After Burner

This week was just too hot to get much done after coming home from my real job so I wasn't able to complete any single task until today.  Fortunately, it was a bit cooler today and I was able to knock a bunch of things of the list.

I don't know why I didn't do this years ago when I first started (yep, it's been years now), but I finally tackled the removal of the mainsheet traveler.  When I pulled all the hardware off the decks way back in January of some distant past year, I think I assumed that the traveler would be a bear to tackle and just left it because it wasn't really in the way and I didn't plan on doing anything to it.  It became clear the other night as I was beginning to sand around the base that it would have to come off for paint or the job would look sloppy.  So armed with my best contortionist posture and a 10mm socket I hung myself upside down in the rear hatch.  It turned out to be really easy though and I had it off in less than 20 minutes and I didn't loose a single nut to the ever hungry bilge monster.

With that out of the way I was able to finish up sanding around that section and the rest of the bulwark/deck interface as well as the interface around the rear hatch.  There are lots of weird corners and curves that need to be sanded here so it took a fair amount of time.  Then I moved on and hit the top of the bulwark where I had filled all the holes for the old caprail.  I know the picture below looks pretty much the same as the first one, but it is a lot smoother.



By this time is was getting late but I decided to throw down some System Three QuickFair around the edges and a few low spots.  As well as I had sanded the bulwark/deck interface, there was still a little roughness to the touch and I had heard good things about QuickFair.  It's a light 2 part epoxy fairing compound that you mix up on a board (2:1 ratio) and spread it on.  System Three touts that it is sandable in as little as 3 hours so you can get a lot done without the usual multi-day wait time.

Anyway, after wiping the whole aft deck down, I mixed up about a 1/2 cup total on a board and started spreading.  I like it, it is REALLY smooth and spreads very evenly.  I think if I had to do this whole thing over again and I had lots more money (it isn't cheap), I would do more of the fairing with this stuff.  I finished up just as it was getting dark and think I got most of the low spots and ran a full bead around the perimeter at the bulwark/deck interface.  I started out with a spreader cut to the approximate radius of the corner, but ended up using my finger for most of it.  It just seemed to work better that way.  I should have worn gloves, but by the time I was deep into it I didn't want to risk having the stuff kick while I was down below gloving up.  Hopefully it will sand as well as they say it will; I'll be at it tomorrow.

Real Progress

Bulwark primed.

Not that I wasn't making progress before, but now it feels like I'm really rolling. I was finally able to lay down the first coat of Primekote epoxy primer on the decks forward of the cockpit this weekend.  I'd been putting it off for a few weeks now because I always managed to find another area to sand, but I finally said enough and went to it.

The temps this week have been nasty for New Hampshire; mid 90's and humid so I decided to do the job as early as possible so I could get out of the boatshed before it turned into a furnace.  Even if I could take the ridiculous temperatures in the shed anytime after 10 am, the sweat that literally pours off me would certainly ruin any finish so I started at 5 am, just after sunrise.

I did it in 2 parts, the first morning I painted the bulkwark sides and top (under where the caprail will go).  I used a 2" high density foam roller that was a perfect fit for the job.  First I wiped down the entire bulwark forward of the cockpit with 2333N brushing thinner and then mixed up 10oz total of the Primekote.  Then I rolled and tipped it off starting at the bow and then working back on each rail.  All told (with the 20 minute induction time) it took about 2 hours.  Everything went according to plan and I didn't sit in any paint or dump the bucket in my lap (this has happened to me before).  I left for the day and let it bake.

Looks good to me.

At 5 am this morning I set out to tackle the fore deck and side decks forward of the cockpit.  Same procedure as the day before but a bigger area and more paint (25oz total including 20% 2333N brushing thinner).  Everything went well with job as well, but I needed to change out the roller half way through because it was showing signs of coming apart.  This time I used a 7" high density roller though.  The only other glitch was that toward the end I was running very low on paint and had to stretch the last few feet (I worked from the starboard aft side forward, onto the fore deck, and then down the port side working aft).

I'm really happy with the results. There were no surprises as far as unexpected 'un-fair' areas.  There are a few areas that still need a bit of additional fairing, but I knew that going into priming.  I wanted to get a more uniform color on the decks so I could better see some of the areas that were still a bit lumpy.  I ordered a 1.5 quart kit of System Three Quickfair for this purpose.  It should be here sometime midweek.  Once that arrives I'll be able to do a final spot treatment for any undesirable areas left on the fore and side decks.

In the meantime I get to get started on the cockpit area aft.  Lots to do in the cockpit and a bit more fairing on the aft deck and areas adjacent to the cockpit.  I have no shortage of work ahead of me, but this was a big milestone.

Very shiny and still wet.  I had to jump off the back of the boat to exit.

In the lower right side of the photo, you can see an area that will need some additional fairing.

Not a great shot, but it all looks pretty clean at least.