Lackey Sailing | tim lackey

Monday

With sufficient gloss base-coatage on the interior trim and bulkheads, my next coat would be the final (hopefully, or nearly so in any event) one, this time with the rubbed-effect satin varnish I used on the other parts of the cabin during the earlier phase. So after another round of sanding and cleanup, and other final preparations, I applied the satin varnish to all areas. A few hours later, the new coating had dried enough to bring out its satin texture, though in these photos a few wet spots remain, mainly on the little section of cabin sole.

The loose trim and cabinet doors and drawer fronts were one coat behind, still in the gloss base buildup stage, so after another sanding I applied the 4th coat of gloss varnish to these pieces.

Total time billed on this job today: 2.75 hours

0600 Weather Observation::
32°, cloudy. Forecast for the day: rain, sleet, freezing rain, 35. Spring in Maine.

< Back to Halcyon

Some small jobs, completed over various days as time and new arrivals dictated:

1. I secured the new stove to its sliding shelf with four screws through the bottom of the stove housing.

2. I repositioned the jack stands and painted the bottom patches beneath.

Total time billed on this job today: 1 hour

< Back to Acadia

Friday

Once more, I sanded and revarnished the trim and bulkheads in the cabin, and then the loose parts down on the bench.

Total time billed on this job today: 2 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
15°, clear. Forecast for the day: clouding over, snow/rain showers in the afternoon, 30s

< Back to Acadia

Thursday

After the usual light sanding and cleanup, I applied another fresh coat of varnish to the interior bulkheads and trim.

Similarly, I continued the process with the loose parts and doors down on the shop benches.

Total time billed on this job today: 2 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
11°, clear. Forecast for the day: sunny, windy, cold, 30°

< Back to Acadia

Wednesday

After a light sanding and final preparations, I continued the new varnish work in the cabin with coat #2.

Back in the shop, I sanded the teak base trim, drawer fronts, cabinet doors, and the head and forward cabin doors through the grits to clean and prepare the newly-stripped surfaces for varnish.

After cleaning up the wood and shop, I applied a sealer coat of varnish to all pieces.

Total time billed on this job today: 4.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
30°, clear. Forecast for the day: getting colder, clear, windy.

< Back to Halcyon

Tuesday

As time and circumstances allowed, I continued to pick away at the few remaining small jobs on my list, starting now with the bottom. After masking off the waterline and final preparations, I applied two coats of antifouling paint to the bottom areas. I’d return later to finish up the patches beneath the jackstands.

Total time billed on this job today: 2 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
28°, partly cloudy. Forecast for the day: sun and clouds, showers, 44°

< Back to Acadia

Tuesday

In the cabin, I masked off the trim and other areas to be varnished in the forward cabin and passageway. After final cleanup and preparations, I applied the first of several coats of varnish to these areas.

Later, down in the shop, I turned to the various drawer fronts and doors, and stripped the old finish with a scraper and heat gun.

Total time billed on this job today: 4 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
28°, partly cloudy. Forecast for the day: sun and clouds, showers, 44°

< Back to Acadia

Monday

With the completion of the interior refinishing in the main cabin last fall, the owners decided that they also wanted to refinish the adjacent cabin areas, in the passageway and forward cabin. Now, with some time in the schedule, I turned to this phase of the work.

As with the main cabin at the start of things, the old finishes in the passageway and forward cabin were in fair to poor condition, with the varnish lifting and a generally worn appearance.

To begin, I removed all the loose trim, drawers, small doors, and the two large doors leading to the head and forward cabin.

Much of the area was to receive white paint, much like the after portions of the cabin, with the port transverse bulkhead to be finished bright, along with the doors, drawer fronts, and trim. To prepare the areas for their eventual refinishing, I stripped the old varnish from the bulkhead and various trims, including the head door jambs, then sanded the whole area smooth and clean with various grits, cleaning up the newly-bare wood and otherwise preparing the adjacent areas for primer and paint.

Finally, I solvent-washed the area to prepare for the next steps.

Total time billed on this job today: 7 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
25°, clear. Forecast for the day: sunny, 44°

< Back to Halcyon

Friday

To finish up the revamped water system, I installed a length of 1-1/2″ hose to connect the deck fill pipe with the water tank.

At the owner’s request, I purchased a new 2-burner alcohol stove, and now I installed it in the galley. It fit nicely on the small shelf intended for its storage, held in place with the interior fiddle and some nonslip padding I placed beneath it on the shelf.

After installing a small buss bar for the negative distribution side of the electrical system, I finished up the wiring, connecting all the terminals I’d prepared earlier.

I’d picked up a new deep-cycle battery and some replacement bulbs for the running lights, and now I installed the battery in a covered box just below the electrical panel. I made up the final connections and powered up the system to test the various lighting. All lights tested operational. I still awaited the proper socket to finish rebuilding the stern light housing, so that light was not yet able to be tested. Once I’d ensured that the old running lights worked, I went ahead and installed the covers with their colored globes.

The riggers arrived to pick up the standing and running rigging for replacement, and drop off new lifelines to replace the originals in kind. I installed these now. The lifelines relied on the mast stays for support and direction at their forward ends, and the old lines had featured bulky blobs of tape to protect the rigging and lifelines against chafe where they intertwined amidships. These photos, taken either at my first viewing of the boat in the water before the project, or right at the beginning of the work once the boat was at the shop, show these areas in more detail.

Hoping for a cleaner, more effective solution, I’d asked the riggers to include little bronze ferules, through which the lifelines could pass and which could be lashed to the main shrouds in the proper position when the boat was rigged. Once the ferule was lashed to the shrouds, the lifeline could easily be removed from the ferule at haulout time (by unthreading one end from the turnbuckle at the aft end) in order to leave the ferule lashed in place on the stay. I included some marlin lashing line and basic instructions on each side of the boat, ready for when the mast was stepped after delivery.

With this, most of the work list was complete. Still ahead remained a few odds and ends, including maintenance coats of varnish on the mast and boom, pending completion of new rigging, interior cushions, and cockpit cushions, and other minor and sundry tasks, all of which I’d ensure completion of in short order.

Total time billed on this job today: 5.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
0°, clear. Forecast for the day: sunny, 30

< Back to Halcyon

Thursday

The main event of the day was to install the deadlights. For this. one of the only tasks I’d yet to figure out how to do alone, I’d lined up some help. Before beginning the actual job, I’d prepared ahead by laying out plastic sheeting on the sidedecks for protection, and arranging the required tools, fasteners, and other supplies at the ready. I checked the fit of each frame in its opening and cleaned the openings as a final step.

Outside, I applied sealant to the bonding flange and pressed the frame into the opening–on this boat, the openings were a close and accurate fit to the frame with no appreciable sloppiness. This actually improved the process and made the installation go more smoothly than in many cases. With my helper holding the frame tightly in position from the outside, I went in the boat and installed the inner frame, lining up and installing the many screws to get them started before tightening everything securely.

After completing both sides, I cleaned up the excess sealant and removed the masking from the new lenses, completing the installation.

I’d hoped to wrap up work on the electrical and water systems, but the materials I’d been awaiting didn’t arrive till too late in the day, so I’d continue with these final items next time. In the meantime, I unwrapped the mast and boom, which I’d stored alongside in the shop, so I could begin preparations for maintenance coats of varnish on the spars. Both were in good condition and wouldn’t require any significant work.