February 20, 2023
Further 49
Monday
Over the weekend, I spent several hours getting a jump start on the sanding, beginning with the cockpit, then the coachroof. This set me up well to begin the regular work week with the remainder of the sanding on the sidedecks, foredeck, cabin sides, toerails, and gunwales. I sanded the primer with 220 grit paper by finishing sander and hand as needed, then vacuumed up the dust.
Next, I solvent-washed all areas to clean and remove the final traces of sanding dust, then went around the boat with a strong light and magnifying glasses to help highlight and mark with a pencil the various areas that would require fine filler. These areas were mainly pinholes in the deck filler, porosity in the new or old/exposed laminate, and a few areas that the primer had helped bring to my attention, such as some places where the old nonskid pattern was slightly showing through. This was a known and expected part of the process and one of the main benefits of the high-build primer application. Most areas wouldn’t show up in these photos, but I included a few to represent the sorts of areas I marked.
I prepared a batch of fine filler that I like for this stage of the project, and troweled it into the various voids around the decks as needed.
Total time billed on this job today: 10.25 hours
0600 Weather Observation: Overcast, 37°, dew point 35°. Forecast for the day: Mostly cloudy, chance of showers, 45°