Topsides Sanding (Part 2) & Deck Core Work

August 6, 2017

Because I wanted to complete the topsides sanding today, I began with removing the plastic thru-hull fitting for the bilge pump, located roughly amidships.  

The 1/2" interior diameter thru-hull extended through the topsides and interior fiberglass liner, and was then secured with a plastic backing nut.  

I applied a wrench to the backing nut, and with some light pressure it began to release from the thru-hull fitting.

After the backing but was removed, I applied a hammer to the thru-hull fitting itself in order to free it from the 'marine goo' it was bedded in.

A few taps, and then a wrench from the exterior of the boat, and the thru-hull was out.  The owners of Joule have requested a new bronze thru-hull fitting for the bilge.  

With no obstructions on the topsides from bow to stern, I set up the porter cable 7335 with dust shroud and connected it to the shop vac.  AS I had done yesterday, I used 40-grit PSA pads to remove the layers of paint and primer, taking things down to the original gelcoat.

I worked my way aft, leaving just a inch worth of material at the waterline.  I would come back later and hand-sand the waterline. 

Additionally, I will be using a combination of hand-sanding and the palm sander for the bow.

With the topsides nearly completed, I turned back to the poop deck to rid it of the problem areas (i.e. wet core).  In my original evaluation of the boat, I sounded the poop deck and found no discernible  problem areas - typically highlighted by a deep, hollow thud as one taps on the deck.  It may have been the sheer number of hardware items installed on the deck; nevertheless, there is wet core in the poop deck.  I started with the motor mount base plate.  The CD Typhoons originally came with a folding motor mount, and this one had signs of a re-installation - I found fastener holes that had been filled with a thickened epoxy.  I drew cut lines on the deck, and removed the top skin with a Bosch oscillating tool.  I removed enough material to rid the deck of wet core in this area.

I began to sound the deck to identify the areas of issue, and decided to extend the previous day's cut forward to include those areas that held the main sheet cam cleat and stand up block.

With this area clear of deteriorated core, I found more issues with the original aft cleat location.  I marked cut lines and removed the top skin.

As expected, I found wet core with the initial cut.  I then extended my cut toward the starboard rail to get all of the bad areas removed.

I ended up with clean, dry core.

Most of the core in the aft deck was at one point sopping wet, but then had deteriorated and then dried out.  I did find a lot of water in the core around the aft cleat.  Next steps here will be to grind tapered edges to tie-in the new glass, install new core material, apply a new fiberglass top skin, and fill and fair.

Total Time Today: 5 hrs