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Wednesday

This project was really winding down now, but there were a few odds and ends to take care of yet.  One of these was to reinstall a little paper towel holder and cover above the engine room countertop.  This angled piece had originally covered the back sides of the old engine instruments, and had been installed with a pair of the plastic slam latches used throughout the boat.  One of these was broken, and since such quick access was no longer required to this area (since I’d removed the gauges), I decided to install the unit with a pair of cleats, which I screwed to the liner and the backing behind it.  I used a single screw on each side of the angled unit to secure it to the cleats, making it still easily removable if needed, but otherwise secure.

In the quarterberth, there was an old (original) vinyl liner glued to the hull, and this was in poor condition.

The owner asked that I replace it with a new fabric liner, so with the bulk of the other work now behind me, I turned to the removal of the old liner.  Fortunately, though the liner was still adhered well with its adhesive and a few wooden trim pieces at the aft end, it pulled away easily once I started it, and it took little time to remove the old liner in one piece, which I’d use to help prepare the new fabric once it arrived.  I’d return to this project in due course.

After final preparations, I applied a coat of rubbed-effect satin varnish to the cabin sole and centerline hatches, which wrapped up what I could accomplish for this day.  These photos show the varnish after an overnight cure.

Total time billed on this job today:  3.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
Mostly clear, 20° .  Forecast for the day:  Mostly sunny, 30s

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Tuesday

I spent the morning reassembling hinges and so forth on the varnished doors, then reinstalling all the doors and drawers in the boat, along with the base trim in the nav station foot well.  The base trim on the remainder of the cabin sole would wait till I completed the varnish work there.

The port door over the upper electrical service locker on the aft cabin bulkhead needed some latch modification.  The original slam latch receptacle had at one time in the past been reinstalled upside down or sideways, and didn’t function properly to capture the screw on the back of the locker door.  I knocked the mounting block loose from the inside of the locker and, after cleaning things up a bit, reinstalled it in the correct orientation with some epoxy adhesive, clamping the block in place while the epoxy cured.

I lightly sanded the varnish on the cabin sole, then applied another gloss coat only to the little trim areas, thresholds, and center strip and hatches, attempting to bring these areas to a similar beginning state as the main sole panels.  I hoped to apply satin varnish to the entire sole next time.

I also varnished the exterior side of the companionway swashboards, which required only this maintenance coat.

Total time billed on this job today:  4 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
10°, clear.  Forecast for the day:  sun and clouds, 32°

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Monday

Over the weekend, I decided that a few of the painted interior panels required a third coat of paint, as I wasn’t happy with some thin/dark spots at the upper edges, where coverage hadn’t been as good as I’d hoped.  So after basic preparations, I applied a third coat of paint to the panel outboard of the nav station on the port side, the small section above the aft galley countertop, and portions of the galley and engine compartment.

Now, with the paint work complete, I removed all the masking tape from the cabin.  Final installation of the base trim and various doors and drawers would bring the whole thing together soon.

The cabin sole had looked pretty good at the beginning of the project, but as work progressed in adjacent areas, it looked more and more downtrodden, and some time earlier I’d decided that I’d fo a quick refresher coat of varnish on the whole thing to spruce it up.  The existing finish was fair, but rather rough, and there were bare teak trim thresholds and center trim and hatch pieces that had never been finished, along with a single oddball plank in the passageway.  There was some water damage on the port side, which had stained the veneer and lifted some of the old finish.

To prepare, I sanded the existing finish with 120 grit, concentrating as needed on the damaged area to port and cleaning up the bare wood as well.  Afterwards, I vacuumed and solvent-washed, and masked off some areas in the passageway to prepare for new varnish.

Preparations complete, I applied a thin sealer coat of varnish to the bare wood sections only.

The thin sealer coat cured enough during the day so that I could go back later and apply a fresh coat of varnish over the entire sole, including the bare areas and center hatches once more.

A couple of drawer fronts had been uncooperative in properly accepting my second coat of satin varnish earlier, so I sanded these and applied another coat, and also a final coat to the main side of the bookshelf; I’d varnished the inside of this unit over the weekend.

Total time billed on this job today:  5.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
20°, snow (2-3″ so far).  Forecast for the day:  snow (6″ total ), ending mid-day

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Friday

After a light sanding with 320 grit–mainly to scuff the surface–and the  usual cleanup process, I applied a second coat of white semi-gloss enamel to the interior surfaces so treated.

Most of the small parts and trim looked good after my coat of satin varnish, but there were a few pieces with a holiday–it happens–or drips from the finger holes, so for these several pieces I lightly sanded and applied a new coat of satin varnish.

Total time billed on this job today:  3 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
27°, partly clear with a snow shower.  Forecast for the day:  partly sunny, 30.

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Thursday

My next step in the cabin was to sand the new primer with 220 grit paper, which I did by hand, smoothing the surface to provide a good base for the finish coats.

After cleaning up the sanding dust and solvent-washing, I applied the first coat of semi-gloss white enamel to all surfaces.

After thoroughly sanding all the doors and other small parts, and final preparations, I applied a coat of the final finish–rubbed effect satin varnish.  This time around, I included a few extra pieces, including some doors that had been in good condition and only required the fresh satin coat, and the insides of the two swashboards for the companionway, which were also in good condition but had been finished with gloss previously.

Total time billed on this job today:  3.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
30°, cloudy.  Forecast for the day:  clouds, maybe a snow shower, growing colder with a front in the afternoon.

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Wednesday

Now that the interior varnish work was complete, I went ahead and unmasked all the trim and bulkheads as needed.

The new varnish had had sufficient cure time so I could move right ahead with masking off the lower settee bulkheads and after cabinets in the galley and nav station to prepare them for primer and paint.

After final preparations, I applied a coat of primer to all areas.

Later, I sanded, cleaned, and varnished (coat #4) the doors and other small parts down in the shop.  I planned this to be the final gloss base coat on these parts before switching to the rubbed-effect satin varnish for the final coat.

Total time billed on this job today:  6.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
25°,cloudy.  Forecast for the day:  short period of snow, then clouds, 38°

 

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Monday

After a careful sanding and cleanup in the cabin, I applied a coat of rubbed-effect satin varnish to the interior trim and bulkheads, what I hoped would be the final coat required, though I’d assess it later once the varnish had fully cured.  This time around, I applied the satin varnish to the inner companionway trim and the engine hatch/countertop trim, which had been in good shape to begin with and only required a light sanding before the final coat of satin varnish.

Afterwards, I sanded and cleaned all the small parts and trim, and applied the third coat of gloss base varnish to these pieces.

Total time billed on this job today:  7 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
20°. cloudy.  Forecast for the day:  clouds, light snow, 1-3″ expected.

 

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Friday

Once more, I lightly sanded the varnish work in the cabin, then cleaned up and applied the fourth base coat of gloss varnish.  I hoped this would be the last base coat before switching to the final coat or two of rubbed-effect satin varnish.

Down in the shop, I continued work on the small parts, sanding them lightly, cleaning, and applying the second base coat of gloss varnish.

Total time billed on this job today:  6 hours

0600 Weather Report:
30°, clear.  Forecast for the day:  mostly sunny, 40s

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Thursday

Following my usual pattern, I worked in the cabin to sand, clean, and varnish (base coat 3) the trim and bulkheads.

Afterwards, I finished cleaning up the shop and all the small parts, laying them out on various benches for access, and then applied a sealer coat of varnish to all pieces.

Total time billed on this job today:  6 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
40°, heavy rain.  Forecast for the day:  rain ending, partial clearing, around 50

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Wednesday

I took a moment to test-fit the new hatches I’d built for the trash receptacle and port aft bulkhead to ensure they worked as I’d hoped before continuing work on the new pieces.

In the cabin, I lightly sanded the first coat of varnish with 320 grit, then vacuumed, solvent-washed, and tacked off the wood to prepare for the second coat of varnish on all surfaces, which I did immediately.

Later, I tackled the pile of newly-stripped loose parts in the shop, sanding everything clean and smooth to prepare for varnish.  Afterwards, I cleaned up the shop, but with dust in the air I decided to hold off on final cleaning and varnish sealer coat till next time.

Total time billed on this job today:  6.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:
37°, cloudy.  Forecast for the day:  sunny breaks, then clouding over and rain overnight