I spent the first part of the day working on some fine-tuning and sanding in some of the toughest spots, the inside corners of the new work around the outboard well.  I’d mainly sanded these during my last session, but several places required some additional work to complete.  Afterwards, I vacuumed the boat, swept the floor, blew down the shop, and solvent-washed the deck and hull to remove the final dust.

I wet down the floor and trailer to settle the remaining dust, then finished up other final steps to prepare for finish primer, including some minor tape repairs here and there, preparing paint and spray equipment, and, finally, a last solvent-wash to clean all the surfaces before primer next time.

Getting a bit ahead of things, I took advantage of a quiet weekend morning and sanded all the fine filler I’d applied last time, smoothing the surfaces once more with 220 grit largely by hand in the outboard well and environs, and by machine on the hull.  There’d be some final fine-tuning to come next time (mainly in the awful inside corners all around the outboard well), but I got the worst of it done, only having so much sanding mojo available on a Sunday.  This short work session would make life easier as I worked to finish up the prep and get ready for finish primer.

With the high build primer well-cured overnight, I sanded all areas with 220 grit paper, by machine and by hand as needed.  Afterwards, I vacuumed off the dust and solvent-washed to clean.

As expected, the primer revealed a number of areas requiring additional detail attention, mainly some of the corners in the new outboard well and the new fiberglass work.  The starboard side of the hull in particular revealed–only after primer–a number of fine cracks in the surface, which had been invisible till now.  These were of no alarm, but would require filling as well.

With an epoxy-based fine filling compound, I worked my way around the boat as needed, fine-tuning the various inside corners by hand and troweling in a skim coat elsewhere to fill pinholes, fine crazing, and other low areas.  This application, once sanded, would hopefully be the final fairing work required, but there was time built in the schedule for some additional work if necessary.

After final preparations, I spray-applied three coats of epoxy high-build primer on the new work in the stern, small gelcoat patches, and the hull.

Continuing in the cockpit, first I sanded as needed the scupper openings in the outboard well, smoothing yesterday’s epoxy work.  I’d touch these up later, after high-build, along with various anticipated other areas around the boat.

finished up the masking work near the new outboard well, mainly masking off the inside of the livewell for protection and so I could stand there while spraying.  I also masked with paper several feet of the cockpit leading forward, before transitioning to plastic at the vertical edges and forward part of the cockpit.  I keep the plastic away from being directly adjacent to areas being sprayed, since the overspray on the plastic tends to flake off later and can contaminate the paint.

I ordered wider masking tape when preparing for the paint work, but it was backordered and hadn’t arrived, so I used the 1″ tape, of which I had sufficient supply, for all masking chores; this got a little silly taping over the livewell gutters, but there you are.

Next, I draped the bow and forward area of the the cockpit with plastic sheeting to protect these areas during the painting process.

Afterwards, I finished up the masking with the two hatch openings in the outboard well, and the underside of the livewell hatch, which I’d already painted.  I also remasked the remainder of the transom beneath the new scuppers.

During the remains of the day, I prepared spray and paint equipment as needed, otherwise prepared the shop, and finished up with a final solvent wash of the hull and applicable deck areas using the proprietary solvent designed for this paint system.

As needed I lightly sanded the small epoxy patches filling the screw holes that I’d done last time, and some additional fine sanding at the two gelcoat repairs near the windshield, completing this prep for now.

I realized it’d be better to install the brass scupper liners for the outboard well now, rather than after primer or paint, since there might be minor additional epoxy work required, so after final preparations I installed these tubes with a thickened epoxy coating, holding them tightly with masking tape while the adhesive cured.  Later, I dressed up the inside edges with additional epoxy fairing, and by the end of the day I could remove the tape from outside.

On the hull, I applied masking paper below the waterline, and masked off the rubrail and a few pieces of hardware to more or less complete the masking work there.

I planned to do the primer coats for both the hull and the aft part of the deck (i.e. the stern and new outboard well area) all at once, so I needed to mask the deck in a way to allow me to paint these areas.  I’d originally planned to do the two tiny gelcoat repairs separately after the fact, but thought I could probably arrange the masking and coverings to allow access to these areas as well.  TO this end, I spent the remainder of the day masking at the stern of the boat and nearby, making good progress but leaving a bit to finish off next time–mainly the round openings in the outboard well, the cockpit immediately forward of the transom, and plastic sheeting over the remainder of the deck areas.

The aft end of the cockpit, particularly around the small seating areas and nearby corners, required some detail sanding to complete the preparation for primer work.  This was all hand work as required in the corners and edges, and the seat gutters, as well as around the caprail above.  There were several obsolete fastener holes that I reamed out and filled with epoxy as well, and I took a moment to re-drill the outboard well scupper holes, which I’d covered over with tabbing from the inside.  The paint demarcation line would follow the natural seam in the coaming, then down along the corner between the seat and the hull liner, and across the front of the seats and outboard well bulkhead at deck level.  Eventually I’d mask to this line.

Next I vacuumed and cleaned the entire boat to rid it of excess dust and prepare all the surfaces for masking as needed.  With the boat on its own trailer, it was easy to move outdoors temporarily while I cleaned up the shop:  sweep, vacuum, blow down, and finally a water rinse to settle remaining dust.

After the cleanup work, I moved the boat back indoors and masked off the waterline, aka the top edge of the bottom paint.  This was straightforward enough as there was a faint line still visible in the gelcoat, and this made restriking the line relatively quick, especially on the slab sides and transom.

Afterwards, I covered parts of the trailer in plastic to protect against overspray.  This brought me to the end of the day, but I’d continue masking and related prep work next time.

A short Friday began with a meeting with the owner and local canvas contractor at the boat to work out some details of the new bimini and helm enclosure, and a few other project details.

Afterwards, I turned to the daily round of sanding in the outboard well and elsewhere, this time with finer grits and, eventually, finish-sanding tools.  The well was looking pretty good now and I felt it was time to move forward with high-build primer soon, then address any lingering and noticeable flaws or fine-tuning thereafter.

The entire stern area of the cockpit, including the new well and the seats/lockers on either side, would be primed and painted as part of this project, stopping at the deck itself and the outboard corners of the liner.  Now I sanded these areas with 80-120 grit and finish-sanding tools, preparing the original gelcoat for the work ahead.  I’d return later and finish up the required hand work at the corners and seat gutters.

Meanwhile, I lightly sanded the small gelcoat patches near the windshield, bringing them nearly to their final stage other than some additional light hand sanding.  At the transom, per the owner’s request, I trimmed the overhanging teak caprails flush with the new fiberglass trims beneath, and rounded the top edges for a clean and smooth look.

After another round of sanding, the outboard well was looking better than anticipated, leaving only various (and expected) low spots requiring additional attention.  The forward sides of the new work were nearly where they needed to be.

After cleanup, I applied a third round of fairing filler as needed.

Similarly, I sanded the smaller patches currently underway–for the obsolete livewell control lever, and the two small gelcoat patches forward–and applied additional fairing material as needed.

In two “lifts” of thickened epoxy filler, designed to reduce heat buildup, I filled the old gauge holes in the console.  For now I left the compass hole alone, as I wasn’t sure whether or not it was worth relocating the compass into the bulge in the molding intended for it, or better to leave it as is, which happened to be directly in line with the helm.

I cleaned up the channels in the deck surrounding the fuel tank, and also the edges of the fuel tank hatch, then reinstalled the hatch, using butyl sealant on the bonding surfaces beneath the hatch, as well as around the screw heads, where I also installed a washer to improve overall bearing and sealing capacity.  I chose butyl in this instance since the hatch wanted to be easily removable for maintenance.

Meanwhile, I hand-sanded the edges of the livewell hatch to prepare the original gelcoat for primer and paint.

Continuing on the outboard well, I began the day by sanding the first round of epoxy fairing compound.

After cleanup, I applied a second layer of fairing compound to all areas as needed.

The owner requested that I patch a spot on the port aft seat where there had originally been some kind of control lever for the livewell.  I’d previously removed the remnants of the old fitting, so now I prepared the remaining hole for patching and, to begin, filled the round hole with a thickened epoxy mixture.  Later in the day, I applied two layers of fiberglass over the exterior, once the epoxy plug had cured sufficiently.

There were two damaged gelcoat areas forward that the owner requested I repair, one on the inside of the coaming near the helm, and another on the opposite side beneath the aft edge of the windshield,.  Now I cleaned these up and prepared them for patching with epoxy; neither was structural or significant in nature.  I masked around each repair, applied epoxy-based filler, then removed the tape to let the repairs cure.

I sanded the skim coat of epoxy on the livewell hatch nonskid field, working through the grits and tools to bring this to its final stage of pre-primer readiness at 120 grit.  The edges of the hatch would require sanding and prep later.

I lightly sanded the primer I’d applied to the repair work on the undersides of the livewell and fuel tank hatches, then masked as needed and applied a coat of Bilgekote to these areas.

At the helm console, I made three simple templates to prepare for new black cosmetic panels that would cover the existing console and its myriad old holes and improve appearance.  Keeping 1/4″ in from the edges in each case, I used plywood strips and hot glue to template each of the three facets of the console.  At the top section, which featured a curved area originally intended, one supposes, to house the compass (originally the compass was not installed in this area, however), I used a piece of paper registered to the plywood template to make a rubbing of the shape that I could later use to create an appropriate curved panel.

With the templates complete, I prepared the panel for simple patch work by masking over the holes from beneath, and around on the top surface.  I planned to fill these with a strengthened epoxy mixture later, just to provide a flat and sound surface going forward and to allow for appropriate new openings to be cut as needed; there was no structural need to fill the old holes and I didn’t plan on making “structural” repairs, though the epoxy would be strong once installed.