Lackey Sailing | tim lackey

Tuesday

I finished up with the masking around the inside of the windshield, helm area, and the engine box, then moved out on deck and masked the windshield as needed in all areas. With that complete, I could lightly sand the small spots of varnish I’d repaired in various areas, and apply a second coat. I hoped to get a third coat on later in the day.

Meanwhile, I finished up the masking around the forward hatch, handrails, and anchor platform.

After final surface preparation, I applied the first maintenance coat of varnish to the helm and companionway trim, handrails, engine box, forward hatch, and anchor platform, along with a third spot coat on the windshield repairs (and aft piece of engine box trim).

To finish up the day, in the woodshop I sanded all the loose trim pieces I’d removed earlier, preparing them for their own maintenance coats of varnish in the near future.

Total time billed on this job today: 7 hours

0600 Weather Observation: 30°, cloudy, light dusting of snow overnight. Forecast for the day: Cloudy with chance of rain or snow, windy, 53°

Monday

Picking up where I left off, I began by stripping, then sanding smooth and clean, the port toerail. The owner was seriously considering leaving the toerail bare, as he was intrigued by the combination appearance of some bright/some natural (not to mention the ongoing problem with the toerail varnish failing at the deck edge), so I over-documented the condition of the rail from various angles to show the condition and character of the bare wood.

To augment pictures from last time of the starboard toerail:

Similarly, the owner was contemplating whether to also leave the eyebrow bare, so I took additional photos of the trim’s condition on both sides.

Moving on, I worked next on the handrails, forward sides of the windshield, and the forward hatch surround, sanding these as needed to prepare them for maintenance coats of varnish. I had to scrape away a few small areas of failed varnish on the windshield, mainly at the wood seams near the corners; this coating was getting rather long in the tooth after 11 years since the last total re-do, but the owner wanted to stretch it out for another year or two based on his long-term plans and upgrades to the boat, so I planned to patch in these small bare areas before recoating the entire windshield with several maintenance coats this time around. This treatment was far from idea, but it was what was needed at the moment.

I also removed the anchor roller and sanded the varnished anchor platform, which we’d decided to leave bright, as needed to prepare it for maintenance coats, though I didn’t seem to take any pictures of this.

Continuing, I moved into the cockpit and worked on all the necessary prepwork on the inside faces of the windshield, plus the companionway trim, engine box, and adjacent areas as needed. I had to strip the after piece of trim on the engine box, as this was in poor condition, and also spot-scraped a few small areas on the windshield, much as I’d done on the forward sides.

After vacuuming and solvent-washing all areas, I got started on some of the masking, beginning with the tightest, most difficult areas on the aft side of the windshield and behind the helm area, along with the engine box trim and some of the other windshield areas.

After a while of this, and with the day growing short, I wanted to get a sealer coat of varnish on the various bare patches I’d scraped and sanded on the windshield and elsewhere, so before knocking off I took care of this. I wanted to get several spot coats on these areas before I started with full maintenance coats.

Total time billed on this job today: 7.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation: 35°, rain. Forecast for the day: Rain, maybe some snow, windy (surprise!), 35°

Friday

I spent the day working on the eyebrow trim and toerails, where the old varnish had failed substantially (in the case of the eyebrows), or begun to fail in certain areas (toerails, mostly at the bottom edge where they met the deck–a notorious failure starting point). The varnish on the toerails was only 18 months old, which was disappointing (who did that work?), but the eyebrows’ last total strip and re-do dated to 2009, so that wasn’t bad.

In any event, over the course of the day I stripped and sanded smooth the eyebrow on both sides and along the forward end of the cabin trunk, and stripped and sanded clean the starboard toerail. The wood beneath was in good condition. I did a little early work on some of the nearby trim as well, including the sides of the windshield where there were some spot failures near some of the seams. The owner wanted to postpone a major re-do of the windshield for the moment, and with most of the assembly still in pretty good condition, I planned to repair the areas I’d scraped and add several coats of varnish over all areas thereafter.

Total time billed on this job today: 5.75 hours

0600 Weather Observation: 25°, mainly cloudy. Forecast for the day: Partly sunny, 52°

Thursday

After working on an unrelated project part of the morning, I got off to a slow start with some preparation for the canvas contractor, who had been engaged to build new interior cushions, and also rebuild/reconfigure a helm cover that he’d built for the boat years before. So to start, I cleaned out all the stuff that was stored on the v-berth, making room for him to come pattern. While he was on board, I left him to his devices and kept my safe distance. While he was here, he also patterned a mainsail cover for another boat at the shop; I’d set up the mast, boom, and sail for him earlier in the morning, out in the yard.

With that work out of the way, I got going with the brightwork. Some of the trim, particularly the eyebrow but also portions of the toerail, had suffered from essentially freeze-drying damage: small amounts of moisture beneath the varnish, when subjected to the winter’s now all-too-typical and frequent freeze/thaw cycles, basically blew the varnish off the wood in these areas. While I’d actually stripped and revarnished the toerails the last time the boat was here (the work was done in October 2018), and the failures there were disappointing, the eyebrows back then had shown some signs of aging, so it wasn’t as if they’d been pristine before this past winter. Even so I was appalled when I saw their condition. The eyebrows, and probably the toerails, where the varnish had failed in a few spots starting at the intersection with the deck–a common failure point–would require stripping; other pieces of trim, especially the trim around the edges of the cockpit, probably required stripping as well. The windshield frame had its usual trouble spots at some of its myriad seams, issues I’d dealt with over and again during the years, and I’d assess that as I went, though my initial feeling was that stripping the windshield was something to be scheduled for a work session in the future rather than now.

Next, I removed all the trim and hardware that I could, preparing all the loose trim pieces for their maintenance work. This left things at a good place to start with the real work next time.

Total time billed on this job today: 4 hours

0600 Weather Observation: 30°, clear. Forecast for the day: Sunny, windy, 50°

Wednesday

A week or so back, taking advantage of a nice day and knowing the project would soon begin, I removed the winter cover and frame from the boat. This also allowed me to get the soda blasting contractor lined up to strip the bottom, a job that was supposed to have occurred back in the fall, but weather and other circumstances intervened and at the time we mutually agreed to postpone the work till spring.

Over a period of two days–the first of which was to wrap the boat to contain the debris, and the second to do the actual paint removal–the contractor stripped many years of bottom paint from the hull, bringing it back to bare gelcoat (green) and some remnants of an old barrier coat. This left just a narrow band right below the boottop for me to scrape later.

This all worked out just in time, as I was ready to move Skeedeen into the shop for this year’s round of varnish maintenance (unfortunately more than either the owner or I had hoped for, since many areas seem to have been blown off by freeze/thaw cycles–more on this in the immediate future) and a few other small jobs.

Total time billed on this job today: 1 hour

0600 Weather Observation: 30°, clear. Forecast for the day: Sunny, increasing clouds, windy, 41°

Wednesday

The final task to complete the project was to install the new hinged mast step. With all preparatory work already completed, now this was a simple chore of applying sealant and securing the base with four long bolts, large washers, and nuts. Once the base plate was secured, I cleaned up the excess sealant, removed excess bolt length from inside, and attached the hinged top plate with its two pins.

To finish off the interior, where I’d cut a large hole in the liner to gain access to the underside of the deck, I installed the teak trim piece I’d made earlier. Along the aft edge, where there were some small gaps, I installed a cosmetic bead of sealant to finish off the appearance.

With work complete, I cleaned up the decks, removing the protective coverings and completing the project.

Later, I moved Adeline back outside, parking her next to her sistership.

Total time billed on this job today: 2 hours

0600 Weather Observation: 30°, clear. Forecast for the day: Sunny, increasing clouds, windy, 41°

Tuesday

The second coat of nonskid paint went on quickly and well, and later in the day had cured sufficiently to allow me to remove the masking tape from all areas, essentially completing the repair work on the coachroof. All that remained to complete the project was to finish the installation of the mast hinge/step, which would have to wait till next time.

Total time billed on this job today: 1 hour

0600 Weather Observation: 20°, clear. Forecast for the day: Sunny, increasing clouds, showers likely late afternoon, 51°

Monday

Over the weekend, I removed the masking from around the glossy-painted areas.

With the fresh paint cured sufficiently, I got to work on some of the final details of the project, starting with the new hinged mast step base. I’d already marked and partially drilled the mounting holes, so now I drilled through the deck at each location, using a long bit to get all the way through the thick mast beam and eventually the interior liner to mark the outline of the new hardware. To my annoyance–because I should have better anticipated it–I found that the after two mounting holes landed too far aft, just beyond the aft edge of the mast beam structure. These holes had been pre-drilled in the hardware and it wasn’t their fault that they didn’t align perfectly with this beam structure, but now I needed to drill a new set of holes through the deck plate and the deck itself a bit forward of the originals to ensure all four bolts passed through the reinforced part of the deck.

With the new holes drilled, I cut away a squarish portion of the liner from below, exposing the underside of the deck beam structure. There was a heavy notched layer of the putty used in the original construction to secure the liner to the underside of the deck, and I removed enough of this at each fastener location to accept the nuts and washers later. I’d planned to go ahead and complete the final installation of the mast plate, but now I had to fill the unwanted original bolt holes with epoxy and let that cure before I could finalize the installation. Those holes would be hidden by the deck plate once installed.

Next, I prepared a hole through the deck forward of the mast platform, through which I planned to run the mast wiring. I drilled a hole large enough to accept the VHF cable and 3-part wiring cable. The deck in this area was solid fiberglass, including a portion of the mast beam structure. I exited the hole through the liner in the forward cabin, where the wires had run through previously. On deck, I installed the base portion of a waterproof cable clam, one large enough that I could create two holes through the rubber insert for the cables in question. I secured the base plate with butyl sealant rather than the supplied gasket, as the after part of the housing just met the angled fillet at the forward end of the mast platform, and I felt it needed a better sealant to make up the slight height irregularity.

Since the original mast wires had been badly corroded where they passed through the deck, I cut back the original cable spliced in a length of new 3-conductor round cable, which I passed through the deck and gland fitting before making up the ends with insulated spade connectors; I also installed a new coax connector to the end of the VHF cable. The hatch cleared the cable gland when opened; I’d had a moment’s consternation earlier in the installation process when I feared there might have been an interference issue, but it was for naught.

To complete the new wiring, which now had different ends than the original, I installed the appropriate mating ends on the wiring coming from the base of the mast. While the new tri-conductor wire I used inside the boat matched the colors of the original, I noted that the wires exiting the mast were slightly different; though I didn’t confirm it, I suspected that white (boat) matched red (mast); the black and green conductors were consistent between the two wiring sets.

Next, I turned to the day’s main focus: finishing the cosmetic work on the coachroof. I masked around all the existing nonskid areas, hatch, and mast platform, following the original lines where applicable, and further masked off the handrails and other teak trim to protect it during painting.

With masking, cleaning, and all other preparations complete, I applied the first of two coats of beige nonskid paint to the entire coachroof.

Total time billed on this job today: 6.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation: 35°, clear. Forecast for the day: Sunny, high clouds coming in, 50°

Friday

First thing, I sanded the fresh primer with 220 grit paper. Once the area was smooth and clean, I was pleased to find that few pinholes or other areas requiring more attention remained, better than I’d expected, and I was able to use one round of quick-dry fine filler to take care of the areas so required. This helped to advance the project more quickly than I’d anticipated.

Most of the repair would eventually receive nonskid paint, but for the hatch coaming and the mast platform, I planned gloss white paint. Preparing to spray the topcoats on these small areas, I masked off as needed around the hatch and mast platform, with paper surrounding to catch overspray, then, over the course of a few hours, applied three coats of gloss white LPU with a small sprayer. This paint could cure over the weekend, and I’d be able to start the nonskid next time.

Total time billed on this job today: 3 hours

0600 Weather Observation: 20°, clear. Forecast for the day: Sun with increasing clouds, 48°

Thursday

While waiting for the deck repair to dry after water-washing the fresh epoxy, I took the opportunity to lay out and mark the fastener hole locations for the new mast hinge bottom plate. Extrapolating measurements from the original template as needed, I determined the plate needed to be 3-1/2″ aft of the hatch, which was easier to measure than the 5-3/4″ from the hatch to the forward bolt location as per the template. After adjustments and centering and double-checking, I made some reference marks on the deck, then partially drilled the four bolt holes, drilling deep enough to maintain the holes, but stopping far from going all the way through for now.

Sticking with the mast for the moment, I test-fit the new pin to secure the mast step to the spar.

Next, I completed the final rounds of sanding on the coachroof, by machine and hand as needed, finishing off the shaping work and smoothing the last coat of fairing filler before sanding the entire area through 120 grit, the last needed before primer. While I was at it, I also sanded and prepared the nonskid paint on the rest of the coachroof, since I’d be repainting the whole area. When the work was complete, I removed all the existing masking tape, including around the forward hatch since the existing masking had become rather ratty after the rounds of repair work.

There were some pinholes and such areas that I knew required more attention, but I preferred to leave that work till after a round of sealing primer, as it’s a fool’s errand to try and track down pinholes and minor imperfections beforehand. To that end, I masked off the repair as needed for primer, including the raised coaming for the forward hatch, which would require repainting as part of the process. Since I chose to spray the primer–it was frankly easier and far quicker, as I could get down multiple coats in just a few hours’ elapsed time–I masked off adjacent areas against overspray.

Over the course of the remainder of the day, waiting an hour or so between coats, I ultimately applied four coats of epoxy-based primer to the new work and hatch coaming, using a small disposable sprayer for the job. I focused on getting good coverage on all areas, but particularly on the hatch coaming and mast platform, since this primer needed to form the basis for the gloss finish paint in these areas. The larger field areas would require some additional pinhole filling and repriming later before the nonskid paint, but these epoxy primer coats were crucial not only to seal the fresh epoxy work, but also to highlight pinholes and lows, as well as “raise the grain” and allow fine sanding of any of the exposed fiberglass from the repair.