September 25, 2020

Skeedeen Phase 6-2

Friday

To begin, I moved Skeedeen into the workshop, setting her up level fore and aft and side to side.

Later, I returned to the starboard vent removal.  I decided to drill out the screw head on the final bolt, since I couldn’t think of a way to get to the inside.  While this approach was ultimately effective, it was still time-consuming and difficult, since the screw tended to spin while being drilled, but eventually I removed enough of the head to pry free the vent itself (which was well-bedded with sealant).  The original dark green hull color was visible beneath the vent face, and the hull core seemed to have been effectively sealed so far, but I thought it would probably be good to remove the sealant and some of the core from the opening in favor of some solid epoxy to better seal the opening going forward.  The plastic vent box inside the hull was also sealed in place, and I planned to leave it as is.

Forearmed with the knowledge of the vents’ installation now, I turned to the port side, and after some minor disassembly within the access panel soon had the locking pliers in place on the four lower nuts, and then from outside presently removed the four lower bolts.  I removed the aftermost, and most visible, bolt from the top set, but after struggling with the next couple–access on this side was even tighter than to starboard–I’d reached the end of the day and decided to attack the final three bolts fresh next time.

Total time billed on this job today:  2.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation:  Clear, 50°.  Forecast for the day:  Sunny, 75°