The SOS Fund

Have you ever seen those ads on TV that show little kids with big eyes living in squalor and only eating once a week?  They make me sad every time they're on, but then I think to myself... 'do you know what's even sadder than really poor little kids with big eyes?'  Me and my boat Magic are much sadder, that's what.  So I am thinking about starting up a non-profit called Save Our Sailor (SOS). The organization would be structured like this:  I am the CEO and all donations go to me to fund materials and equipment needed to restore magic to her former glory.  I know it's a long shot, but I'd love to get her back in the water by 2012 for her 50th birthday.  But wait, there's more... If you donate a whole bunch of money to the SOS Fund, the CEO (me) will take you out for a sail when she is back in the water.  I'll bet the organizations that help poor kids don't promise you that.

Doesn't it break your heart?

While you contemplate this worthy cause, I'll be working late into the night trying to get Magic seaworthy for next year.  Over the weekend I managed to get the rest of the bevels ground out along the port side decks and the areas around and aft of the cockpit (with the exception of one small area).  I won't miss doing this as it could potentially be one of the most terrible jobs out there.  Fortunately, it has been only in the 50's this weekend so wearing the full safety garb wasn't too traumatic.  I tried out a new tip that I found on a Bertram 31 restoration site a few days back.  Before you set to grinding or when your going to be exposed to airborne fiberglass particles that make you itchy for days, coat all your exposed skin with talcum powder (my hands and wrists are the only thing exposed).  The idea is that the talc clogs up your pores before the fiberglass particles do.  It seemed to work reasonably well, too bad I didn't learn it earlier in this job.

Old recore job with way too small a bevel

Bevel-ly goodness.

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that I encountered an old recore job that didn't hold up in the long run.  Not only were the fittings improperly overdrilled and bedded in this area, but the bevel to tie the newly cored area to the old sections was not big enough.  The picture above left shows the exposed old bevel that is only about a 1/2 inch.  Even if the skin was only 1/8 inch thick, a 4:1 bevel just isn't enough.  There were a bunch of spots along the bevel line where it was cracked and visible through the paint.  The new bevels I am putting in are at least 1-1/2 inches and 2 if there is room.