Home Stretch

Preparing the V-berth area for painting took longer than I had expected, but at this point the filling, sanding, and priming has been completed.  Quite a bit of priming was required for areas that had not been previously painted.  Fortunately I had a half a can of 2-part epoxy primer on hand from my chain locker work in Hawaii.

Part of the delay was due to my decision to take the opportunity to paint the refrigerator compartment before the new refrigerator is installed.  While sanding I discovered that there was a 3/8" gap running along the edges where the vertical walls meet the roof of the compartment, which can only be seen by sticking your head inside and looking up.  Gaps like that are a no-no in my book.  On advice from John the rigger I took a trip to Home Depot and got two cans of that expanding foam that comes in a spray can.  The instructions say that the can must be upside down which is difficult to do when you are shooting the material upward.  However, I was able to hold the cans at 45 degrees by bending the delivery tubes to make up the difference and managed to get enough out of the two cans to get the job done.  A few minutes later I glanced at the mirror and saw that there were 4 or 5 globs of the stuff clinging to my moustache, a result no doubt of my working head down, looking up in a confined space.  Teasing the smaller ones off with a fingernail brought a few tears the eye.  But the big glob required ... acetone.  So I wound up with a moustache saturated in acetone, which meant that I had to keep my mouth shut, which meant that I had to breath through my nose, which meant inhaling a heavy duty dose of the stuff.  C'est la guerre.  

Yesterday morning I trimmed off the excess foam that had dried overnight then decided to fiberglass the gaps for good measure, so I then went to Lopez Marine and picked up a roll of 2" wide fiberglass cloth.  That turned out to be perfect for the job.  I cut four pieces to the required length, laid them in order, then mixed a batch of West System 105 epoxy resin which again I had on hand from my Hawaii days.  The job went remarkably well, given that I was working upside down in a confined space.  Today I sanded the fiberglass work and primed it for painting.

I expect to begin the painting effort tomorrow (Monday) and expect to have the V-berth work completed by Friday at the latest.  That will give me 5 days in which to prepare Pachuca for occupancy and move from the apartment on the following Wednesday.

I'll finish this entry with a grumble.  The first photo shows Pachuca's two Samson posts.  The forward, smaller one, was on the boat when I purchased it.  I installed the aft, larger one before departing on this cruise, figuring that a second one would be required for double anchoring, mooring lines, etc.  Just as well.  The second photo shows what is holding the posts in place.  The forward post is held by relatively small bolts and standard washers (at left in the phot).  I find this disturbing to say the least, given that a Samson post must be able to take enormous loads from anchors and jetty lines, particularly in a swell.  The aft post is my work: thicker bolts, solid jarrah backing plate, and oversized washers.  Needless to say, that is my "working" post.

This demonstrates one of the big advantages of removing that carpeting material and exposing the actual hull: I can now directly see every bolt passing from the deck into that area, be it toe rails, stanchions Samson posts, or whatever.  I'll be able to quickly spot problems such as loose nuts, leaks, or as in today's case substandard construction.