How do you know that it is almost spring?

[Bryan 2530]

Sweet!

A little too cold up here for waxing today, this winter just won't quit!!! :x

 

[Megabyte]

Todays projects...

The first item was easy, and it took me way too long to get around to doing it.

I keep a couple of dock lines in the storage area inside my rear driving station.
The bottom is not sealed so every time it rains or I wash the boat, the lines get soaking wet.
Not really a big deal, but annoying.

The fix was to get two pieces of Dri-Dek and cut it to fit.
Stuff it inside, and no more wet dock lines!

 

[Megabyte]

The next project took a good bit longer to do, bit it wasn't difficult.

Everyone knows how slippery the pilothouse floor can be when your feet are wet.
For the past few years, I've put an old towel on the floor so as not to bust my a$$ when I'm in a hurry...

This year, I decided to do something about that.
When I'm cleaning the boat, I generally like to sponge down the floor, so applying a non-skid wouldn't do.
What I found was an indoor / outdoor carpet remnant at HD that looked just right for the job.

I started out making a cardboard template of the port side half of the cabin floor.
The plan was to flip it over for the starboard side.
LOTS of measuring and careful cutting later, I was ready to transfer my template to my carpet.

The port and starboard sides were not an absolute mirror image of each other, but they were close enough that a little trimming got them almost perfect.

Next step is to go back tomorrow and maybe put some velcro down under the corners, and the seam behind the seat posts to hold everything in check.
All in all, a worthwhile project!

 

[Fireman]

The flooring looks great! Your attention to detail is second to none.

Just curious, did you ever consider putting the Dri-Dek down where you put the carpet? And if you have, why did you decide against it and choose the carpet?

I was thinking of using the Dri-Dek on my boat and that's the reason for the questions.

Thanks.

 

[miky2884]

Very niiiice!!!!

 

[Megabyte]

The flooring looks great! Your attention to detail is second to none.

Just curious, did you ever consider putting the Dri-Dek down where you put the carpet? And if you have, why did you decide against it and choose the carpet?

Thank you!

Measuring and making the template was the tedious part.
Once that was done, cutting out the carpet wasn't all that difficult (just time consuming).

I did consider the Dri-Dek in the pilothouse, but decided to go with carpet because most of the time when I'm on the boat, my shoes come off and I go barefoot.
Dri-Dek can be a little tough on bare feet.

One thing that I discovered is that the port and starboard sides of the pilothouse are not absolute mirror images of each other.
I knew that going in, so I measured everything close and then did the final trim with a sharp pair of sizzors for the final fit.

Tomorrow I plan to use some velcro to make sure the carpet doesn't shift during use, and to close up the relief cuts behind the seats.
All in all, I have to say that I'm pleased with the results.
All that is left now is to see how it works while in use during the season. :wink:

 

[TimC2520]

Nice job, looks sweet

 

[miky2884]

Kevin not trying to pirate your thread here just figure id throw this in here, i rugged each side of my V berth last weekend, my boat was ordered with out any carpet in the PH or in the v berth so its all bare fiberglass, so to cut down on the noise a little and to make it a little more comfortable for the wife when we do over nights i decided to start with each side of the V berth and see what that does i don't want to rug the whole inside because it is easier to keep the fiberglass clean rather then carpet. Any i do kinda like the contrast between the color of the fiberglass and the color of the carpet.

 

[Megabyte]

That looks great Mike!

My boat came with the factory carpet inside the pilothouse, but I like the color you chose better.
Your color looks similar to mine (blue-grey).

Headed back over to KI in the next few minutes to velcro the carpet down, and then to do some detail waxing.
Working on the 'overhang' area under the top.
It's slow going because it's not easy to do, and often neglected. :lol:

Rain forecast for the next 3 days, so I need to get busy.

 

[Megabyte]

Progress report from today...

It seems like I'm taking two steps forward, and one back trying to get this boat ready this year.

The good news... The polished stainless backing plates that I had made for the rocket launcher were picked up today and they look fabulous!
The bad news... Even though almost all of the dimensions were perfect, the one that meant the most was not.
When I did the drawings for the shop, I indicated that the bolt holes were 3" on center. They are not. They are 2" on center.
I think I know how that happened, but what is done is done. Back to the shop to have another set fabricated... $$$

While waxing the starboard side of the hull, I kept looking at those 15 year old pinstripes...
Two steps forward and one back, remember?
After already putting one coat of wax on both the hull and the trunk cabin, I decided to remove the pinstripes, so out came the heat gun and the acetone.

Ya know what acetone does to a freshly waxed hull?
Yep... two steps forward and one back.

By the end of the day, the pinstripes had been removed and the starboard side received 3 coats of wax.
I even got one coat of wax on the port side before I called it a day.
I'm not sure what that Makita weighs, but by the end of the day... my arms and back would swear it was 20 pounds.

No wax on the trunk cabin today to fix the acetone bath. That will have to wait for another (sunny) day.
Here is what the hull looks like without pinstripes.

 

[Bryan 2530]

Looks good.

Curious, why did you take them off? Were they starting to get ratty?

I like the looks of mine right now but hate having to worry about ripping them and/or waxing around them.
Probably come off when they have lived out their life expectancy.

 

[Megabyte]

Curious, why did you take them off? Were they starting to get ratty?

Yes.
15 years of weather, docks, and especially the high-speed buffer took their toll and they were looking quite poor (to me).

When I bought the boat, the gelcoat was in very poor shape. I got the impression that the previous owner had never waxed the hull.
That first year with compound and a buffer showed me that not all of the pinstripes were the same color underneath that they were on top. :shock:

Over time, and trying to get the hull perfect every spring, the buffer took it's toll on the stripes.
Some portions, such as the 'spears' at the bow were missing, and I discovered when removing the stripes that some portions were worn very thin.

It was time, and they came off surprisingly easy for being on there for 15 years.

The rear quarter 'Parker' logos were replaced about 6 years ago, so they stayed.
I can tell you that you have to hand wax those logos, as the black portions... are actually red underneath.
Even with hand waxing, some color will be removed, so at some point (maybe next year), I'll replace the logos with fresh ones.

Thunderstorms are in the forecast today (we had tornado warnings early this morning), so hopefully I can get back at it tomorrow. 8)

 

[Megabyte]

Todays update...

Weather the past two days has been perfect for what I've needed to do.
In addition to compounding and waxing, I had a repair that needed my attention.

At the end of last season, a buddy on my boat grabbed the rocket launcher to hoist himself up onto the washboard and sunk the fender washer underneath into the fiberglass.
I wasn't too concerned, because that would give me the opportunity to re-do the rocket launcher with backing plates, and mount it right.
The backing plates that I had fabricated are made of 1/8" stainless, 3.5"x5", and the exposed portion of the plates were buffed to a mirror shine.

A couple of days ago I removed the rocket launcher to clean up the area and buy new hardware.
Unfortunately, I also discovered that the previous owner (who added the rocket launcher after he bought the boat) had never properly sealed the mounting holes. :shock:

What that meant was that the balsa core around those bolt holes was wet. Fortunately, not rotten, but wet none the less.
So I hatched a plan, and yesterday I put it into motion.

First, I bought a Unibit that could bore a hole up to 7/8", and used it to open up all of the holes so I could get inside and dig the wet wood out.
Next, I chucked a series of allen wrenches into my drill and started hogging out the wet balsa until I got to good wood.
I dug out the wood in between the two mounting holes so that there was a substantial void between the fiberglass panels, and left everything open to dry.

Yesterday was a warm sunny day with a good breeze and low humidity, so the surgery dried out pretty quickly as I continued compounding and buffing.
Today was equally warm and sunny, again with low humidity, so this repair was game on!

I sealed the bottom holes with two layers of Gorilla tape and masked off the top side with three layers of blue painters tape.
Once I was ready, I mixed up a batch of West Systems - 4 pumps each of resin and hardener, and started pouring...

I went back and forth for about 10 minutes until I'd used up all of my epoxy.
As I poured, the epoxy must have been permeating the core quite a bit because I ended up mixing another 2 pumps of resin and hardener to keep the holes topped off.

After about 20 minutes, the epoxy level in the holes remained constant as the epoxy kicked.
Dang that stuff gets hot! :shock:

I gave the epoxy another 10 minutes or so, and then I removed the blue painters tape and allowed everything to set up and cool as I went about compounding the trunk cabin area.

Later in the afternoon, I put the backing plates over my repair and marked them in pencil on the top.
Then I mixed another small batch of West and coated the area that will be under the backing plates to seal all of the little spider cracks that had occurred during the period that the rocket launcher had been flexing.

Everything looks good for now, and sometime next week I'll drill through the epoxy and re-mount the rocket launcher with her new bling backing plates. 8)

Here are photos of the process I went through the past 2 days.

 

[Megabyte]

Here is an update on the hull...

I can finally declare the hull below the rub rail done!
First compounded, then given 4 coats of wax. She looks better than new!

I've got over 40 hours in the hull and I'll probably end up with at least that many hours on the pilothouse by the time I'm done.
Still lots to do to make her perfect. :wink:

 

[Megabyte]

Side note...

If your p-house windows are all water spotted like mine were, while you have that buffer and compound out... give the windows a once-over.
You might be surprised at how clean they come out with a little compound and some buffing with the wool pad.

When you go into wax mode on the hull, a pass over the windows with some wax on the buffers polish pad will make them shine like new. :wink:

 

[miky2884]

Kevin what compound are you using? I use the 3m

 

[DBthal]

Megabyte,

Your boat looks fantastic! I look forward to working on my boat in another week or so.

Out of curiosity - is there any reason that you didn't add filler (ie. 404 or 406) to the resin when filling the holes? I'll be doing some similar work in another couple weeks.

Dan

 

[Megabyte]

Kevin what compound are you using? I use the 3m

That will work.
The brown 3M cuts pretty quickly so I mix it 50/50 with water in a squeeze mustard bottle (like you'd find in a diner).
Shake well and often as you use the compound...

Use a wool pad on your buffer that you first soak in water, then spin out the excess before applying the compound.
Work the material across the gel coat removing the oxidation as you go.
Keep a spray bottle filled with water handy to re-dampen the pad as you work as moist compound works best.

Don't let your pad get caked with oxidized material because all you'll do is to grind the old material back into the finish.
The idea is to remove the bad, and expose the good.

When your pad gets dirty, toss it into a bucket of water and grab a clean pad. Clean and rotate the pads as needed.

Don't rush it. This stuff takes time to do right.
Remember... if you can still see an oxidized cloudiness, you'll never cover it up with wax.
You don't enter the wax phase until the surface is clean, smooth, and free of any oxidation.

Good luck!

 

[Megabyte]

Out of curiosity - is there any reason that you didn't add filler (ie. 404 or 406) to the resin when filling the holes? I'll be doing some similar work in another couple weeks.

Dan... I didn't add any filler or thickening agent to the resin because I wanted it to both completely fill the void that I created, and to soak into the surrounding balsa around the repair as much as possible for a solid bond.

Fortunately I was working on a horizontal surface, so I could do it that way. If I were working on a vertical surface, I would have had to add a thickener (almost like a paste) to keep the resin from pouring out of the hole.

Between the resin/balsa/fiberglass bond and the new backing plates that will go top and bottom sometime next week, this repair should be about as strong as it gets.

 

[Megabyte]

Todays update...

The trunk cabin can be called 'done'.
Two applications of compound (red and white), then two coats of wax.
She will get another two coats when time permits.

Thunderstorms forecast for tomorrow, so the transom gets done Wed.
After that... the detail work begins.