This morning we did some grinding and sanding. The new Bow Roller now fits beautifully. This afternoon we have epoxied in the last support for the new aft pad of the Bow Roller.
Next visit we can smooth all around this, paint and fit the bow roller.
Progress
A friendly welcome?
This is what we found in our wheelhouse when we arrived just after dark today.
There were also quite a lot in the cabin but these were mostly dead and so easy to vaccum up.
Fortunately we came prepared. Flypapers, electric swatter, and vacuum cleaner. So we have cleared away nearly all of them (I think I can see only about 3 or 4 flying around the cabin at the moment).
We assume they are hatching in the wheelhouse support tubes, ideal breeding grounds?. It does tend to move updating the wheelhouse up our priority list, although really we want to wait for nice Spring weather for a job like that. Maybe we can just put some sealant in the ends to see if that reduces the problem?
Next Bow Roller video is here
Just published this:
One of the challenges we face by trying to sustainably pace ourselves is that a job like fitting the new bow roller takes quite a few visits to the boat. However, we think the process of filling from the new backing plate to deck level using scraps of FR4 with thickened epoxy is a little novel.
This is an area that just need to be strong in compression (sandwiched between the backing plate and the bow roller). FR4 is ideal here as we will never need to worry about water ingress through the bolt hole causing rot. It is a lot quicker (and better in compression) than building up with layers of fibreglass. We don’t need to worry about cosmetics as this part is going to be completely buried. Nor do we need to worry about a smooth finish on top as it will be covered by a larger FR4 board that will be bedded with more thickened epoxy. This board will also include raised bases for the forward pulpit feet to keep them drier.
Later we will create the curve at the aft end with a small wood batten and then the whole lot will be encased in fibreglass cloth to fully tie it to the bulwarks and give us a surface to fair up before painting.
Friday progress teaser
Just on our way home. So just a quick teaser of what we did today.
Also a hint about a future video 😂
Start weekend update
We arrived just after dark and fortunately were able to get everything on the boat in the dry (big puddles all around though).
Wind is howling, forecast says gusts 37 mph and it definitely sounds like it, boat is shuddering a little.
Despite that nice and snug inside, had a lovely cabbage stir fry and some wine. So time for bed with a hot water bottle.
Hopefully dry tomorrow so we can make some more progress on the bow roller support.
We published another video on our YouTube channel yesterday, the colour/white balance needs some work but managed some new bits of editing. It is “Upgrading a 44 year old Bow Roller for blue water cruising“. We are quite committed to seeing how far we can take the channel. So we love views, likes, comments, subscribes and shares 😍 on YouTube.
We also have a Ko-fi! account if you would like to support us by donating the value of a coffee.
Bow roller progress and it’s on YouTube!
So we are back to experimenting with some video as well as making some solid progress on the bow roller. Hope you enjoy!
Mast top coats of paint finished (for now)
Today was beautiful weather and we were able to get the last coat of paint on both masts (at least for the moment) m
We are not in a rush now to get the masts up. There is nothing to be gained by putting them up in the boatyard for the winter.
We still have a lot to do anyway in terms of chainplates, fittings on the masts, dyneema standing rigging, wiring, lights, wind sensor, aerials, running rigging. None of this will be improved by 6 months of autumn, winter and spring outside in the boatyard.
So most of these jobs can wait until the couple of months before we launch. Until then we can do a lot of preparation (such as mast tangs and splicing) plus ordering everything we will need.
Mast top coat 1
Today has been less certain when it comes to rain than we had hoped.
However, this morning we sanded the masts with 400 grit, then washed and dried them.
In the end we waited until 3pm for painting in the hope of more certainty about it staying dry.
This time rollers are not recommended (or at least need to be followed by a brush). So we went for brushes only.
We changed the way of supporting the masts so that they are “balanced” on the sail track with as few points of contact as possible. We then painted everything else. When it comes to the 2nd coat we will rotate them 180 degrees and so the areas where they are supported will all get one coat. This avoids a long wait between painting sides and reduced the chances of resting the mast on bits that are not fully cured.
One tin is supposed to be enough, it certainly didn’t feel that it would go far enough as we were painting the main mast, but in fact it was plenty for both masts (we are going to get extra paint for the spreaders and mizzen boom all of which we can do in the garage at home).
The results:
Despite the name of the International Paint we are not expecting Perfection in terms of finish 🙂 However, they should be good from a distance and certainly better than they were before we started. Of most importance to us is that we have dealt with all the corrosion and should have a well protected mast for years to come (we can work on any small areas where there are problems over coming years to ensure that the protection lasts).
Should be another part of the boat that will outlast us 🙂 That has to be good for sustainability 🙂
End of holiday mast painting race
Tuesday was the last day of our holiday and so was always going to be busy packing up all the tools and materials that we have been using for just over two weeks.
However, our biggest decision and challenge was where do go next with the painting of our masts.
By Tuesday morning the 2nd coat of two part epoxy primer was nicely cured. It was ready for over-coating although that could wait for upto 6 months. The problem was that this left 1 coat of undercoat and 2 coats of topcoat still to do. These have stricter over-coating times of roughly between 20 hours and 3 days. We figured that finding 3 or 4 days in a row when we could be at the boat with dry weather in the next 6 months was next to impossible (and as temperatures drop the time to be able to over-coat increases).
So after checking the forecast constantly we decided to paint the undercoat on Tuesday hoping that we could come for Friday and Saturday with good enough weather to put on the topcoats.
An extra challenge has been to find the best way to support the masts while painting to give good access and be able to also paint the areas where the supports are.
So Tuesday started with sanding the primer (and filler that had been put on between the primer coats) with 120 grit paper. Then with the masts on their sides we painted the first side before lunch. Then back to packing up.
Eventually we decided the paint was dry enough to rotate the masts and paint the second side. That painting started at about 6.30pm.
We eventually left to go home well after 8pm, which was much later than we wanted (and then the journey was delayed by lots of road works). We decided to buy some sandwiches from a garage on the way rather than taking longer with fish and chips, however, the first two garages we stopped at had completely sold out. Got home just before 11pm.
Still the masts looked good 🙂
The forecast had been a 10% chance of rain so we took a chance in the way we loaded the trailer for home.
As usual a 10% of chance of rain in Beaumaris means it will be dry. However, we got home to a 10% chance of rain which in Manchester means it will rain and it did. Fortunately not too much and the wood protected the tools 🙂
All in all a productive and enjoyable summer holiday. We had time with family, time on the water and have made lots of actual progress on the bow roller, masts, dyneema rigging and starboard settee/sea berth plus lots of sorting out plans for the foredeck, forecabin, batteries, water tanks and more.
More mast progress, filling and primer
Jane has now filled all the areas of the main and mizzen masts where we have removed corrosion.
The plan is to sand the filler and then put the 2 part undercoat on tomorrow.
Meanwhile I removed all the fittings from the mizzen boom (we have a new main boom), sanded and then painted the 2 part epoxy primer onto the mizzen boom and mizzen spreaders.
Now just some tidying up, wash the dinghy and rest before our last day here for this holiday.
Sustainable Sailing 