The second deck prism and Tracy's birthday
12 May 2016 | Power Boats yard, Trinidad
Bill/overcast
We were up early again this morning as we needed to get the teak under the through deck fittings for the fresh water tanks and diesel removed so it can be epoxy puttied and have new fiberglass laid under it. It didn't take long which was fine as we also had to remove the second deck prism and metal bracket. The workers needed it gone as well.
While the through deck fitting for the water and diesel went just fine, the deck prism was a bit harder. I ran my knife around the edge of the prism where it meets the inside edge of the metal bracket and after a bit of work and cutting, the prism came right out. As with the first one, nothing holds it in except gravity and some mastic. Next came the metal bracket the prism sits in. I chiseled under the edge and slowly it came loose. OMG! The bottom of the metal bracket was covered in corrosion and rotten wood. The teak it sat on was all but rotted. Water had been getting under the bracket for a long time and it was showing it. Even if we had taken it apart a long time ago, there wasn't much we could have done for it and by now, it looked past saving. A few taps with the hammer and chisel and off came the last of the wood. Tracy had put some plastic under the bottom of the hole the prism sat in so the mess below was made as minimal as it could be. Some vacuuming later and all was clean again. The workmen showed up later and slowly got to work on the deck. I found out later that the reason we hadn't seen "Lobster"(nickname for our contractor)was that he had fallen off another boat and hurt his wrist and broke his big toe. We met up about 0830 at the workshop where I was brushing and grinding off the corrosion and wood residue off the aluminum prism plate. We discussed what still needed to be done and our timeline. By Friday, he expects to be taking off the last of our teak on the top of the main salon. Six pads of teak. Our biggest concern is getting the security bars(commonly called "Granny Bars") off the deck. These are large "U" shaped pieces of stainless steel tubing that are bolted to the deck for leaning and something to grab a hold of when you need a place to grab. Each leg is screwed to the deck with four big bolts. We know some will come unscrewed and some won't(tried earlier). Guess we will find out tomorrow or Friday depending on how the work goes.
After a long day yesterday, we took off on a scouting mission to see what bottom paints are available and what prices and deals we could get since we need four gallons. Cheapest price per gallon is about $250US and most expensive can get up to the $350US range. That's per gallon, not for all four. Bottom paint isn't cheap by any means.
Since we were out, we stopped at a restaurant at one of the other boat yards and had lunch. It's Tracy's birthday and that called for something special. We rarely eat out as the cost here for restaurant food is some of the highest we have seen since we left French Poly several years ago. It was a nice break to get away and see something different.
We were back at Zephyr by mid afternoon and took some time to hit the internet room. Within a few minutes of us arriving, it was packed and all seats were taken. It's hard to find a time when it is less busy and has a faster internet.
When we got back to Zephyr, we found the starboard sides screw holes all filled with epoxy and setting up nicely. It was threatening to rain so we put a tarp over parts of it to keep it dry. The rains finally came but not a lot so all appears alright.
We had a snack of cheese and wine as we watched tv as a final celebration of Tracy's birthday. All in all, a nice, somewhat quiet day.
I've attached pictures of the prism hole.