Work progresses.
24 May 2016 | Power Boats yard, Trinidad
Bill/overcast
As so, work progresses. All the teak is gone and we have now found some rot in the core of the hatch that covers the anchor locker. So it will have to be chipped out and replaced with Air X core and then fiberglassed in. It's like I said, repairing a boat is like dominoes. One thing leads to another.
We got the two boxes back that mount to the "granny bars" on deck and I chiseled out the left over caulk that was in the joints on the top and this morning, I injected some special rubber caulk back into the grooves. Now they are sitting in the forward head so that they don't get covered in cat hair or fiberglass dust from the deck. Takes 24 hours to set. Once that's set(tomorrow) we'll be giving them a full sanding again and then start with a wood sealer(couple of coats) then onto varnish(about 6-8 coats). It's the first varnishing we have done since we bought Zephyr in 2007. Most of the wood has been left alone to just go to a "natural" color. Now it's time to lay on the varnish. If all works as planned, we will be sanding and doing the cap rail and sides as well.
I sanded down the areas on the hull that I'd patched with the epoxy filler and then applied a second coating of the filler to smooth it all out. Might have to sand and do one more coat but I doubt it. We'll be applying the epoxy barrier coat in the next day or so and then it's on to the actual anti fouling paint.
I bought some big spongy pads to attach to our grinder/sander to make it into a buffer. Once the deck is done, we'll be applying rubbing compound and polishing compound to the hull followed by a couple coats of wax(or at least one anyhow).
I took the caulk that we applied to the top of the teak boxes and ran a bead around the stem fitting(holds the anchor, roller as well as the forestay)to reseal the cap rail and fittings that are up there. They took a beating on the trip over with the bow getting regularly slammed into the water as we rocked back and forth in the waves. We dug in the bow numerous times during our trip here.
The kids are adjusting well, all in all but we do have to restrict them going outside from time to time. We are out there with brooms and vacuums getting as much of the fiberglass dust off in the evening so they can go out but with them no painting on the epoxy barrier coat this afternoon, it could be a day or so before they get to go out again. The men are doing the painting so that we will always have a way to get in and out of the boat. Once they get to the final coatings(anti skid) we may have to get a room for a night or so so we don't make any marks on the deck. It still seems strange not seeing any teak when we climb back on board. The removal of the teak has made it much easier to hear what is going on outside as the sound of rain now comes through loud and clear.
Each day, we try and tackle at least part of a job. It's costing us about $20.00US a day to stay here so it's important to get things done when we can. Once the deck is done, we want to make sure the bottom is done. We are having new seat cushions made for the cockpit and they should be done in the next few days. Then the upholsterer will be doing the new dodger and bikini but he can't get at it till the deck is done and we can remove the tarps and the mess that's inside the cockpit. As it is, the deck men will be painting the inside of the cockpit as the last thing they will be doing. That's a good week away.
So work is progressing and with luck, we should be out of here in about a month or so, well with in our time frame for getting back to Grenada for the rainy season and the hurricanes that come with it.
Here's a picture of our deck boxes on the workbench getting ready for stripping off the caulk in the top grooves.