Tuesday
After final preparations, over the course of several hours I spray-applied three coats of Alexseal high-build epoxy primer to all the deck areas.
Total time billed on this job today: 4.5 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
14°, light snow, a dusting. Forecast for the day: light snow in the morning, then heavier snow in the afternoon and overnight.
Monday
I spent the morning on the final tasks required to prepare for high-build primer, starting with masking off the brightwork and whatever else needed it. I thought the all-green look for the brightwork was an interesting one. (Maybe if the boat were Bahamian.)
With the masking complete, I did my final deck cleaning, vacuuming as necessary and a final solvent wash with the paint system’s proprietary wipe-down solvent.
I spent the rest of the day preparing the paint and spray equipment and all the other little things I do to transform from workshop to paint shop. I turned up the heat to bring up the shop temperature overnight, and looked forward to applying the primer next time.
Total time billed on this job today: 5 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
Missed the temperature observation. Forecast for the day: sunny, 20s
Friday
With the exterior wood refinishing complete, I removed the masking tape from all areas except the outside edges of the toerail, which was still holding the protective plastic in place over the hull.
Armed with a finishing sander and various sandpaper, I sanded all the woodwork in the cabin as needed, including the trim that I’d stripped, plus all the other trim and bulkheads to prepare them either for paint or new varnish work. My patchwork on the lower bulkheads would require some additional filling in a second round a bit later, but for now at least I had the heaviest sanding out of the way, and after cleaning up the interior was basically ready for new work.
Now, with this final of the “dirtiest” chores complete, I could turn to the beginnings of preparation for deck primer and paint, starting with thoroughly cleaning up the boat and shop, blowing, sweeping, and vacuuming up dust from the various work over the past weeks and, later, washing down the floor and staging to settle and remove the final bits of dust.
After solvent-washing portions of the interior, I masked off some of the openings, including some hardware holes in the foredeck, the cockpit scuppers, and the insides of the port openings in the cabin. Though I was running out of time, it was still tempting to start masking some of the woodwork and deck areas to advance the project a little more before the weekend, but in the end I decided I really wannted to (as I’d planned all along) leave the fresh brightwork for several days before overmasking, so I called it a day–and a week.
Total time billed on this job today: 7 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
6°, clear. Forecast for the day: sun, increasing clouds, maybe a snow shower, 28°
Wednesday
My work list this week was geared towards completing various tasks that I needed (or at least wanted) done before I focused on deck primer. Chief among these tasks was, of course, the exterior wood refinishing, and this had inadvertently (can one do anything advertently?) limited some of the other chores on my list since I chose to limit new dust production. I’d postponed some of my planned interior work till later in the week, so now I focused on a few items on the list that I could do easily before turning to the third and final coat of Cetol wood finish on the exterior brightwork.
I was working on sourcing some replacement (original specification) hardware for some of the items I’d removed, and wasn’t yet sure what hardware would be going back as is. With various hardware locations and fastener holes already fully prepared, I wanted to mark their locations before I covered the deck with primer. If I’d been sure exactly what hardware would be going back, I could drill small locator holes that would survive the primer application, but I didn’t want to do that when the hole patterns might change. Instead, I created a simple paper pattern of the foredeck, where I marked the various locations–specifically the anchor chocks and foredeck cleat–with an awl and marker so I could recreate these locations later.
I did plan to mark a few other locations with a small drill bit, but I decided to wait till I was all done with the exterior wood refinishing before making drill spoils on my clean deck.
One side of the lazarette hatch, and the tiny section of aft deck behind the hatch opening itself, featured cracks that required reinforcement from within–one of those tiny tasks that I’d kept forgetting about during the past weeks. Now, I prepared these areas and applied fiberglass over the insides of the cracks to strengthen these areas before some final exterior surface preparations later in the week.
The rest of the prep work in the cabin would have to wait till later in the week, so I turned to the third and final coat of Cetol wood finish on all the exterior wood.
Total time billed on this job today: 3 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
19°, light snow. Forecast for the day: snow, a couple inches.
Tuesday
In the cabin, I used a heat gun and scraper to remove the old finish from the berth trim at the v-berth, and both quarterberths. The old finish was tough to remove and didn’t respond in a normal way to the heat gun, so the process was fairly laborious, compounded by the challenges in reaching the trim in the aft berths. I chose to strip these areas since the trim here was quite beat up and I thought that stripping was necessary for best appearance. In other areas, such as the shelf trim fiddles and the various bulkheads, I decided against stripping, and in a later stage I planned to sand these areas to prepare them for their own refinishing.
I didn’t want to to any tasks that would stir up too much dust while still in the middle of the exterior wood refinishing, so I held off on additional interior preparations for the moment, saving the sanding of the newly-stripped wood and other areas for another time later in the week.
Meanwhile, I lightly hand-sanded the centerboard trunk reinforcement by hand, and the inside of the head through hull patch. Outside the boat, I sanded smooth and flush the exterior of the patch to prepare it for a light layer of fairing compound over the repair.
During earlier work in the cabin, I’d removed the loose plywood veneer from a couple areas in the forward vee, and also along the port quarterberth base, so after some final cleanup I applied a coat of fairing filler to smooth out these areas. Since the plywood was essentially sound, but cosmetically unsalvageable as is, patching the areas would allow for a smooth surface for priming and painting later.
I finished up the day with the second coat of finish on the exterior wood.
Total time billed on this job today: 5.25 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
10°, clear. Forecast for the day: sunny, 20s.
Monday
In the cabin, I set about removing any remaining trim from the galley and “head” areas, including the flip-up, hinged countertop/lid over the head compartment. This cleared the way for resurfacing the counters and refinishing the surrounding woodwork and paintwork, I also removed the small longitudinal bulkhead that had closed off the head area, since one side was already loose and it’d be far easier to work within once the piece was removed.
There was an obsolete through hull discharge from the long-removed marine head, and I removed this now, cutting through the fitting from inside and pushing out the recessed through hull, leaving a clean hole behind. Afterwards, I prepared the hull around the hole on both sides, sanding clean the inside surface (and surrounding areas in the compartment) and, outside, grinding a tapered, circular area around the hole to accept fiberglass. Finally, over a couple separate steps, I filled the old hole with a plug of structural epoxy, and when that had cured to a green state, I applied three layers of fiberglass from the outside, and one layer over the inside of the patch.
During the initial cleanup of the space, a quick tap on the old head platform released the last old bolting stud, along with a mess of rusted metal flakes from beneath, remnants of the old backing plate from the ancient installation.
There was a fairly recent repair to the aft, top edge of the centerboard trunk in the bilge, and the owner had asked me to look into it. Not knowing whether there was an ongoing issue or not, I decided simply to reinforce the repair with additional fiberglass, so after final preparations I wrapped new tabbing around the aft end and over the top of the existing repair, extending the new material further onto the original centerboard trunk.
At the end of the morning session, I took the time to solvent-wash all the exterior woodwork, since it can take a long time for the solvent to evaporate out of the bare, dry wood, and I wanted to work on masking and finishing after lunch.
During the afternoon, I masked around all the woodwork as needed, and afterwards applied the first of three coats of Cetol “light” to the woodwork. While the subject of traditional varnish had arisen during discussions with the owner–and real varnish was always my first choice in an ideal world–the existing condition of the original woodwork was such that I felt it made more sense to stick with Cetol for the refinishing, since frankly the old wood wasn’t really worthy of the extra work required for the finer finish, with various old repairs, stains, dents, and the usual collection of wear and tear, along with the natural aging and darkening of the original wood.
This newer “light” version of the original orange-tinged Cetol was lighter and less dense in color, and allowed the grain of the wood to show through more than the original type: a fair compromise in this specific case.
Total time billed on this job today: 5.75 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
24°, clear. Forecast for the day: sunny, 30
Friday
Before continuing work on the exterior woodwork, I wanted to let the new sealant cure well and plenty, so I’d start the refinishing process after the weekend.
In the meantime, I spent some time in the cabin to better assess the condition of the woodwork and some of the other jobs ahead, which I also planned to start in conjunction with the exterior woodwork refinishing. I’d already sanded and prepared the hull and cabin painted areas, and would prime and paint them in due course. The original job scope also included maintenance coats of varnish on the interior bulkheads and trim, and now I turned to these areas in more detail to determine the best course of action.
The four small transverse bulkheads were in pretty good condition, with a glossy finish, but there were a few small areas where moisture had gotten behind the finish, creating discolored/yellowed areas and some failed finish beneath the surface. I could easily sand and refinish the bulkheads as is, and they’d look quite good, but this would not repair these few small areas. Previous experience with this class suggested that these bulkheads featured an epoxy coating beneath the surface finish, and this had proved quite difficult to remove on my earlier project. As a result, I hated to get into it unless necessary, though I was happy to do it if the expected results required it. It was not an immediately clear decision to me.
With only small (and not highly visible) areas of the failed coating, one could argue that there was a tenuous balance between the extra labor required not only to strip, but then sand and go through the various base and final varnish coats to build the finish anew, versus a light sanding and a maintenance topcoat. It looked like it had taken most of a full work day to strip these bulkheads on the earlier job, so this seemed a reasonable expectation here as well, plus the additional time for four or five coats versus one.
The solid wood trim located throughout the cabin, including at the edges of the berths, around the galley, and in the forward cabin, was more clear-cut: I thought most of it, but particularly the berth fiddles, needed to be stripped, sanded, and completely refinished, as there was a lot of wear on the edges of the wood, with bare spots, and unquestionably this trim would look better if redone from a fresh start.
The trim on the shelves in the forward cabin, and their counterparts above the quarterberths, was in better condition, and here it might be acceptable to lightly sand and apply a fresh coat of varnish.
Similarly, the companionway ladder, a galley drawer front, and some other removable pieces might be fine with a maintenance coat as well, not that total refinishing might not be better.
The cabin sole, in several pieces and with some damage and separation that would require some minor reassembly, was in pretty poor condition, and even a total refinishing would have its limitations, though stripping and starting from bare wood would likely have the best results.
Other work planned for the interior included revamping/refinishing, as needed, the trim around the galley countertops, as well as resurfacing the countertops with new material. The old surface was in good condition, but fairly dated in its appearance. The plastic trim pieces around the icebox and sink openings would require some attention, and perhaps re-thought, as well.
Finally, the bases of the settees and forward berth had more significant damage from moisture, particularly in the V of the forward berth, where the veneer had failed and separated from the base layers of the plywood, and in a previous consultation with the owner we’d already decided that some cosmetic repair and painting these surfaces would be the best approach, and that’s how I planned to proceed.
Total time billed on this job today: 1 hour
0600 Weather Observation:
35°, partly or mostly cloudy. Forecast for the day: sun and clouds, maybe a shower late afternoon
Thursday
I finished up some minor sanding work on the exterior trim, including cleaning up and finish-sanding the two existing, and one new, pieces of companionway trim, along with a couple areas on deck where I’d made some minor wood repairs.
During various sanding, scraping, and stripping chores, some old bedding compound at the edge of the toerail where it met the deck had flaked away, and this left, in some areas, a small gap at the corner of the rail. This sort of void would attract dirt and moisture and eventually compromise the new wood finish, so I decided to apply a small bead of sealant here to seal the crack and provide a more cosmetically appealing appearance.
After vacuuming and solvent-washing the area, I applied masking tape on both sides of the seam to protect the adjacent surfaces. I left just a bit of exposed surface on both deck and toerail to give the new sealant somewhere to bond externally, but mainly I wanted the sealant to be forced into the small gap as much as possible.
I applied a bead of brown-colored sealant and, with finger pressure, forced it into the small seam and into a smooth cove shape, minimizing the material right at the edge of the tape.
Afterwards, I immediately removed the masking tape, carefully pulling it away from the fresh sealant and leaving behind a nice little cove.
Meanwhile, I turned to the companionway trim. After final preparations, including drilling the new piece for screws and test-fitting all three pieces, I installed the trim in a bed of sealant with new fasteners all around. The reddish spots at the corners of the opening are areas where I’d filled and repaired some damaged gelcoat chips.
Total time billed on this job today: 5 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
30°, partly clear. Forecast for the day: Mainly cloudy, 40s
Wednesday
After chiseling out the little notch in the back side of the new companionway trim piece, I test-fit the piece again, making some fine adjustments till it fit properly.
During this fitting process, I found that the base trim piece was loose, the old fasteners having failed, so I removed that as well so I could better clean up the area for reinstallation. Ultimately, I decided also to remove the port companionway trim for sanding and reinstallation, since its installation was similarly loose. Later, I sanded clean the old faying surfaces of the molded opening, pending final reinstallation of the trim pieces a little later.
I spent the bulk of the day sanding all the exterior trim to remove final bits of old finish and smooth the wood surface. The wood, as anticipated, was in fair condition considering its age, with various staining, dents, and so forth, but it would look pretty good once refinished. While I was at it, I dressed up the deck, cabin, and cockpit surfaces with 120 grit on a vibrating sander, the final sanding stage for these areas. I had a couple minor regluing repairs underway when I took these photos, which explains the clamps seen here and there.
Later, I cleaned up the main set of chainplates, removing old paint, sealant, and surface rust. In a couple spots, the rust had etched into the surface metal a bit, but it didn’t appear at this time to extend below the surface.
Total time billed on this job today: 6.75 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
34°, drizzle. 2″ sleet and sodden rainy mess left from yesterday. Forecast for the day: Clouds and eventual sun, 40
Tuesday
I began by lightly sanding the few deck areas where I’d added another round of fairing compound, pretty much finishing up the work other than a final round of finish sanding over the entire deck areas, which I’d do soon.
I continued work on the exterior wood stripping, this time with the companionway hatch rails and handrail assemblies, plus the insides of the cockpit coamings and other areas.
The starboard side of the companionway trim, where the swash boards fit, was damaged and broken at the top edge. Though I briefly considered scarfing in a new piece to make up the damaged section, I quickly elected to rebuild the entire piece from new stock, so I removed the old trim and, down in the shop, used it as a template to mill a new piece from solid teak stock that I had on hand, duplicating the details of the original piece.
A quick test-fit showed that I needed to further massage the bottom edge, where the piece was curved to fit the molding at the corner of the opening, and also create a notch at the top edge to allow the trim to fit into the existing trim and moldings, as I’d seen on the original piece. I marked the outline of the new cut, but as it was getting late, I decided to leave it till next time before chiseling it out and doing the remaining fine-tuning on the new trim piece.
Total time billed on this job today: 6 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
30°, heavy sleet. Forecast for the day: sleet, freezing rain, rain…everything but snow