Second Coat Topsides, Slide Hatch Trim, and Misc.

January 19, 2018

With the project coming closer to its eventual (fast-approaching) conclusion, and the owners making logistical arrangements on the near-term horizon, I took the afternoon off from office work in order to take advantage of perfect conditions to get another coat of topsides onto Joule's hull. 

With 220-grit paper, I began by sanding the waterline - cutting-in.  I worked my way around the hull's waterline, and then moved into the broader field of the topsides, changing paper frequently as I progressed.  There were minor imperfections here and there, with high spots, and so I worked those areas appropriately.

With the sanding completed, I went straight into mixing the 2-part polyurethane, which required a 20-minute induction period.  Laying out the components and the necessary supplies, I made quick work of mixing a pot, and then set it aside.  After the required 20-minute induction, I thinned the paint by 20%....and as anticipated, I achieve better lay-down and flow on this second coat.  

Starting at Joule's starboard counter, I moved around to the starboard bow, port bow, port counter, and finally the stern.  As I went, I was careful to keep the wet edge of the just applied paint as I moved forward with the next section.  Interlux Perfection suggests thinning the paint by 10%, but for my weather conditions I was pleased with increasing that percentage.  The paint flow-out was significantly improved by this increase in the 2333N brushing thinner - though having a base coat of Perfection on the hull helped as well.

With work at a standstill on Joule for the moment, I moved back into the shop to continue on the brightwork.  I picked up the companionway slide hatch to complete this portion of the restoration.  The top-mounted trim piece was still clamped in its form - introducing and setting the curve of the hatch itself onto the trim.  Ultimately, I had to place this small piece of trim in the steam box a third time until I was satisfied with the limited spring-back it underwent after removing it from the form. 

The trim piece was still in a state of unfinished stock - square edges, re-sawing marks, etc.

I first flipped the trim piece upside down and ran it over the router table to impart a 1/4" round-over on the fore and aft edges.  I then blended, sanding by hand, the top edges and shaped the outboard ends to a pleasing appearance. 

My next task was to line up the top-mounted trim piece with the existing fastener holes and the new bottom-mounted trim.  The existing fastener holes were not perfectly aligned from side to side, so this would include a bit of marking to ensure proper alignment.

I laid a strip of tape across the top, used an awl to open up the tape where the existing fastener holes were, measured half the width from center of fastener hole and towards the aft of the hatch, and marked that onto the tape.  I then set the trim on top of the hatch, center it from side to side while ensuring that I achieved a good orientation to the marks I had just made, and then clamped it in place.  I then flipped the hatch over, and pre-drilled with the tiniest of drill bits to simply mark for further work.

With the "tiniest of drill bits" having provided the required marks for further drilling, I move the piece over to the drill press, and using a forstner bit, drilled a 3/8" hole for the #8 fastener and for a bung to cover it. 

The slide hatch trim was now in a dry-fitted state.  Next, I will disassemble, oil the teak, paint the hatch, and then reassemble the trim to complete the installation (installing and trimming the bungs to be included).

Even the small updates and improvements add to the overall aesthetic. 

The number of bungs to be cut was beginning to add up...

...and speaking of bungs.  I spent an hour utilizing some "waste" stock to cut 3/8" bungs for use in the toe and rub rails, various companionway trim pieces, taff rail, and cockpit trim pieces. 

I set myself up at the drill press, and committed!  With the various pieces of teak stock "bunged", I got straight to popping them out.  The method is simple enough (mind-numbing, really), and includes sliding a thin enough tool between the bung and the surrounding stock, using leverage to dislodge it, and then using an even smaller tool to pop it out.  In this case, the tools I used were a small chisel and an awl. 

I had company for this exercise...Bonnie Bon-Bon Von Bonster, aka shop-dog.

I bagged the bungs for future use, and closed the shop for the afternoon.

Total Time Today: 4.75 hrs

Sanding & Painting the Topsides (1st Coat of Rochelle Red), and Brightwork

January 14, 2018

With temperatures hovering on the lower end of the paint window, allowing me to put a coat of Interlux Perfection onto Joule's topsides, I debated for a while on whether to proceed or to divert to another aspect of the restoration.  It appeared as though the afternoon would warm sufficiently to allow the first coat of Rochelle Red to go on, and in the end it did in fact. Early in the morning and in chilly temps. - low 40s - I went out to sand the hull to prep for paint.

With 150-grit sheets of paper, I hand-sanded the topsides in roughly an hour's time.

By the time I was finished, the air temperature was beginning to climb and would soon be within the window of opportunity!

Having an appointment near noon, I finished the painting prep by thoroughly wiping the topsides down with a solvent to remove the sanding dust.  I stepped away from Joule for a couple hours for the appointment - all the while the mercury slowly rose.

Getting back from the mid-day appointment, I quickly prepared things to get that first coat on.  I mixed a point of paint -  2:1 ratio, volume thinned by ~10% - and set it aside for a 20-minute induction period.  While the paint was set aside, I finished taping off the stem fitting to protect it from the soon to be applied paint.

I worked my way around Joule from the starboard aft quarter, to the bow, back down to the port aft quarter, and finally the stern.   I applied this first coat with a high-density, solvent resistant foam roller, and achieved satisfactory results.  The lower air temps. did now allow the paint to level out as I thought it might, trapping some air bubbles in a few spots.  I knew I might have some challenges applying this first coat, and sanding was inevitable, but wanted to get the first coat on and get a feel for the Perfection product.

She's coming along nicely, and with warmer temps on the horizon, I'll have good opportunity for some more sanding and the second application.  I finished the afternoon by doing some sanding work on the coaming boards, and installing bungs in the starboard coaming to cover the fasteners securing the coaming return block to the board itself.

Total Time Today: 2.5 hrs

Finishing Toe & Rub Rails + Sanding Cockpit Sole & Misc.

January 13, 2018

With a tight window to work within today, I got straight to Joule's rails in an effort to finish them up - well, get them ready to accept teak oil prior to installation on the freshly painted deck and topsides.  

I began by trimming the tails of the toe rails to a pleasing curve from the top of the rail to the surface of the aft deck.  I used a coping saw to remove the majority of the material, and then finished the finer detail with 40-grit paper by hand.  With the 40-grit paper, I moved down the top edge of both rails creating a chamfer on both the inboard and outboard edges.  Next, I sanded the rails by hand, progressing from 120-grit paper to 150-grit paper, sanding the inboard face, the outboard face, the top of the rail, and then blending the chamfer from top to sides.  I repeated the process for both rails using 120-grit paper as well as 150-grit paper.

Taking measurements off of the original toe rails, I laid out the installation for the new jib tracks - approximately 43" from the aft end of the toe rail. At this point, I just made pencil marks on the rails, with actual installation of the jib tracks to come in the final phase of installing the toe rails.

I then turned my attention to the rub rails.  With the rub rails running beyond the trailing edge of Joule's topsides, I made marks on the rail that mirrored the angle of the stern.  I then removed the aft few fasteners in order to cut off the excess rail.   

After repeating that process for the port side, I shaped the aft end of the rub rails to round over and soften the transitions.

At the bow, I again removed a few fasteners on the forward ends of the rails to be able to shape the ends to better fit into the stem fitting.  This was a matter of aesthetic flow...seeing the bottom edge of the rail in line with the bronze stem fitting. 

With the rub rails shaped, I removed them to the work horses below.  Like I had done with the toe rails, I repeated the process of the sanding the rub rails with 120-grit and then 150-grit paper to chamfer and soften the surfaces as well as the transition from outboard face to the bottoms and tops of the rub rails.  The rails were now nearly complete.  I will need to wipe with solvent and tack off the surfaces, and then apply the teak oil.  For now, I decided to cover the rails since the first application of topsides paint was due at any moment :)

Finishing the day required me to water-wash the remaining epoxy/fairing work done to the cockpit sole, poop deck and the base for the companionway slide hatch trim.  I moved across the surface of the cockpit sole with the RO sander and 80-grit paper bringing the surface to fair.

I spot sanded the areas of the poop deck where I had drilled-and-filled - isolating the new core from future fasteners, and potential water ingress more importantly. 

Finally, I sanded the previous fastener holes, opting to create a set of new ones for the new trim and new fasteners.  Port side base shown below...

....and the starboard base.

Total Time Today: 3.75 hrs