Full Primer Coat (Deck, Cockpit, Topsides), and Port Companionway Trim Board

December 9, 2017

Well winter seems to be finally settling upon us here in Florida - hitting low-fifty degree weather as the high today, and just on positive side of allowing the Interlux Primekote to be applied. The owners of Joule are anxious to splash their classic Carl Alberg design, Cape Dory Typhoon, Joule.  Sharing in their eagerness to see her completed, I was striving hard to apply the first coat of primer to the deck and cockpit, and the last coat of primer to the topsides.  I'm happy to say that the outdoor thermometer hanging on the exterior wood shop wall measure a solid 53/54 degrees.  Paint on!

I spent a good deal of time sanding the entire surface area of the deck, cockpit and topsides to prep for the primer.  The topsides were in need of sanding after the previous coat, and the deck and cockpit were in need of a 'freshening up' after the initial sanding to remove the previous paint scheme.

It was satisfying to see the first coat of primer going on the cockpit surfaces, but alas the dreaded pinholes from previous fairing work revealed themselves.  It's almost a given on the first coat of primer to see those imperfections surface, but it's also a benefit in that those areas can be addressed easily in the early stages of paint application.

In my excited state, I made an error in the order of events.  I mixed the first batch of primer, and set it aside for its required induction period.  My thought was to finish solvent-washing the surfaces during the induction period (15 minutes).  With the paint set aside for its 15-minute 'time-out', I then remembered that in addition to wiping the surfaces down with solvent, I also needed to tape off the deck hardware that would not be removed during the paint process: stem fitting, bow pulpit, and chainplates.  

I decide to get as close to the deck hardware as possible, and would simply come back during the next primer coat application with having taped these items beforehand. 

Like the cockpit, I also notice a few areas that required a bit of the fine filler material - 410 Microlight.

Joule was looking so much better with that primer coat - jewel-like!

With the primer coat on, I turned my attention back to the brightwork, which took me inside the wood shop.  It was nice to be inside the shop, and out of a biting wind - biting for FL standards.  I laid out the original port companionway trim piece on the remaining section of the teak board that I had removed the new port coaming board from.  This trim piece helps secure the drop boards when closing up the boat.  With the trim piece positioned as such, I traced it and then removed it with the jigsaw.

I purposely removed the trim piece in a larger dimension that what would ultimately be installed.  I did this so I could dial in the final dimensions with alternate tools enabling me to 'sneak up' on those final dimensions: bandsaw, block plane, and hand-work.   After I had removed the oversized piece from he remaining teak stock, I moved over to the jigsaw and began to fine tune it, when...BANG!, with the subsequent sound resembling a grizzly bear being sawed into two halves!  (I didn't have onomatopoeia in my bag of tricks for that sound!)  Shutting the machine down, taking a breath, I opened the upper blade cover and could see that I had derailed!  I took note of a few peculiar things and decided to come back to repair the bandsaw at a later time.  I moved over to the small vice, and placed the trim piece in the vice while protecting the surfaces with thin strips of wood on either side. 

I removed nearly all of the surplus material, but would still need to fine tune it later.

Satisfied, for now, with the dimensions, I set up the router table to cut a 5/8" wide x 1/8" deep rabbet in the inboard, underside of the trim piece.  I did not have a bit to  cut the full 5/8" dimension with one pass, so I did it in two passes.  Before the second pass, I  move the fence up roughly an 1/8" to get the width dimension of the rabbet that I wanted.

It was getting late, and the wife was looking forward to appetizers and cocktails, so I closed the shop for the day.

Total Time Today: 7 hrs

Sanding & Spot Fill (Prepping for Primer Coats)

December 7, 2017

REMEMBERING THOSE WHO GAVE IT ALL, THIS DAY IN '41

Maintaining my goal of getting primer coats on the deck, cockpit and topsides this weekend, I arrived home and got busy sanding and spot-filling the areas that required it.  Most of the work in this evening's short session was on the interior liners.

I started with the foredeck - just needing a quick sanding with 220-grit paper and the RO sander.  I had a couple carry-over depressions (really slight, but there nevertheless), so I hit those with the 5" diameter RO and solved the equation!

Interesting how the remaining fairing compounds give the picture motion.  I promise I wasn't running across the foredeck while snapping photos!

After finishing the foredeck, I moved below and either hand-sanded areas that required fill (gouges and flaking gelcoat), or used a tapered bit to open up old fastener holes.  After creating a surface for good mechanical bonding with the epoxy, I vacuumed and thoroughly wiped the surfaces with solvent.  I then applied 'neat' epoxy to the areas to be filled - neat epoxy being straight, or epoxy without a thickening filler.

With the areas to be filled wetted-out, I simply moved around the cabin applying the thickened epoxy with various tools that enabled as easy an application method as possible.

I will likely get to sanding these areas on Friday evening, depending on the temperatures and related epoxy curing success.

Since the focus this coming weekend are the exterior surfaces, I won't be disappointed in not being able to sand and fair the interior.

Total Time Today: 1 hr

Sanding (Prepping for Primer Coats)

December 5, 2017

During the week I will be finalizing the balance of the filling and fairing work to be done prior to the primer coats to be laid on the deck and cockpit.  I will also be finishing up the last few remaining spots in the cabin that require fairing work before I can apply the cabin's finish paint.  To that end, I moved quickly across Joule, both the interior and exterior, and water-washed the previous sessions cured epoxy.  I then grabbed the sanding materials.  First up, I hit the repair made to the outboard edge of the v-berth (starboard side), and brought that surface to fair; I then followed that up with the few remaining areas on the cabin liner overhead.  I discovered a couple more spots that require some attention, but I should nevertheless be ready for the weekend's primer coat sessions.

I also sanded the remaining spots on the cabin sole; all on the forward section, and just filling pinholes and a slight depression.

I turned my attention to the exterior, having wanted to take advantage of the sunlight I had to accomplish the interior work, and worked my way around Joule's hull, sanding a few topside spots that were a combination of ever-so-small chips in the gelcoat or pinholes.  I used the RO sander with 320-grit pads for this application.

Finally, I made my way forward with 320-grit strip paper and a firm longboard for the foredeck fairing.  There were some pinholes here that required fine fairing compound, but also a couple very slight dips both to starboard and port of the centerline.  I spent most of my time here, and achieved good results.  Using the best tool in the tool bag for sanding - the human hand - I could still feel very shallow depressions, and so spread a thin layer of 410 Microlight across these spots.  Tomorrow, I will come back to finish the foredeck, as well as hit the couple places on the interior liner.  

Total Time Today: 1 hr