a brief stretch of good weather, I’d pulled the boat from its storage area, taking advantage of warmer weather to release the trailer tires from the mud into which they’d sunk. Now, I removed the cover and frame that I’d installed in the fall, and moved the boat into the shop, where I’d recently made room. It was a tight-ish fit considering I wanted to leave room to work on the windows on each side, but it was workable.

With staging set up alongside, I turned to the windows. Particularly on the port side, it was easy to see why the windows might leak, as the sealant appeared inconsistent, and, viewing the port from an angle, I thought I saw light between the plastic and the cabin side. The large tinted window was secured from the outside with screws, and was substantially larger than the actual opening in the cabin side, presumably for the sake of a certain outward appearance. The outer portion of the plastic was coated with paint outside of the actual window opening, and overall the plastic itself looked to be in good condition; I thought I might be able reuse it unless some clear reason came up why I couldn’t.

Continuing in the port side, I removed the screws and then the window itself. The window came off easily, and seemed barely sealed in place.

I repeated the process on the starboard side, where I found that the plastic was definitely much better-adhered than on the port side, but still I had little trouble removing the window intact.

The starboard window had some pre-existing cracks emanating from a couple of the screw locations, and for the moment I reserved judgement whether it would be reusable or not. For the moment, I ordered some materials I knew I’d need either way–black sealant and replacement screws–and would forge ahead next time.

Total time billed on this job today: 2.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
21°, clear. Forecast for the day: sunny, 40s

< Back to Acadia

Monday

Now that the paintwork in the passageway and forward cabin was complete, I unmasked the area and then reassembled the various doors, hinges, and trim to complete the work.

The owners requested a curtain to close off the saloon from the forward cabin, and this was underway at the canvas shop. To hang the curtain, I installed a simple curtain rod made from stainless steel rod with simple removable ends.

The door leading to the vee-berth had a second side that required the full varnish program (the head door had wood veneer on only one side, with Formica on the inside), so with the first side now complete and cured, I turned over the door to begin the work on the second side with a sealer coat of varnish. I also applied the first of a few coats to the little handles that came off the settee backrest cushions while these were being reupholstered.

Total time billed on this job today: 2.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
21°, clear. Forecast for the day: sunny, 40s

< Back to Acadia

Friday

It was tough to come up with flowery prose to describe such a simple set of tasks on this day, so I thought I’d try a simple list:

1. Lightly sand the fresh paint in the cabin

2. Clean up

3. Apply second coat of semi-gloss enamel.

4. Watch paint dry.

Total time billed on this job today: 1 hour

0600 Weather Observation:
23°, mostly clear. Forecast for the day: sun and clouds, 40.

< Back to Acadia

Thursday

I lightly sanded the fresh primer in the cabin, then vacuumed and solvent-washed the area. Afterwards, I applied the first of a couple coats of semi-gloss white enamel.

Total time billed on this job today: 1.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
32°, clear. Forecast for the day: sunny, 40s

< Back to Halcyon

Wednesday

The revamped stern light was all set and ready to go, so I finalized the installation, reinstalling the fixture in its original hole at the transom and making up the wiring connections.

While working on the mast earlier, I’d also taken the opportunity to apply maintenance coats of varnish to the tiller, and now it seemed the best place to store it was back in place in the cockpit.

I cleaned and polished the existing hull paint, removing dust and minor grime and improving its appearance, and touched up the paint in a few small areas that had been damaged at one time or another.

At this point, the work list was complete, though I awaited new standing and running rigging (currently underway), as well as new interior and cockpit cushions. New updates to follow as progress on these final tasks dictates.

Total time billed on this job today: 2 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
34°, clouds and drizzle. Forecast for the day; eventual clearing, 40s

< Back to Acadia

Wednesday

In the cabin, I masked over the new varnish on the trim and bulkheads in the passageway and forward cabins, preparing the area for primer and paint on the remaining surfaces. Afterwards, I applied a coat of primer to these areas.

I sanded the previous coat of satin varnish on the drawer fronts and doors down in the shop; the first coat of this finish hadn’t cured correctly, and had been oddly glossy. Working with well-stirred product this time–I figured the new can of varnish I’d started for the first coat must not have been stirred up, so the flattening agents had settled–I applied another coat of the rubbed-effect varnish, which I was happy to see cured to the proper level of soft sheen by the morning.

Total time billed on this job today: 3 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
34°. clouds and drizzle. Forecast for the day: eventual clearing, 40s

< Back to Halcyon

Tuesday

The old boottop was looking pretty old, and I’d noticed while I painted the bottom earlier that it could use a freshening, so I masked it off and, after some basic preparation, applied a fresh coat of white paint. over the existing coatings.

Later, after sanding and cleanup, I applied a second maintenance coat of varnish to the mast and boom.

Total time billed on this job today: 1.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
32°, cloudy. Forecast for the day: cloudy, rain showers later.

< Back to Acadia

Tuesday

With the varnish work on the interior trim and bulkheads looking good, I deemed it complete and removed the masking tape. I’d give the fresh varnish a little time before taping over it for the next painting steps.

I sanded and revarnished the loose doors and parts in the shop, this time with satin varnish, but found that it dried with substantial gloss for some reason, perhaps because it was a new can of product that I might not have stirred. So I’d do another coat on those parts next time.

Total time billed on this job today: 2.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
32°, cloudy. Forecast for the day: cloudy, rain showers later.

< Back to Halcyon

Monday

After a substantial shipping delay, I received the new sockets that I’d ordered to repair the existing stern light housing. The sockets were what I needed, but were just a bit of a loose fit inside the bronze casting of the stern light; the old socket that I’d removed had been a tight friction fit. To secure the new socket in a firm yet non-permanent way, I wedged it in place with some little sticks to hold it, then filled the bottom part of the housing around the edges of the socket with adhesive sealant, which would hold the light socket securely once cured.

Next on my agenda was the mast and boom, both of which were varnished spruce and required normal varnish upkeep and maintenance coats. The spars and existing coatings were in good condition. I lightly sanded the existing finish to prepare it, then strung up the spars between some supports so I could varnish all sides at once as required. I removed the spreaders and set them up elsewhere for their varnish coats.