Wednesday

Back on deck, I sanded once more the forward coachroof, bringing the overall shape closer to its final contours and further defining the various areas requiring more attention.

Afterwards, I applied more fairing compound as needed, focusing on the obvious lows and using a wider trowel.

Now that the worst of the sanding was over with, I removed the sliding companionway hatch and, down on the bench, worked it over with various grits and machines to prepare it for primer,

I went around the hull and, with a grinder, prepared various small areas for additional repair, mainly small dings or older repairs that required refreshing, along with a series of old outboard-mount bolt holes on the transom (which I’d spot-filled during phase one), the old engine exhaust, and, on the starboard counter, a funny area with a slightly wavy texture.  Afterwards, I applied epoxy fairing compound to these areas, and filled-then-fiberglassed the old fuel tank vent opening on the starboard quarter.

With little else to do to move the project forward at the moment, I decided the time was right to install the mast beam.  As anticipated, I found that the original beam required some minor fitting before I could  get it properly back into position, mainly some slight planing of the top surface around amidships and on the starboard side, where the beam contacted the overhead before slipping into the “pocket” above the vertical beams. After a couple test-fits and minor trimming, I got the beam in place.

The beam had never been a particularly close fit, and now it actually fit more closely along the crucial centerline area, where the beam spanned the passageway to the forward cabin directly beneath the mast step; I had to tap it in place in order to make it fit, which I deemed a win.

With the main beam in place and secured with the two bolts on either side through the bulkhead, I fitted the short forward section of the beam, which also required just a bit of trimming at the top center in order to fit in place.  I installed the final three bolts to secure it, completing the installation.

Total time billed on this job today:  5.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  11°, clear.  Forecast for the day:  Sunny, 16°

Tuesday

Because I knew I’d never be able to face it late in the day, I began the day’s sanding at the counter, working to remove the paint from the area I’d left behind on the port side, and an equivalent area to starboard.

With the “worst” part done, I moved back to the bow and picked up where I left off, spending the remainder of the day removing the rest of the paint from the hull with 40, then 80, grit paper.  The gray substrate left behind was in good condition, and there were no unpleasant (or even pleasant) surprises.  There’d be a few small areas requiring some minor repair/fairing attention, which I’d attend to in the immediate future.

Total time billed on this job today:  7 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  19°, light snow, an inch or so down overnight.  Forecast for the day:  Snow showers, possibly some additional accumulation, around 30°

Monday

Beginning on deck, I sanded as needed the fairing compound on the smaller repair on the upper coachroof, bringing this area close to, or to, its final contours, other than an additional round of finish sanding that would happen in the near future.

Continuing, I sanded the forward coachroof repair, smoothing the first round of fairing filler all around and beginning the overall fine-tuning of the shape of the deck.  With the weave of the fiberglass filled, in most areas there was just a thin coating of hte fairing compound left behind, but, as expected, there were several lower areas that would require additional filler, mainly around the edges.

After cleaning up, I applied the second round of epoxy fairing filler, concentrating on the lows and using a wide trowel to shape the fairing material where needed, and a smaller trowel to fill in some of the minor tool marks in the field of the repair.

This work took a couple hours, and afterwards I spent the remainder of the day continuing the paint removal on the hull, working through 40-80 grit paper to scrub away the old coatings and leave behind the smooth gray substrate, which I increasingly thought might be an epoxy barrier coat-type finish that someone had applied over the entire boat sometime in the fairly distant past.  In the event, it was in good condition, consistent, and durable.  Additional rounds of finish sanding later would further smooth the surface and remove the last bits of the old coatings.  By the end of the day, I’d made it forward along the port side and a bit aft on the starboard bow.

Total time billed on this job today:  6.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  16°, mainly cloudy.  Forecast for the day:  Decreasing clouds, 23°

Friday

On deck, I lightly sanded the new fiberglass on the recored coachroof, fairing in the edges as needed with the adjacent decks and otherwise scuffing the surface to prepare it for the next steps.

I sanded the various small patches of fairing compound on the other parts of the deck, including the smaller recore repair.

After cleaning up and solvent-washing, I applied a coat of epoxy fairing compound to the coachroof repair, concentrating on the edges and filling the weave of the cloth over the entire area.

With my deck work done for now, I turned to the hull, starting at the transom and working my way up the port side from there to remove the old coatings down to the final substrate, which in this case appeared to be light gray gelcoat.  I didn’t make it as far as I’d hoped during this short day, as the deck work took a bit more time first thing, and the paint removal was pretty slow going as I got used to the various layers and how far to take it with the initial coarse grit; the exisiting polyurethane paint was touch and hard, not unexpectedly.  I used two grits of sandpaper for the chore, removing the bulk of the paint with the coarser grit than finishing up with a finer paper.  I sanded down as far as I could comfortably reach along the counter, then, once I was forward of the most shapely sections of the boat, sanded down roughly to the original scribe mark denoting (incorrectly) the waterline of the boat; this removed a couple inches of the existing antifouling paint so I’d be sure to have clean, prepared hull down beyond the restruck waterline later.

Hull work would continue thus for the immediate future.

Total time billed on this job today:  4 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  2°, clear.   Forecast for the day:  Sunny, 14°

Thursday

I began with a round of sanding on the new solid laminates at the mast step and “bulge” on the forward coachroof recore, bringing the edges flush as needed and otherwise preparing these areas.

On the upper coachroof, I sanded the new laminate covering the recore repair there, bring it flush all around and preparing the area for fairing.  While I was there, I sanded most of the paint off the companionway hatch; I’d finish this up later, once I removed it from the boat.

To prepare the large repair for its new fiberglass, I applied some epoxy filler as needed, fairing the two solid glass areas in with the surrounding core.  This was mainly at the edges of the solid areas, where there was a slight depression.  Before beginning, I masked over the two nearby portlights, and remasked the after part of the forward hatch for protection during the glasswork to come.

Next, I installed three layers of 1708 in epoxy resin, starting with the smallest piece that just covered the core and extended to the edges of the cutout, filing this area up to the level of the surrounding decks, then the two larger, overlapping layers extending to the outer reaches of the prepared deck areas.   The port edge of the largest piece unraveled a bit as the cloth stretched during installation, leading to the messy appearance along that edge, but most of that would get sanded off in the next steps.

Pleased to have the deck whole again, I finished up the deck work for now with some additional fairing compound on the two or three spots requiring it around the deck, and the first coat of fairing filler on the small recore repair.

With the bulk of the deck work complete, and no longer a pressing need for staging at deck height, I lowered the planks to a height comfortable for working on the hull, which would be my next and immediate focus in the coming days.  Before moving the staging, I slightly adjusted the jackstands as needed to bring the boat level, which would be required later when it was time to strike the waterline.

Total time billed on this job today:  6 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  26°, cloudy.   Forecast for the day:  Cloudy, chance of snow showers, then clearing and temperature dropping thereafter.

Wednesday

Before beginning any dirty work on deck, I checked the fit of the large piece of fiberglass I’d cut for the coachroof repair, laying it in place on the coachroof.  I noted a couple areas where minor adjustment was needed, but otherwise it was a good fit and I could use it to pattern the remaining two pieces required for the new top skin, which I laid out and cut now, also test-fitting the first layer that would fit within the cut lines of the repair area and help bring the area above the new core up to the proper height with the adjacent deck edges.

I spent much of the day on sanding duty once more, starting with the overhead in the head, the bottom side of the coachroof repair.  Sanding this area, even relatively minimally as this round required, was an unpleasant chore, as the space was tight, and the headroom was about the worse possible height:  Too low to stand upright, too high to sit or kneel, requiring the most uncomfortable of crouching postures…but soon enough it was done, and looking pretty good.

On deck, I lightly sanded the two core repairs just to scuff the skim coats from the day before.

Then, I sanded all the various small repairs and new fillets along the toerails, mainly by hand, and bringing the bulk of the deck into its final state of readiness before high-build primer, other than a couple small areas that would require spot-filling, and, of course, the recore repairs.

After cleaning up from the day’s sanding, I cut several small pieces of fiberglass to fit the mast step area and the “bulge” in the coachroof repair, then wet out and installed these layers in their respective voids:  8 layers in the mast step (installed in two “lifts”), and three layers in the smaller area.  This filled the voids roughly to the top of the core.

At the same time, I cut and installed three layers over the upper coachroof core repair.  These new laminates would cure overnight, allowing me to do the final lamination work next time.

Total time billed on this job today:  6.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  6°, partly clear.   Forecast for the day:  Cloudy, chance of snow or snow showers, 33°

Tuesday

I started by removing the weights and paraphernalia from the new core installation.  Later, I washed and lightly sanded the area to scuff the surface, remove any hard edges, and, in a couple areas, pare down the core a bit where it was a little high, mainly around the fiberglass bulge on the starboard side.  (It seems somehow I forgot to take any photos after the sanding, unfortunately.)

Before getting into any dirty work, I made basic patterns of the mast step and bulge areas, which I planned to fill with solid fiberglass, and also of the smaller recore area on the upper coachroof, so I’d have these available for cutting the smaller pieces.  I’d hoped to start building these up now, but, still awaiting my new roll of fiberglass, I found I didn’t have scraps large enough for these areas (other than the smallest one), so I postponed that for now.

On the underside of the repair, I sanded a little more around the edges and with a finish sander to fine-tune the first round of sanding from the day before, and removed the masking so I could clean up the edges.

After cleaning up above and belowdecks, I used more thickened epoxy to fill the kerfs in the core, and to fill around the edges as needed.

On the overhead, I spot-filled as needed to take care of the various minor low spots left behind, and clean up some of the edges.  This would be the final round of filler on the overhead.

I went round the decks, focusing mainly on the toerail, doing any final hand-sanding required and marking areas that would require some epoxy work.  I also scraped and sanded away final bits of the old paint around the companionway and forward hatches.  After cleaning up the decks, I applied epoxy fairing compound as necessary, mainly at the base of the toerails to clean up the fillets there, but also in a few other areas where needed.

With the arrival of my fiberglass late in the day, and the coachroof area cured sufficiently for this purpose, I went ahead and made a plastic pattern of the whole area, marking both the overall edges of the repair (for the largest piece) and the inner section along the cut lines.  Before the end of the day, I laid out and cut the largest piece required for the new top skin, which I’d test fit on the morrow when the epoxy was fully cured and then use it to create the slightly smaller second layer, before moving onto the remaining fiberglass patterns.

Total time billed on this job today:  6.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  27°, partly cloudy.   Forecast for the day:  Sunny, windy, temperature dropping.

Monday

The satin varnish on the mast beams had cured nicely, and these were ready for reinstallation when the time was right.

After the usual quick water-wash, I gave the new fiberglass on the inside of the coachroof repair area the lightest of sandings to prepare it for the next steps.

Belowdecks in the head, I sanded the overhead, otherwise known as the opposite side of this repair, where I’d installed a skim coat of fairing compound earlier.  There’d be some hand-sanding around the edges, and some touch-up here and there, but otherwise this area was close to completion.

After cleanup, I laid out and cut 3/8″ balsa core for the large coachroof repair, and also the smaller repair aft.  There was one bulge in the inner skin, an area I’d not been able to completely eliminate during earlier steps because of the overall nature of, and access to, the area in question, forcing the bulge to remain.  I thought of just letting the core ride over the bulge, with the excess to be removed later, but it was too high and it would have been difficult to sand away the excess core from such an area, so I chose to cut out this small section above the high spot, and I’d fill it with solid fiberglass later.

I also omitted the core from a large area behind the hatch, in way of the mast step, which I would laminate with solid fiberglass in the end result for strength and, more importantly, compression resistance.

The newly-strengthened coachroof inner skin was much stiffer than it had been originally, and didn’t flex much under pressure, but to be sure I shored it up belowdecks with the plywood template I’d made (and ultimately never used during the inner skin repair) and a brace to the sole.  I didn’t brace further as I didn’t expect the skin to flex at all further outboard.

After a final and thorough cleaning of both areas to be recored, and other preparations, I wet out with epoxy resin all the core pieces down on the bench then, beginning with the small area on the starboard aft coachroof, installed the core in epoxy adhesive.  For this section, I began by filling the voids around the opening with thickened epoxy (high-density and cabosil), as I’d not yet done so, but for the larger repair, I’d previously done the edge work so it was a matter only of wetting out the substrate and installing the adhesive with a notched trowel before installing all the wet-out core pieces, pressing them into the adhesive and then, after covering the area with plastic, weighted down with sandbags.

Afterwards, I contented myself with finish-sanding the accessible deck areas, working through 80-120 grits on a 6″ orbital finishing sander over the wide areas, some hand-sanding at the toerails, chainplates, and other tighter areas, and additional machine sanding with a palm sander, mainly in the areas outside the reach of the larger tool.  This brought the decks mainly to their final preparedness for primer, excepting of course the coachroof and its ongoing repair, along with various small areas still requiring some hand work or ongoing minor filling and repairs.

Total time billed on this job today:  6.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  22°, light snow.   Forecast for the day:  Snow, a few inches, then changing to rain and windy, 40°

Friday

I water-washed and lightly sanded the new fiberglass on the coachroof repair, then reamed out the core from around the exposed edges of the open area.

Similarly, I reamed out the core from the edges of the small repair on the starboard aft coachroof.

From a length of 10 oz. fiberglass cloth, I cut a piece to fit the large coachroof repair.  This cloth would help tie together all the various aspects of the inner skin.

With the cloth patterned and cut, I filled all the exposed edges around the perimeter with a thickened, strengthened epoxy mixture, forcing it tightly into the voids.  Then, I used more of the mixture to ease any final remaining edges and transitions on the surface to provide an even base for the fiberglass cloth, which I installed next, wetting it out in place once the edge and surface filler had had a chance to tack up slightly.  Other than some quick surface prep later, this was the final step required before installing new core.

Belowdecks, I applied a skim coat of fairing compound to the new work, mainly to fill the weave of the cloth and to generally smooth the whole area for acceptable cosmetics and paint-worthiness.

Finally, I applied a 4th coat of varnish–this time satin–to the mast beams.  These photos show the varnish freshly applied and still appearing glossy.

Total time billed on this job today:  5.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  28°, mainly cloudy.   Forecast for the day:  Mostly cloudy, chance of snow showers, 40°

Thursday

In the head and forward cabin, I began with the usual prep and then lightly sanded the new tabbing as needed, simply to scuff the surface and remove any hard edges.

On deck, I sanded the various small fairing patches and other areas.  Most of the small divots would require at least one more round of filler.

Now that the coachroof was more or less structurally sound once more, with the new overhead and tabbing, I could address the remnants of the old structures above.  In several areas, the defunct repairs extended far upwards,  and needed to be removed or ground down to make way for new core and fiberglass, at least as much as possible.  The area at aft center/starboard, roughly paralleling the notch in the starboard bulkhead, was the highest, and its nature and the lack of access below meant that some of the lumpy mess would have to remain, but I still intended to remove as much as possible.  Other high areas where I expected to be able to remove more or all of the humps were at the starboard side of the mast step area, just aft of the hatch, and on the port aft side of center.

With a grinder, I cleaned up these and all other areas of the old inner skin, grinding down the nasty old work as much as possible, removing remnants of the old core, and generally preparing all surfaces for new work.  Around the perimeter of the repair, I removed the gelcoat and ground the laminate to prepare it for tying in the new structure later in the process.  I extended this area up the doghouse bumpout a bit, as the whole length of the transition had shown cracking and, as I ground, I found a clear seam filled with some form of filler.  I planned to run the new top laminate up into this area for added strength.   This chore was, and would be, by far the messiest part of the whole project, and it took as long to clean up the mess to some reasonable and workable point as it did to do the actual grinding work.

This seam was part of another ongoing curiosity about this boat, one which encompassed not only this now-visible seam, but also the small cracked areas in the toerails on each side that I’d just patched (which were aligned with the doghouse crack), and some visible but mysterious landscape features belowdecks in the same area.  I’d never know precisely what this boat had been through, other than “a lot”.  For all this, she seemed to hold together, and that’s what mattered.  The new work could only make things better.

While I had the grinder out, I prepared the small recore area on the starboard coachroof in the same way.

The new bottom skin was, by requirement, below the original bottom skin, leaving a recess that needed to be brought flush before I could install the new core.  To this end, I pieced together a layer of 1708 for the job, using various smaller pieces because I’d unexpectedly run out of the full roll of material earlier in the week, and while I’d ordered more at once, it had not yet arrived.  To keep the repair moving forward, I chose to use smaller pieces on hand, which posed no problem in this application since this layer was only a height-and thickness-enhancer.  Once I got the base even enough, I planned to add one full-size layer of lighter cloth to tie the whole thing together–original, old repairs, and new work–before recoring.

But for now, I cut the scraps to size and, after first skim-coating some of the various transitions and old work (with various old seams) with a thickened epoxy mixture to smooth and fill any minor voids, installed them in epoxy resin.

To finish up the day’s work, I cleaned as needed and reapplied epoxy fairing compound to some of the smaller repairs around the deck…

…and applied another (3) quick coat of varnish on the mast beams.

 

Total time billed on this job today:  7 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  25°, mainly cloudy.   Forecast for the day:  Mostly cloudy, 34°