First Coat of Primer: Topsides

October 30, 2017

After finishing up a late afternoon appointment, I raced home to prepare for Joule's first coat of primer for her topsides.  I removed the materials from a couple boxes - Interlux Primekote, a two-part epoxy primer to be used for the Interlux Perfection topcoat paint; and sorted the specific items for the task at hand.  

I combined parts A and B, and then set it aside to allow for the products induction period.  While the paint was chemically doing its 'thang', I went around Joule with rag and solvent to remove any last remaining contaminants.  At this time, I also taped off the stem fitting and chain plates.  

The last items taped off and the hull cleaned and ready for paint, the induction period had come to an end and so now it was time to begin painting.  I grabbed a 4" fine, solvent-resistant foam roller and a paint tray lined with plastic wrap and started at Joule's counter.  It always a pleasing to see the first coat of primer applied to a Cape Dory's counter...now that it had been freed of the hideous motor mount securely installed with no less than 8 bolts!  Joule's lines, as they were meant to be appreciated, were coming back!

I worked my way across the counter, down the starboard side, around the stem, and back down the port side.  Once I had completed the topsides I returned to the aft to apply a coat of primer on the poop deck.  My motivation for getting the first coat of primer on was two-fold: one, I wanted to get a UV protective layer of primer on the recent epoxy work, and two, I wanted to better isolate areas that required a bit more attention prior to applying those second, third and potentially fourth and final coats of primer.  I managed to get things completed just as darkness was settling in for the evening - happy to have this milestone reached.

Total Time Today: 1.5 hrs

Completing Locker Lids & Prepping Topsides for Primer

October 29, 2017

Finally making my way into the shop - the weather is finally gorgeous in Florida! - I moved back onto the locker lids to complete their fabrication.  The day prior I had painted out the top and sides with a coat of epoxy as a sealer coat before I prime them with a two-part finish paint.  Today I went straight into creating what can only be described as miniature stringers for the underside in order to further strengthen them for adult use - though the owners of Joule are in superb shape and this is probably overkill, but...

I located a large teak dowel that had been loitering in my shop for quite a while - nearly 2" in diameter - cut it in half, and then again cut the two pieces lengthwise to create four half-moon shapes of roughly 8" in length.  I sanded the ends of the stringers into a taper that would allow for a layer of 1708 biaxial to more easily layover them.  I then arranged the stringers in a staggered pattern, two to each locker lid as can be seen below.

These supports will ensure that the locker lids see many seasons of use!  After having them arranged on the underside of the lids just as I liked, I then traced their outline to ensure I they found their proper home when time came to glue them in.

I removed the stringers and wet the underside of the locker lids out with epoxy.  As the undersides were tacking up, I cut four lengths of 1708 biaxial to cover and adhere them to the lids.  With the lengths of 1708 tape cut, I then mixed a batch of thickened epoxy (406 silica and 407 low-density filler) and applied a healthy amount within the boundary of the traced stringer locations.  I painted epoxy on the undersides of the stringers and firmly pressed them into position, squeezing the thickened epoxy out around the edges.  With a portion of a squeegee held to the underside of the lid and gently resting on the edge of the stringer, I created a fillet around the stringer.  I followed this process for each stringer.

After cleaning up the thickened epoxy from around the fillets that I had just created, I then turned to wetting the cloth out with epoxy.  I saturated both sides of each length of 4" 1708 biaxial tape, and then squeezed out the excess epoxy with a squeegee.  I then lifted the fiberglass into place, gently pressed into position with my fingers, and lastly rolled the glass out with a fin roller.

With the fabrication of the locker lids completed, I turned my attention back to Joule's topsides. Another goal for the day was to get a coat of protective primer on her topsides - protection for the recent epoxy work from the UV rays.  I sanded the spot-filled areas of yesterday after water-washing them to remove the amine blush and dried the surfaces.  I then wiped the topsides thoroughly with a degreaser agent to clean up any potential contaminants that I might of missed in previous cleaning.  After the surface was cleaned with the degreaser, I taped off the waterline.  With the waterline taped off, I wiped the surfaces down a second time with another solvent.  It was at this time that I realized painting would not be happening today despite my keen interest in it.  The day's gorgeous temperature was kept company by an equally gorgeous breeze - of which I am currently enjoying as I prepare this post!  I just would not have time to lay down a smooth application of primer since the wind would cause the paint to flash before the paint could be allowed to flow out to a nice smooth surface.  So, I now enjoy the balance of the day, an awesome fall breeze pushing through, and Joule is ready for her first coat of primer!

Total Time Today: 2 hrs

Sanding Locker Lids, Deck and Hull & Cabin Sole Core Work

October 28, 2017

I started early this morning with a quick water-wash of the previous fairing application and then proceeded to sand the cockpit locker lids.  I used the RO sander to hit the larger surfaces, and then transitioned to hand-sanding for the tight inner radius of the inside corners and for careful shaping of the outside corners.  With that taken care of, I vacuumed the surfaces and wiped down the surface with solvent to remove the remaining dust and prep for a coat of 'neat' epoxy.  But for now I had an appointment to get to which, so I closed the shop for the morning.

With my appointment taken care of, I returned to the shop and got straight to work on sanding Joule's topsides and deck.  The fairing work on Joule's topsides, deck, and cockpit are drawing to a close.  My hope is to get a protect primer coat on at least her topsides by this weekend...but alas, we shall see.  I did not snap and photos of the post-sanding session, but recall the smoothness of a newborn's honey :)  I did in find a few areas that required spot fill work, so while I prepared the cabin sole for coring I prepped those areas for fill by wetting them out with straight ('neat') epoxy.  With those spot fill areas prepped, I then wet out the bottom skin of the cabin sole.  Prior to wetting the cabin sole bottom skin out I did do some sanding and removal of more rotten core.  The line you see emerging from the bilge is holding a brace the length of the cabin sole in order to help it retain its shape during the recore work.

With the bottom skin ready to receive new core, I moved back to the shop to mix thickened epoxy to bed the new core material.  I started by pushing thickened epoxy into the edges, and pushing narrow width strips into and underneath the edges (areas that I have ground a taper for tabbing the new topskin to).  I then filled in the inner field with the larger core pieces.

Before closing the boat up for the night, I laid a sheet of plastic over the new core and applied some weight to keep the core and bottom skin the 'best of friends'!

Returning to the shop, I mixed a pot of neat epoxy and with a foam brush applied a sealer coat on the cockpit seat locker lids.  I will be reinforcing the locker lids tomorrow by glassing in a small stringer on the underside of the lids.

Before closing the shop for the evening, I put a coat of thickened epoxy on the top of the companionway slide hatch.  Fabricating the brightwork is just around the corner!

Total Time Today 6.75 hrs

Continued Work on Hatches + Companionway Hatch (Part 2)

October 24, 2017

I could not resist getting back out to continue work on the cockpit seat locker hatches, and so I took the opportunity to do so.  I began by water-washing the previous application of the 6oz cloth, and then sanded the surface down with 80-grit paper using the RO sander.  I had applied some additional fairing compound to the inside corners in an effort to create a smooth transition and add strength; I would sand those areas at a later time.

I then vacuumed the surfaces and wiped them down with a solvent to thoroughly clean them prior to wetting out with straight epoxy.

The picture below shows the hatches / locker lids primed with epoxy prior to their final application of fairing compound.  While I waited for the epoxy to 'tack-up', I turned my attention back to the companionway slide hatch.  After filling the hole with cloth and some fairing compound, the hatch had sufficiently cured to allow me to proceed with the next step.  I water-washed and sanded the top of the hatch, and then prepped it for additional cloth to be laid up.  The cloth that I used was 6o - light material - so I prepared some additional layers of 6oz cloth to apply.  I cut out 4 circles, progressively smaller than the last.  I wiped the surface the patched area with solvent, wet out the glass, and then applied the glass to the hatch.

Now that I had the hatch taken care of, I moved back over the the cockpit hatches.  The surface of both hatches were tacky to the touch, so I moved into mixing up some thickened epoxy for a fairing compound.  I applied the fairing compound and called it a night.  The companionway hatch can just be seen in the right side of the picture.

Total Time Today: 2 hrs

Cont...Work on the Hatches + Filling the Hole in the Companionway Hatch

October 22, 2017

I've made great progress on fabricating the new cockpit seat locker hatches, and was anxious to get back on the work post-breakfast.  I began by water-washing the previous day's work - filling the weave the 1708 biaxial cloth and in general fairing the surface.  I scrubbed the surfaces of both hatches and dried them.  I outfitted myself with 80-grit pads on the ROS sander and began to knock down the high spots.

I sanded as much as I could with the ROS and then finished things off by hand - primarily the inside and outside corners.

The fairing completed with the ROS and by hand, I spot-filled some very small low spots on the top surface, probably small enough that my efforts were not called for, but I went ahead with the filling anyway.  I also filled the inside corners of both hatches - these areas did require some additional fill work.  With that completed, I went ahead and mixed up a batch of epoxy to wet out the top surfaces of both hatches in preparation for another layer of cloth.

In the picture below, the port hatch (background) has the 6oz finish cloth applied and wet out, the starboard hatch (foreground) has the 6oz finish cloth in place ready to saturate with epoxy.  In my next work session I will water-wash, sand and fill the weave with the last bit of fairing work prior to priming the surfaces for topcoat paint.

Not wanting to knock off quite yet, I turned my attention to filling the hole in the companionway slide hatch.  The hole was likely housing a mushroom vent, but now plugged with a piece of teak.  I removed the teak in the prior work session and ground a 12:1 taper to accept new fiberglass.  I used a sheet of plastic to create templates for the new fiberglass.  I choose to use 6oz cloth in this application, so I may need to come back with an additional layer or two.  

I cut out the fiberglass and then solvent-washed the surfaces to prepare for the glass installation.

I quickly worked through wetting out the top surface and applying the fiberglass cloth, so quick in fact that I failed to take a picture of this.  I covered the glass with a sheet of plastic and taped it off.  I then turned the hatch over and applied one disc of cloth in the opening.

Finally, I applied a skim coat of fairing compound across the bottom of the opening to cover the newly laid fiberglass cloth, and then covered this work with a sheet of plastic.  Next steps here would be fill to a fair surface prior to painting.

Total Time Today: 4.75 hrs

Continued Work on Cockpit Locker Hatches

October 21, 2017

I decided to continue working on the cockpit locker hatches given the progress made on both the starboard and port hatches - it was good to see them begin to take the simple yet familiar shape of the Cape Dory Typhoon seat locker hatch / lid.  I began by removing the cured glass that hung below what would eventually become the bottom dimension of the hatch itself.  I removed this material with an angle grinder and a cut-off wheel.  As a sidebar, and funny story, I had previously been working with an angle grinder on another boat and was tired - having worked several hours through the Florida heat and humidity.  I was working a piece of stubborn material that I needed to remove with one hand and in the other hand I held an angle grinder operating at high rpm.  A quick slip is all it took to introduce palm of left hand to angle grinder in right hand!  I snapped a photo of the wound and sent it over to a OBGYN friend of mine.  His recommendation was, "meet me at my office within the hour," so I closed the shop for the day and headed over to have my wound looked at.  Within a half-hour of arriving, my hand was sewed up in excellent fashion with a few stitches - I like to say that I've had an episiotomy performed on my hand.  I understand now why the delicate and precise hands of an OBGYN are required and differ from some other specialists.  One particular pre-cancerous area removed by my Dermatologist resembles more so a Captain Jack Sparrow-type scar than what is possible by a well-trained hand working the intimates of the female of the species.  Alas, I have the potential for a great story....similar to the scene in the galley of Orca on the first Jaws film! 

With the superfluity of material removed by the cut-off wheel, I switched to a flap wheel (40-grit sanding pad attached to the angle grinder), and proceeded to draw the dimension of the fiberglass in line with the dimension of the mold / template.

After removing that excess material and separating the molds from the cured fiberglass, I could not resist a test fit of the hatches...okay! I have something I can work with here!

The port-side cockpit seat locker hatch...

...and the starboard-side cockpit seat locker hatch.

After taking a few minutes to feel good about myself, I proceeded to water-wash the surface of the hatches and then sand them down with 80-grit paper to prepare the surface for the next steps.  I vacuumed the sanding residue and solvent-washed the surfaces.  I then painted out the underside outside perimeter and the entire top surface of both hatches, and then proceeded to apply thickened epoxy as a fairing compound to those same surfaces.  The next step will be to water-wash and sand, and then finish by laying a 6oz cloth across the top surfaces.  I will then fill and fair the weave of the 6oz cloth, while also glassing in supports from beneath.  More to come!

I took time also today to begin to address the hole in the companion hatch - the slide hatch.  I measured the laminate thickness to determine the measurement required for filling the hole with a fiberglass patch, as determined by the 12:1 ratio.  The hatch thickness was laid up to 1/8", and so using the 12:1 ratio, this meant I had to create a bevel of 1.5" around the circumference of the hole to be filled.  

The result for the top of the hatch...

...and for the underside of the hatch.  I will likely get started with filling this hole in the next work session.

Total Time Today: 5 hrs

Port Cockpit Locker Hatch

October 20, 2017

Home from a business trip, I decided to close out the Friday afternoon with laying up the port cockpit seat locker hatch.  As I had done with the starboard hatch (barely visible in the background), I prepared the template / mold by covering it with plastic film.  I then prepared the fiberglass: 11' of 6" 1708 biaxial tape and 3' of the 4" 1708 tape.  The glass was cut and the work surfaces set up so I moved forward with mixing epoxy.  Like I had done with the starboard side, I fully wet out two 6" pieces of glass, applied them to the mold, and then covered the seam with a 4" piece.

I progressed through another 4 pieces of 6" 1708 biaxial tape, or two layers, for a total of 3 layers of 1708 biaxial.  I will allow this to cure before coming back to water-wash, sand and prepare the surface for another couple layers of glass.  The 5 layers of glass will be further strengthened by supports that I will glass-in on the underbellies of each hatch.

Total Time Today: 1.75 hrs

Starboard Cockpit Locker Hatch

October 16, 2017

After my day job I decided to get some time in on the cockpit locker hatches, and to begin with I testing a scrap piece of foam on the router table.  Using the 1/2" radius bit, I ran the scrap piece along the fence to apply the desired cut.

The results were just what I was looking for on the eventual finished locker hatch.  With that successful test, I then turned to the templates for the same application.

After running all four sides of the tops of each template / mold across the router table's 1/2" radius bit I noticed that the alignment of the bit was not strictly perfect - leaving a bit of a hard transition line from the top to the radius surface, as can be seen in the picture below.  

I "softened" the transition line from top to side with the use of some very fine grit sandpaper that I had on hand.  The necessity of having a fair curve in the transition was not too important, but I did want to create a nice transition for the heavier fiberglass cloth to assume.  In addition, if there was any strange result in the layup, I would address with fairing compounds on what would be the underside of the hatch itself.  

With the top-to-side radius applied to all sides of both hatches, and with the smoothing completed with the fine grit sandpaper, I wrapped the starboard locker hatch with plastic and then hot-glued the template to a large would block.

I had laid a sheet of plastic down on my fiberglass wet-out board; on one end I had the template staged for work, and on the other end I would wet-out the fiberglass itself.  The picture below shows two lengths of 6" 1708 biaxial tape in a butt joint along the length of the template, with a length of 4" 1708 biaxial tape overlapping and also running the length of the template.

A close-up picture of the first layers of cloth applied.

Ultimately, I would finish the short work session with laying down 6 lengths of the 6" 1708 tape and the 1 length of 4" 1708 tape.  I essentially had 3 layers of 1708 glass on the template.  Since the work surface was generating a bit of heat as a result of the curing process, I decided to draw things to a close for the day.  I plan to water-wash the surface, sand to abrade the surface for a good mechanical bond, and then lay up an additional layer of 1708 and then finish with a lighter cloth prior to fairing the surface for primer and paint.  The material hanging below the template will be cut to create a finished bottom edge.

Total Time Today: 2.5 hrs

Continued Surface Prep (Fill & Fair) and Creating Cockpit Seat Hatch Molds

October 14, 2017

I got to unpacking some recent arrivals to the shop - preparing for interior paint, including the bilge.  In addition to the paints that arrived, I also received some 1708 biaxial and some Divinycell for the cabin sole recore work to be completed.  Setting these items aside, I got to work on Joule by beginning with the usual water-washing of the previous fairing application.

After washing off the cure amine blush, I turned to addressing the imperfections across the surfaces of the cabin top and sides.  I dished out crack and gouges using a spiral saw, and then vacuumed up the debris. 

I solvent-washed all worked areas as preparation for an application of fairing compound (epoxy thickened with 406 silica and 407 low-density).

With the worked areas cleaned of contaminates, I applied a film of 'neat' epoxy - not thickened with any filler compounds - and then proceeded to mix another batch of epoxy this time thickened with the aforementioned recipe of thickening agents.  Since this mixture sands relatively easily, I went ahead and "slathered" on more material than I should in hopes of limiting myself to one application of filler, and two at the most.

I also skimmed a coat of fairing compound on the nearly complete poop deck and counter.

Next, I turned my attention to fabricating cockpit seat locker hatches - at least giving it a go!  Using the hot glue gun and scrap materials from the shop, I marked out what would become the interior dimension of the port and starboard cockpit locker hatches.

With both templates built, I removed them from the Joule and continued working them in the shop.

I used a 3/4" sheet of polystyrene to prepare the molds, for which fiberglass will be laid.  I cut out two pieces each for the port hatch and the starboard hatch, in oversized dimensions.  I then glued up the two pieces, creating a 1.5" thick mold.  Next, I scribed the lines of the templates onto the mold material, and then cut out the mold to match the dimensions of the port and starboard templates.

In a future work session, I will radius the top of the molds on all sides to prepare them to accept the fiberglass.  Once the glass is applied - probably 3 to 4 layers of 1708 biaxial - I will remove it from the mold and glass in support material on the underside of each hatch.   I expect the exercise in fabricating the hatches will run 6 to 8 hours of work with limited materials required.

Total Time Today: 3.75 hrs