In a short day, I continued work on the various varnish projects inside and outside the boat. Inside, I sanded and varnished anew the (formerly known as) bare trim on the berth fiddles and a small secondary shelf in the forward cabin, as well as the inside of the companionway trim and one of the interior panels from the head area.
Most of the small trim pieces from the cabin, including the cabin sole sections, now had enough base varnish that I could switch to the final finish, a rubbed-effect satin varnish that I’d be using throughout the cabin in due course.
I rounded out the day with a project-related errand, but meantime there was little else I could do to advance the project. I anxiously awaited a box of original Sailmaster hardware, purchased from another owner. to replace some of the old and damaged bits that I’d removed early on in the project so I could start reinstalling the deck hardware soon.
Total time billed on this job today: 3 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
25°, mostly clear. Forecast for the day: partly sunny, 47
Next on my agenda was the interior brightwork, most of which required only maintenance topcoats, as I’d determined earlier that the existing finish in many areas was sound and ready for sprucing up. I’d stripped the damaged finish from the berth fiddles fore and aft, so these were now bare wood and would require several base coats to bring them consistent with the other areas.
Preparing, I masked around the varnished trim where needed, mainly against berth tops and the new paint in other areas, then applied a thinned sealer coat of varnish to the bare wood areas. I’d build up these areas with several coats before completing all the maintenance coats on the bright cabin surfaces.
Meanwhile, I continued base coat buildup on the various loose trim and woodwork.
The centerboard winch had once been secured to the fiberglass riser with a metal U-clamp that had once been integral with the base of the winch, but that assembly had disintegrated from corrosion. All this clamp did was hold the base of the winch assembly (and the top of the riser) steady with one another. The whole metal winch assembly was built into the deck above, making replacement–even if a replacement was available–a major but fortunately unnecessary chore. While the remnants of the winch assembly were badly rusted, there was sufficient structure remaining to maintain function going forward.
Original centerboard winch clamp 1/4/17
With no way to revamp that original system, but wanting to secure the base of the winch once again, I wrapped the area in a fiberglass clamp of sorts which, when, cured, would effectively hold the pieces together once it cured, performing the same function as the original clamp.
After final preparations, I applied a coat of white Bilgekote to the lazarette and the undersides of the two-part lid.
Total time billed on this job today: 5.75 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
20°, clear. Forecast for the day: Sunny, 49°
The owners requested that I install a portable toilet in the original head compartment. To accommodate the porta-potty, the space required a platform, as the original small platform that had supported the long-removed marine head was not suitable by itself.
I obtained the smallest possible porta-potty, and even so the fit was surprisingly tight, given the confines of the space between the curvature of the hull, the depth of the toilet, and the height of the space beneath the hinged countertop/cover. However tight, I determined that the new unit would indeed fit, and with the actual toilet mocked up I made one reference mark on the hull to show the maximum height of the new support platform.
From here, I made up a cardboard template to get the basic shape required, then transferred this to a piece of scrap luaun plywood for a more accurate template and to double-check the fit. I leveled the platform in both directions.
Raw Cardboard Template
Plywood Template
I checked the fit of the toilet, ensuring that it not only fit inside of the curve of the hull, but also cleared the hinged countertop, as well as the cleats that demarked the inside of the longitudinal panel that would close off the passageway-side of the opening later.
After making some final layout marks on the template, I transferred the shape to some 12mm marine plywood and cut out the plat form. I sharply beveled the outer edge of the platform to conform to the curve of the hull and ensure that the top of the platform ended up at my original layout line on the hull–the one sweet spot that allowed the small toilet to fit both height-wise and transversely. I checked the fit of the new porta-potty with all the various panels in place once more to ensure that the fit was as anticipated and as required.
To install the platform, once it was properly positioned I made reference marks on the bulkheads, then installed support cleats fore and aft. Before permanently mounting the platform, I painted out the space beneath, which would be inaccessible going forward. I also epoxy-coated the underside and edge of the new platform. I’d paint out the remainder of the space later, once the platform was permanently secured.
I installed the platform permanently with some thickened epoxy on the cleats and where the platform met the hull, then added a strip of tabbing to further secure the platform, leaving the fiberglass to cure overnight.
Later, I lightly sanded and varnished anew the various trim pieces, panels, and cabin sole sections, continuing the base coat buildup.
Total time billed on this job today: 4 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
33°, clear. Forecast for the day: sun and clouds, 50
The interior paint was looking good, and I went ahead and unmasked the cabin now that the major painting was complete. There’d be more paint work in some of the lockers and bilges in the near future.
After some final sanding here and there, I cleaned up the various trim and cabin sole pieces and applied a sealer coat of varnish, the first of several on the bare wood. I planned to give the fresh paint in the cabin some cure time before masking again for the brightwork portion of the cabin work.
Total time billed on this job today: 2.5 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
23°, clouds. Forecast for the day: clouds and sun, 40s
After final preparations, I applied a coat of semi-gloss white enamel to the interior surfaces.
In the woodshop, I continued work on the various loose pieces of trim and cabin sole, cleaning up and sanding the areas I’d repaired, and sanding clean all the other pieces to remove or otherwise prepare the old finish. Where the existing finish was sound, I simply sanded lightly to accept new finish coats. I had to make another repair or two to the cabin sole and one of the veneered panels from the head area, so I’d await their completion before I started varnish work.
Total time billed on this job today: 7 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
34°, cloudy. Forecast for the day: clouds and sun, 44°
During the morning, I applied a coat of primer to all interior spaces.
Later, I turned to some of the loose woodwork and trim, including the cabin sole pieces, that I’d stored down in the shop. Preparing for refinishing, I stripped varnish from a couple pieces of trim that were in bad condition, and effected some minor veneer gluing repairs as needed.
The cabin sole sections were in rough shape, with ancient and failing finish, so I elected to strip the old finish from the top surfaces. Afterwards, I made some repairs to the sole pieces, refastening some of the athwartships cleats that secured the sections together and gluing on some sections that had broken sometime in the boat’s life. I’d continue work on these and the other interior woodwork next time, once the repairs were cured.
Total time billed on this job today: 6.5 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
10°, clear. Forecast for the day: Sunny, mid-30s.
Now that the exterior work was largely complete, I turned once more to the interior. I spent the morning on various and sundry tasks to prepare the area for priming and painting, and other work, including some final sanding work on some of the patchwork I’d worked on before closing the interior up for the deck painting. With these minor tasks out of the way, I vacuumed and solvent-washed the whole interior (i.e. the overhead, cabin trunk, insides of the hull, undersides of the deck, etc.).
First thing in the afternoon, I painted the chainlocker area with white Bilgekote.
Afterwards, I masked off the shelves, berth platforms, trim, and other areas to prepare the interior for primer and paint. To protect against the inevitable drips, since the berth tops and other areas were unfinished, I covered the flat surfaces with paper for the duration. Exciting stuff, undoubtedly, but necessary.
Total time billed on this job today: 7 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
34°, partly cloudy. Forecast for the day: clearing, mid 30s
The new gloss paint had had enough cure time, so now I went ahead and masked over the new paint, replicating the lines I’d laid out before but in reverse so I could prepare for nonskid paint in the field areas.
After final preparations, I applied the first of two coats of nonskid paint in a light beige color.
Total time billed on this job today: 3.5 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
22°, clear. Forecast for the day: sunny, 34°
Now that the fresh topcoat had had nearly 24 hours’ cure time, and the exterior painting complete, I went ahead and removed all the masking tape from the boat, revealing the clean paint lines and giving a hint to the final appearance of the boat. I also took the chance to clean up from the recent painting efforts, stowing away the various equipment and returning the shop to more or less normal order. I’d give the fresh gloss paint another day before overmasking for the nonskid portion of the deck.
Total time billed on this job today: 3.75 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
20 °, snow, about 4-5″ overnight. Forecast for the day: Snow ending, then clearing, low 30s.
