Another Day on the Bottom

Some people go to gyms...

We lasted 1:40 grinding on the bottom today.  For the first time we covered ourselves in corn starch, the idea being that it fills the pours so the fiberglass can't.  It really does work.

Corn startch to the resuce!

We're both less itchy after showering.  The 16 grit paper cut right through the bottom paint, gel coat and barrier coat, but it's so coarse it misses as much as it takes off.

We've both gotten good at recognizing blisters in the fiberglass: they're usually a little darker than the surrounding glass; the fibers in the glass are more pronounced--as though the resin had been washed away; and some ooze liquid after being disturbed.  The fix is simple enough, run the edge of the sand paper across the entire blister until the glass is the same color and consistency as the surrounding glass.  None of the blisters have been over 1/8" deep and most are 1/16" or less.  At least 2/3 of the starboard side and 1/2 of the port side is now done.

The Bottom Job Begins

Decided against planing the bottom. I didn't like the idea of pulling good glass off just to remove the gel coat. So, today Bicki and I started grinding the gel coat off. It's a dirty, tiring job. The best tool we've got is persistence. The second best tool is a 7", fiber-backed, 36 grit sanding disk mounted to an 11,000 rpm 4-1/2" angle grinder. Getting through the old bottom paint is almost as bad as removing the gel coat. It's time to switch to ablative paint. Phil Jones (P.L. Jones Boatyard, Hooper Island, MD) recommended an epoxy primer followed by an epoxy filler for the areas where the gel coat has peeled into the bootstripe. Phil also said to leave scratches in the bottom's fiberglass, it'll help the Interlux 2000 grab. Here's some good news, I haven't found a single blister.

The prop had some dings on the end of the blades. Used a 6lb hammer as a bucking bar and with a 2lb hammer hit the prop. They did an amazingly good job. I can't tell at all where the damage was.

Cameras and Whistles

The forward looking camera (with 72 IR LEDs) camera today. It's big but a perfect color match, i.e. the same white, as the dome camera. Here's a drawing of what it will look like. I was concerned the starboard shroud would interfere with the IR camera but the drawing shows it will clear easily. We'll probably see the topping lift in the aft-looking camera but it shouldn't be too bad.

 Got the Kahlenberg #116 and #117 whistles plumbed together today. The combined sound is great. I'd thought that valves at each whistle's inlet would be required to 'tune' the circuit. It turns out that leaving each ball valve wide-open is perfectly acceptable. I'm leaving the ball valves in as it allows flexibility. The next job is to pull the stack, mount the compressor and mount the whistles.

With the stack off it'll be easier to clear all the silicone out of the wire chase (the one through the salon ceiling and into the stack). To keep water from leaking into the headliner a fiberglass dam will be built around the penetration.

Cameras, Whistles, and Bottom Jobs

Starboard and forward view of mast top with cameras

Met with Jeff, who subcontracts to PL Jones, and planes hulls. He said the fiberglass strands on the Nellie's hull were a result of hydraulization—essentially water washing away some of the surface resin. He can plane the hull with a very shallow cut and that will remove the hydraulized glass and the remaining gelcoat. This will minimize the removal of good glass. Phil will then fill, fair, and apply seven coats of interlux 2000. Phil Jones looked at both the prop ding and the cutlass bearing. He thought a brass hammer could fix the prop in situ and that the wear on the cutlass didn't warrant replacing it.

 Removed the four inspection ports from the fuel tanks. Need to cut the existing 2" fuel fill nipple out and replace it with a 2" stainless deck plate. This will make the fuel ports easier to open and the tanks easier to fill. Removed the pencil zinc plug from the Cummins' heat exchanger.

Nellie uses a 1/2" diameter pencil zinc (these zincs have a 5/16" thread to hold the pencil into the plug). Problem is the brass plug accepts zincs with a 3/8" threads. Need to find/make a brass plug (which has 3/4" thread into the heat exchanger) and accepts our 1/2" with the 5/16" thread.

Designing the mount for the rear view camera. Here's a preliminary. Aft of the mast the camera interferes with the topping lift. So this drawing shows the cameras (yea, two cameras—the second being the forward looking IR) mounted outboard and swept aft of the mast. The 1/4" stainless mounting plate is shown above the 'forward view'.

 Designing the compressor system for Nellie's new Kahlenberg 117. Easiest solution is if a 120V, 1.5HP, 6 gallon, pancake compressor fits into the stack. Then only a 120V 12-2 would have to be run from the engine room. Fingers crossed.

Headliner Dimensions and Finish

Nellie's salon headliner is made up of tongue-and-groove boards that are 1-13/16" wide and ?" thick. The wood used, Laban, is clear grained and light in color. Maple is a close grain substitute. Semigloss is the best match for the finish.  (Update: According to Tommy Chen the headliner's luster is a result of mixing semigloss and gloss finishes.)

Replacing Deck Bungs Lessons Learned

Replaced 77 missing deck bungs.  Several lessons learned: 60 grit on a random-orbital sander will best grind down the protruding dowel and remove the proud polysulfide caulking; sand the dowel before the epoxy dries so the wood dust will fill the gaps between the dowel and the hole.

Exhaust Mount for Poor Man's Air Conditioning

Made a plexiglass insert for the starboard, forward salon window. The insert has a 4" hole in it to receive the LG air conditioner's exhaust hose. The insert fits into the window channel and is held in place by closing the window against it.

Poor Man's Air Conditiong