Anchor Well "Finished"

Although I had been told to expect two days of rain to my surprise yesterday morning was fine and sunny after a night of heavy rain. In the afternoon I was able to put down two coats of 2-part "high build" primer on the entire anchor well area, including parts underneath the deck that had never been primed before.

This morning I sanded the primer and laid 2+ coats of International "Intergloss" 2-part white paint. I stated "2+" because the part of the anchor well above the upper level to be fitted later has three coats of white paint.

The photo above shows the result. The two drain holes can be seen at the bottom corners. I did not repaint the lid because the material seems soft and is probably best treated with 1-part paint.

I have no doubt that the result is stronger than the original. For one thing, most of the bulkhead is of marine ply vs the original "exterior" grade ply. True, the ply that we used to plug the opening left by the removed inspection hatch is not marine ply; however it was liberally coated with epoxy resin on both sides and the edges. The joints between the bulkhead and the hull and deck are made up of four layers of fiberglass.

I do not see any possibility of any water entering the boat via the anchor well, no matter how hard we pound into the sea. My attention next will turn to leaks that I have identified through the stanchion bases and some of the toy plastic vents on the deck. ... But that's another story.

I've got one more related job to do. Because we extended the hawser pipe I must cut a new opening in the upper level to allow the chain to drop into the chain locker section. Cutting the hole through the marine ply is no problem but cutting through the stainless steel sheeting will be a challenge.

Anyway, Thank God It's Over (and Thank God For Wally!!!)