Rub Rail, Deck non skid and the Question of the day...

Removing the rub rail for bolt tightening and cleaning. There were colonies of ants under the rail. Nasty little things.

When I painted the interior light blue, some of the paint actually squeezed out onto the hull where the rail was not tight. This prompted the immediate extraction of the rubber. Terri cleaned it up like a champion.


The Non-Slip additive "Refined Silica" is just fine grain sand?

I want to shake the guy's hand who thought of picking up sand, putting it in a can, and selling it as hardware stores across the world. That is a wise man.



So obviously I am working on the non-slip surfaces of the deck. After a failed try to sprinkle sand on the still wet paint on the deck trying to get it to stick, I will mix the sand in with the paint and roll it on. I will follow with two more coats of paint. [In the pics, the sand had not been added.]

Wow Exterior paint. Interior paint. Removable table.

You will notice the tiny bits of sand that remain in the paint. This will be coated over multiple times.


The exterior deck paint went on very well and does have a high gloss that will be easy for cleanup, washing, and has great UV protection apparently. These pics are after the first coat of yellow and white and show great promise! The lines are sloppy because I was just trying o get it on there for a good base coat.
2-3 more coats to go!

SANDING SAND
To make the yellow area non-stick, Steve and I tried to sprinkle sand on the wet yellow paint. This absolutely didn't adhere well and the places it did, the sand grains were way to rough. I had to sand off the sand:( The next attempt we will mix the sand right in with the paint and roll it on.



The interior polyurethane went on like a charm and is quite a bit blue-er than expected. The tint purchased was hardly noticeable but when it dried it's good old Carolina blue. Looks great though. I managed to get two coats on over two days and will offer a third to a few 'high traffic' areas in the boat.

In the picture you can notice I am finding a placement for the removable table leg of the removable table I built. That table is going to be La-Gitimate1

Freaking Cheetah print. Bow chicka wow wow!

I literally bought cheetah print, exterior, UV protected, stain proof, water resistant, mold resistant female attracting interior fabric for the cushions I am making.

Ginny strongly advised against it at first, then remembered how ridiculous her brother is.

This is going to be great.

Thanks for the word on the 50% off fabric M.

Another Keel Epoxy Coat, Interior shelf/table build, Hull sanding, Aluminum window mount cleaning, a little rain, pollen

You may be able to see the great, light light blue that I schemed for the interior polyurethane. We are in the Carolinas so it seemed appropriate and better than bland white or retro cream.



After another application of headlight restorer I began the reassembly of the windows. The seals, although shrunken about 2%, were in decent shape and popped right on.

After sanding the pitted hull, there was a layer of yellow on every car in the neighborhood. I thought I was a dead man until I realized it was just the rediculous amount of pollen/allergens flying around. Notice the layer on the tarp.



The ever amazing west system epoxy with slow hardener went on beautifully yet got covered with pollen. About 99% of it wiped off and thank goodness for that.



Working on the interior shelf/table mounting unit was a blast. The great reddish color is great with a few layers of spar varnish on top. I used wood glue and screws to hold it together. The table top I cut out of oak and have begun varnishing it's pants off. The oak table slides in to the shelf near the top. It should be pretty legit.


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The aluminum cleaner I got worked like a charm after SECOND go around. The difference is exquisite.

Trailer day...posting soon

The Easter Bunny Came!

Steve came through with a promise that he'd "Finishing sanding the hull" and that is exactly what he did. The boat is yellow now. Great work. He was green and yellow after he finished. The neighbor's cars were too after he finished, but we figured it was part pollen.

I marked roughly where the water line was because after we sand it all off we will have no clue on were it is.

The keel was given another coat of West System epoxy. First it took a light sanding to smooth out a few imperfections (Flies

The design for a shelf/Stow away table was schemed and the pieces were cut out, stained and varnished.

The rest of the hardware was removed from the deck and boy I hope I can remember were all that went.





Wow. What a trooper. MAN-CARD SACRIFICED for the good of easter.landed on it while drying)

8:47 About to start a massive deck sanding day.

Mom sewed on some replacement sliders for the mainsail. Nice work.





What was accomplished...
Sanded the entire deck of the boat to prep it for priming and painting. This was no small task, and the #40 grit sandpaper ate through any stubborn gelcoat that was left after 37 years of living outside.

Gave a full coat (both sides) of West System's Expoxy to seal the keel and offer slight fairing. Although pricey, this stuff is Legit. I bought the pump system they recommend and they worked great. Couldn't imagine getting the ratio's of Resin and hardener correct without them. The keel dried with a coating as smooth as glass and almost as impermeable.
Wish me luck friends.




Finally, where a less-than-stellar fiberglass repair had taken place some years ago, I vowed to re-do it the right way. There was a sizable hole in the boat though as you can see by the picture. It is closed up now and after sanding, is quite beautiful and will be unnoticeable when painted.
For the record, doing fiberglass work on your back above your head takes patience and ninja-like agility and precision. Wear a breathing mask of your brain will melt. I can't afford any brain melting so I wore my big daddy respirator. Check out before and after.