3rd Coat Deck and Cockpit Primer + Companionway Slide Hatch

December 19, 2017

The day's first priority would be to sand the second coat of primer on the deck and cockpit, as well as the spot fill work that I had down to fair pinholes that were revealed through application of the last coat of primer, and then to get the third and final coat of primer on those surfaces.

To that end, I got straight to work with 150-grit sheet paper hand-sanding the fill areas (cockpit hatch gutters, recently patched navigation light openings in the cabin sides, and a few here-and-theres).

The gutters were challenging due to their fairly deep and tight widths, but alas I prevailed.  Below, I am tackling the port side molded gutter for the cockpit seat hatch.

With the port side complete, I moved over to the starboard side of the cockpit.

I faired a few spots on the seat and vertical surfaces, but the majority of the time and energy was spent on the seat hatch gutter.

With the cockpit faired smooth with sanding work, I moved forward to start at the bow and move aft, sanding the balance of the second coat of primer.

I vacuumed the majority of the sanding dust and then returned to the wood shop to prepare the primer paint.  With the 2-part Primekote paint portioned out, combined and mixed thoroughly, I set it aside for its 15-minute induction period.  While waiting through the induction period, I returned to Joule to wipe the surfaces with a solvent to capture any remaining sanding residue - always amazed at the amount of dust left on the surfaces even after a good vacuuming.

I started painting the third coat in the cockpit well and worked my way up to the vertical coamings and the aft surface of the cabin bulkhead.  I left the side decks unpainted and chose to move to the bow and work my way aft.

I painted the bases of the bow pulpit stanchions and the stem fitting with a foam brush, tipping the surface prior to moving onto the next.  With the 'cut-ins' complete, I once again used the foam roller to apply the primer to the field of the foredeck.

I moved aft and paint the cabin sides and cabin top, and finished with the side decks.  I had some paint left in the pot, so decided to sand and prep the companionway slide hatch by sanding and wiping down with solvent.  I cut-in with the foam brush on the rails of the hatch, and then switched to the foam roller for the top surface.  The don't see a need for additional coats of primer to any of Joule's surfaces above the waterline.  So, beginning on the weekend, I will begin to layout deck hardware (cleats, mainsheet block, motor mount, etc.) so that I can over-drill, fill with epoxy and drill and tap for fasteners.  The purpose of over-drilling and filling with epoxy is to isolate the new/old core from any future water ingress, thus preserving the structural integrity of the deck and the performance of the installed hardware.  In addition to the hardware, I will continue fine-tuning the new brightwork and gluing up the new toe and rub rails for eventual dry-fitting.

Total Time Today: 4.5 hrs

2nd Primer Coat on Deck and Cockpit, Cont. Brightwork Fabrication

December 17, 2017

My first order of business was sanding the balance of the cockpit and the deck after the spot fill and fair work done over the last few days.  Since I need to get the second coat of primer on by this weekend, I sent straight to work hand-sanding all surfaces with 150 and 180-grit papers.  

With the sanding out of the way, and not to diminish the joyousness of the repetitive motion by giving but a sentence to it, I vacuumed the surfaces thoroughly and wiped the remaining dust with solvent applied to a couple clean shop rags.  The next order of business was to tape the remaining deck hardware not pulled from the boat: stem fitting, bow pulpit, and chain plates. 

With the chain plates isolated with tape,  I started to mix a batch of Primekote.

Waiting the required 15 minutes for the paints induction period, I used the time to sort out painting supplies - foam brush for cutting in tight spots, foam roller and paint tray.

Started painting from the inside out, or more precisely the cockpit floor, seats, aft cabin bulkhead, and then the decks from aft to foredeck.

I did cut in around the bow pulpit and in the higher radius corners.

With this application of the second coat, I discovered just a few areas showing pinholes.  I came back later in the work session to apply a thin coat of 410 Microlight to fill and fair these areas.

With my time on Joule finished for the day, I moved back over to the wood shop to continue working on the brightwork.  I set up a 1/2" straight bit on the router table to cut a rabbet into the underside of the both the toe and rub rails.  The rabbet would allow for plenty of space for polysulfide to help seat the rail, but also will allow for an additional water barrier.  I ran a scrap piece of teak over the router bit.  The scrap teak had the same width dimensions and confirmed that I had the fence set correctly.

Starting with the toe rails, I ran the two boards of both pairings over the router, holding the boards firmly against the fence.

The results were exactly what I was looking for, so I continued with the balance of the toe rails.

The starboard toe rail pairing after being run across the router table, cutting the 1/2" rabbet.

I then turned to the rub rails, and applied the same process.  The rub rails are also 3/4" in width dimension, so I did not adjust the router or fence.

The port rub rails showing their rabbets.  I will be putting a 1/4" roundover on the toe rails, but would do this just prior to gluing the pairings together.

 I bundled the toe rail pairings together once again and set them aside.  My next task was to complete the shaping of the cockpit seat trim so that I could steam bend them on the prepared form I had built.  I switched out the router bit for a 1/8" roundover and ran both pieces of seat trim across the router table.  I decided to use a 1/8" roundover on the underside of the trim, and then use a 1/4" roundover on the topside of the trim.  The 1/4" radius provide a bit more forgiving 'edge' as one takes and gives up their seat in the cockpit.

After completing the passes on the 1/8" roundover, I switched router bits and aligned the bit to cut the 1/4" roundovers.

Show below, both seat trim pieces ready for some steam.

I pulled out the steamer and started to bring the temperature up on the water.  While I waited for the steam, I 're-tooled' the companionway slide hatch trim to allow for a more severe arc.  Earlier, I had pulled the small piece of trim from its form and witnessed a lot of spring-back.  To get the convex curve I was looking for would require me to adjust the form to pull the ends into a greater arc.  As I completed this simple task the steam box was telling me it was ready for material.  I loaded the steam box with the companionway slide hatch trim and the two cockpit seat trim pieces.  

Effectively done for the day, I kicked back with a beer and NPR to enjoy the evening.  I left the pieces in the steamer for just over an hour.  I pulled the wet rag used to seal off the end, pulled out the small hatch trim, returned the rag to seal off the end, and then set the trim in the adjusted form.  With the small piece of hatch trim set, I went back to the steam box and pulled the two pieces of seat trim from their hot/humid environ and placed them on their form. Starting with the center-most form block, I pulled the trim pieces into the block with a clamp.  I continued this process, alternating from one side of center to the other until all clamps were in place.  

With that, I closed the shop for the day.

Total Time Today: 5 hrs

Fairing and Brightwork Fabrication

December 16, 2017

Halcyon days!  I slept in this morning until 10am.  I haven't done this in years, and enjoyed every minute of it.  When I finally roused to the day, I got to work water-washing the previous day's epoxy work - fairing the navigation light patches and the cabin top through-fittings.  

With the amine blush removed, I started a round of sanding (fairing) the cured epoxy.  I first brought the port cabin sides patch to fair...

...and then the starboard side.

I finished with the holes from the former cabin top through-fittings and their fasteners.

With the sanding work completed, I moved on to continue fabricating the brightwork.  I began with the aft cockpit trim.  I placed it on the teak stock I had selected for it, and transferred its dimensions.

Using the jig saw, I then removed the new aft cockpit trim to rough dimensions and set it aside.

The next pieces of trim would be the companionway slide hatch trim.  From the remaining section of teak stock used to pull the toe rails from, I lined up the starboard side and transferred its dimensions to the new teak. 

I then removed the starboard trim from the teak stock.

I repeated the steps for the port side of the companionway slide hatch trim.  The new piece of trim, like all others being fabricated, start as a rough cut, but will be fine tuned in their finished state.

With the all of the brightwork at least in a rough state, I decided to break out the "steam box", or tube rather.  I use the steam box to help form and shape pieces for their eventual installation.  In this case, I wanted to form the cockpit seat trim pieces and the companionway slide hatch exterior 'push' trim.  This 'push' piece of trim for the companionway slide hatch is not necessarily what one's hand would go to first, but it serves to secure an additional piece of trim to the underside of the slide hatch which a tang is attached to that slides through the top drop board to lock the cabin.  Got that?  Good!  Anyway, since the slide hatch has a convex top surface, I wanted to bend the new teak trim to allow for easier installation.  As the steam box was heating up, I started working on cutting the new teak trim as well as a form to clamp it to once out of the steam box.

I laid out the old trim onto a scrap piece of birch ply, marked and hot-glued small blocks of wood to follow the form of the old trim.  I then pre-drilled and drove a screw through  the underside of the plywood, thus securing the blocks in place.

With the steam box emitting a good amount of steam, I slid the cockpit seat trim and companionway slide hatch pieces into the box.  I plugged the open end with a wet rag to trap the steam inside the box for maximum effect.

As the pieces of trim were being treated, I started on a form for the seat trim.  Just as I had done for the companionway hatch trim, I repeated the process for cockpit seat trim.  Since this trim was a bit taller in dimension, I came back and installed another small block onto the original one.  Also, since I planned to clamp both pieces to the same form, I wanted to ensure I had a robust form to clamp onto.

At this point, I decided to change directions.  I thought about still needing to shape the cockpit seat trim to the final aesthetically pleasing dimensions, and so pulled these two pieces from the team box and leaving the companionway hatch trim inside.  So, while the companionway hatch trim limbered up, I looked at layout of the motor mount.

In the coming days, I will need to over-drill the holes for the motor mount plate and fill with epoxy, followed by drilling and taping for bronze screws.  While I like the location - outboard of center line - I thought I should orient the motor mount in a more parallel position to the center line.  More to come here...

I returned to the steam box, pulled the companionway hatch trim from the gaseous environs of the steam box and set it on the form with clamps.  I used scrap pieces to protect the new trim from the clamps, and then set it aside to cool and set.

I returned to the cockpit seat trim to continue shaping them so that I could steam bend them to final form.  Using a combination of the hand plane as well as the jointer, I brought the 'rough' pieces of trim to their final dimensions.  I did run out of time for the day, but would soon round the edges on the router table and then fire of the steam box one more time!

Total Time Today: 4.25 hrs