Deck & Cockpit Sanding (Part 2)

July 29, 2017

I set out today to complete the deck and cockpit sanding - one of those milestone days.  It's important to have days like this on a project of this scope.  Achieving milestones motivates, offering further momentum to reach completion.  Momentum, as described to me by a good friend from the north, can carry you through the challenges - sanding off layers of paint qualifies here!  Anyway, I am anxious to get the worst of it behind me and move on to putting the pretty stuff on Joule. 

I started by removing the rudder tube plate.  I was expecting to find much worse lurking below this ancient piece of teak, but it really wasn't too bad.  The cockpit floor is solid.  Since work must be done to the rudder tube (generically referring to the bronze bar, and not the fiberglass tube surrounding it) and because I needed to prep for painting the cockpit sole, I went ahead and removed it.  There should be material left over to fabricate a new plate.

With PSA discs on order for the Porter Cable 7335, I broke out the 5" RO to continue with the deck.  This tool is not the ideal for large spaces, but it did allow me to get into tighter spots that the 7335 would not.  You can just make out the layers of nonskid paint on the deck.  Hull #1044 was living large in the '70s...and the '80s and '90s too for that matter!  The original baby-blue was in there, as well as some harsh looking greens.  I attached the shop vac to the sander and enjoyed the breezy conditions without having a dust cloud about me.

I began on the sidedecks using 60-grit discs, about midships, and moved forward toward the bow.  

Prior to getting too far forward, I moved onto the cabin top and cabin top sides.  For now, I left the deadlights in place, choosing to keep myself in the maddening pace of marathon sanding.  Joule's owners are planning to replace the deadlights with bronze deadlights (similar to this, see page 42).

While up on the cabin top, I inspected the mast step for eventual removal.  There is considerable corrosion of the aluminum at the point of contact with the stainless steel through bolts.  I'm suggesting to the owners that they consider replacement of the CD2 tabernacle mast step. 

With the cabin top finished, I moved back down to the side decks.  I removed the lifeline stanchions in order to clean up the decks around them.  Since these stanchions will not be going back onto the Joule, I will later fill and fair the old fastener holes, with paint to follow.  The starboard stanchions pictured below.

I then continued working forward, completing the foredeck.

With the cabin top, side decks and foredeck completed, I moved back into the cockpit to remove the old nonskid from the cockpit sole.

With the completion of the cockpit sole, I wrapped it up for the day.  I pushed through lunch, ran through 27 discs, and left my body weight out there in sweat.  And the 'dog days of summer' are yet to come!

Total Time Today: 8.5 hrs

New Teak Arrives

July 28, 2017

I received a call from the LTL carrier that the recently placed teak order had arrived, and so arranged to pick up the material from the warehouse.  The teak order was carefully packaged on two lengths of pallet, protected with cardboard, shrink-wrapped and metal banded.

After getting the order back to the shop, I removed the teak from its packaging and placed it into the shop.

The order consists of enough material to replace all of the boat's weathered, and in some areas disintegrating, brightwork.  A total of 6 4/4" boards:

1 board measuring 9" X 102" - for the taff rail, aft cockpit trim, and companionway trim

3 boards measuring 8" X 100, 102 and 108 for the coaming boards, cockpit seat trim, and companionway trim

2 boards measuring 5" X 121" and 6" X 121" for the toe rails and rub rails 

There will be bases fabricated for the cabin top cleats and the aft deck stand-up block, as well as the aft deck cam cleat for the mainsheet.

Total Time Today: 0 hrs

Deck & Cockpit Sanding (Part 1)

July 23, 2017

Having nearly all of the hardware and brightwork removed from Joule - there are two lifeline stanchions yet to come off - I set out to begin taking the old and tired deck paint off.  I wanted to get down to the substrate to prep for the more involved task of recoring the few parts of the boat that required it.  But prior to beginning the day's task, I met with the owners to go over a few items, and to deliver a few odds and ends off Joule that will be reconciled in one way or another.  Topsides paint color choice was also discussed....but you'll have to keep following along for that big reveal!

After the owners departed, I set out with what was to be the primary tool for the day - the Porter Cable 7335 RO sander.  This workhorse is an essential item for removing layer upon layer of boat paint in as efficient a manner as possible.  The 7335 was discontinued for some reason, and I believe replaced by the 7345.  After acquiring the 7335 several years ago, I quickly realized this was a 'go-to' tool for a number of jobs - mostly all are miserable, but having the right tool makes a tough job doable.  I was fortunate to pick up another 7335 at a garage sale....for $10 bucks!!  Here's to many more hours of sanding bliss.

The photo below shows the poop deck prior to all the fun beginning.

Throughout the day, I used the 6" pad and 80-grit adhesive discs.  I set up the shop vac as well in order to catch as much of the particulate coming off the boat as I could.  I started on the poop deck, and then dropped down to the cockpit's aft bulkhead.

Once I had the poop deck and aft bulkhead of the cockpit sanded, I worked my way forward across both sidedecks and stopped just at the trailing edge of the nonskid.

As I approached the aft of the cabin bulkhead, I dropped down to sand the molded fiberglass coaming and cockpit seats.

The vertical portion of the cockpit seats were also sanded...

...finishing up with the cabin's aft bulkhead.  There will be quite a bit of hand-sanding in the coming days in order to get into the spaces that the 7335 could not.  The worst part of any restoration, in my opinion, was well underway; looking forward to getting primer on Joule!

I finished the work session by inventorying the brightwork removed from Joule, and then measuring the various pieces so that I could get an order in for the new teak stock.  Cheers!

Total Time Today: 6.25 hrs

Final Hardware & Brightwork Removal

July 22, 2017

Spending the morning disassembling and giving my West System 306-25 epoxy metering pump a thorough cleaning and servicing with West System's rebuild kit, I would finally make it onto Joule in the early afternoon.  The hardener reservoir on the metering pump had developed a small crack on its underbelly. Being in full throes of global warming (my shop could use more ventilation as well), summer temperatures in Florida begin to move the plastic and breakdown the viscosity of the hardener and periodically force me to clean up an inconvenient mess.  The price of Wests System's hardener was motivation enough for rebuilding the metering pump, but besides that, I had some upcoming recoring work for Joule and having a clean and properly operating epoxy work station is just the cat's meow.

Today's work goal for Joule was to deliver her from the remaining splinters of brightwork and overabundance of hardware about her decks.  The previous owner was quite fond of bronze cleats and we'll leave it at that.  With a significant amount of sanding in my near future, and the work required to repair damaged core, I wanted to get down to the blank canvas.  I began work on the taff rail.  Judging from the rather straight forward removal of the starboard toe rail and rub rail, I had planned to dig out the `15 bungs hiding their fasteners, and remove them with ease.  Not to be.  Nearly all of the fasteners were frozen in place or would spin hopelessly in place.

Becoming frustrated with my lack of progress (timely progress), I resorted to more 'creative' means to  remove the taff rail.  Since I wanted to keep the rail to use as a template (in the roughest since of the word) for fabricating a new rail, my efforts were in removal using any means necessary while preserving the overall shape of the rail.  I settled on over-drilling the material immediately surrounding the fastener heads.  Using a small flathead screwdriver, I carefully pried the remaining material from the newly drilled hole.  At this point, I then applied a locking wrench to the fastener head and backed the stubborn screws out.    

Not a great way to get the day started, but the rail was removed and dimensions preserved.

I then turned my attention to the remaining hardware on the coach roof.  The port and starboard sides of the coach roof each held a small jib track with a fairlead and a small bronze cleat mounted on a teak block.  Original to the boat's deck layout, they would remain on Joule but needed to first come off for sanding and painting purposes. 

Removal of the small cleat to port was simple.  Securing the nut from below, I then backed out of the fasteners with ease.

The port jib track came off with ease as well.  I noticed more use of the 5200 product as the hardware  didn't relent its hold on the deck.

The starboard cleat came off without fuss...

...as did the starboard jib track and fairlead.

While I was working in this area, I went ahead and removed the companionway hatch trim - a simple means of keeping the hatch secured on the coach roof by means of teak trim material mounted on a raised fiberglass rail and overlapping a 3/4" tab running fore to aft on the companionway hatch itself. With these two pieces of teak trim removed, the hatch simply lifted off.  I also removed the companionway drop-boards, or washboards, from the aft cabin bulkhead (pictured in situ).

In speaking with the owners of Joule, it was clear that they both preferred to keep her decks uncluttered, and to generally return her to her original deck plan.  With that goal in mind, I set out to remove the two forward deck cleats that were not originally part of the Cape Dory Typhoon deck plan.  In both installations here, the previous owner used bronze cleats with stainless steel fasteners and an iron backing plate.  Gone!  I then turned my attention to the single forward deck cleat which is part of the original deck plan.  Bow lines, both port and starboard, are run through the stem fitting and aft to this single cleat, whether on the dock or a mooring. 

With nearly all of the deck hardware removed, I then set out to take care of the port toe rail and rub rail.  Using the same process for the starboard rails, I slowly made my way the length of both rails for final removal.

The shot below shows the flathead fastener being backed out just after removing the bung.

At the close of the day, I decided to clean up the port rail area with a few 80-grit discs just to see what I was dealing with in the substrate.  Not too bad really.  There are a few areas requiring some attention in terms of 'fill and fair' work, but most of the surface area is in good shape.

I sanded a section of the deck where the taff rail had been mounted and saw that a bit more work would be required here.  That rounded out the day's work on Joule.

Total Time Today: 5 hrs

Hardware & Brightwork Removal (Part 2)

July 16, 2017

We have a name!  The owners of Cape Dory Typhoon hull #1044 have decided to name her Joule. Webster has 'joule' as "a unit of work or energy equal to the work done by a force of one newton acting through a distance of one meter."  The owners will no doubt be harnessing the energy of wind and wave, bringing Joule's lively form to function.  Congrats on a great name!

I began early in the morning to beat the heat, starting on removal of the coamings and associated hardware.  Today's to-do list would be a continuation of yesterday's: removal of brightwork and hardware as a prep for sanding and fiberglass repair work.  

The starboard bronze winch base came off without fuss.  At some point in Joule's life, previous owners had done some re-bedding of various deck hardware and at least a portion of the brightwork.  What I noticed through a couple days of disassembly is that 1. the original bronze fasteners were discarded and replaced with stainless, and 2. the bedding compound chosen was 5200, or the like.  The dissimilar metals would not be my first go to solution, and I certainly would not be bedding with any parts of the boat that may require a take-down for repair or maintenance with 5200.  Correcting as we go!  

With the winch base off the starboard coaming, I removed three fasteners securing the coaming block.

I then turned to the coaming cleat and attempted a hand-powered removal.  With no luck, I applied a small shot of PB Blaster (not worried about staining the crumbling coaming board) and waited a few minutes for the magic to happen.  After working another portion of the boat for ~10 minutes, I returned to the coaming cleat with an impact driver.  The impact driver, along with the penetrating oil, made quick work of the bronze fastener.

The aft fastener's head did snap in the attempt to remove it, but the cleat was easy enough at that point to remove.  A pair of pliers helped to pull the stubborn fastener from its resting place.

With the coaming block fasteners removed as well as the coaming board hardware, I then pulled the ~8 screws securing the board itself.  Once I had the fasteners out, the board was no closer to removal than with the fasteners in.  Again, 5200 was used over the length of the board to bed it to the lower fiberglass coaming.  I scored a line as deep as I could with a utility knife attempting to partially separate the coaming board from the fiberglass, and then used a flat bar to gently pry the lower portion of the board away from the fiberglass coaming.  

This was an exercise in patience since the boards had so much wear and tear on them, including dry-rot.  The starboard board was exceptionally bad, and prone to snapping in half lengthwise if I moved to forcefully.  The technique I deployed was to work the short end of the pry bar up as high as I could between the board and the fiberglass and placing a plastic covered wrench between the exposed portion of the pry bar and fiberglass.  At this point I applied leverage to the pry bar, increasing tension slowly as the 5200 gave up its ghost.  I worked down the length of each coaming board in this manner until the boards were released from their bondage.

With the Florida heat and humidity coming into full morning mugginess, I took a break from the hard stuff and settled on removal of the two short portions of lifeline while rehydrating.  The owners decided to discard the one lifeline stanchion on either side, and to bring Joule back to her original deck plan. 

While I was working midships, I pulled the midship deck cleat on the starboard and port sides.  The owners also decided to pull and discard these two cleats for the same reason as the lifeline stanchions.  

Placing a locking wrench below, I then backed out the stainless machine screws.  It was interesting to find three metals, all dissimilar to one another, working to keep this toe-snapper on deck.  We have an iron backing plate, stainless steel fasteners, and a bronze cleat.

I repeated the exercise on the port side.

I wanted to get to at least one of the toe and rub rail assemblies today, but would first have to remove the jib track.  The aluminum jib track was mounted to the top of the toe rail and secured with stainless machine screws/nuts.  With a locking wrench on the nut, and penetrating oil added to the screw head as well as the backing nut, I began working the impact driver and slowly backed out the screw, or in most cases, dropping the nut from the screw.  A few of these fasteners were stubborn members of the resistance movement, but with some coaxing I was able to extract them and free the track from the rail.

It was obvious that the track had been on there for many years, possibly original to the boat.

Examination of the underside of the track confirmed need to replace these jib tracks.

The port jib track was removed in the same manner; and with the exception of a couple of fasteners, the track came off without issue.

Again, the corrosion on the underbelly of the port jib track called for "repeal and replace."

The cockpit locker lids are scheduled to be replaced as well, and with sanding in the near future, I took the opportunity to remove these two brethren.

Starboard and port locker lids removed and set aside.

I was ready to now begin work on removing the starboard toe and rub rail assembly.  The toe rail and rub rail are separate lengths of rail, with the toe rail placed at the outboard edge of the deck and the rub rail placed at 90 degrees and just beneath a slight overhang of the toe rail.

Nearly all of the toe rail fasteners came out without issue.  I used a utility knife to dig out the old bung, cleaned out the debris, and then used a flathead screwdriver to remove the fastener - repeated 28 times.  The fasteners were set on 8" centers.

The rub rail was removed in the same manner, and was made up of three sections.  Securing the aft end of the middle section with line, I made my way forward one fastener at a time until the board was removed.

Again, the 29 fasteners were set on 8" centers.

With the toe rail and rub rail off, I worked to clean up for the day.

Up next, I will remove the port side toe and rub rail assembly, the taff rail (pictured in the foreground below), as well as the balance of the companion way trim.

Total Time Today: 4.5 hrs