SSDD
08 July 2016 | Power Boats yard, Trinidad
Bill/sunny and hot
It was a day of SSDD. Same sh-t, different day. The morning VHF net with me giving out the weather. Then up on deck to start in on the teak cap rail and bulwark. We tried it with the orbital sander and found that even with 400 grit paper, it was too much for the varnish so out came the sanding pad and it all got done by hand. We used the sanding block on the flat areas and just wrapped the curved areas with out hands. It took a lot longer but in the end, it was a much better sanding. We didn't want to take off the varnish, just smooth it out.
Tracy had to go to the chandlery and get some more brushes as this stuff just doesn't clean out of the once used brushes. Use it once and throw it away. Given that we will be putting on four coats on the starboard side and still have three to go on the port, she came back with a dozen brushes. Some narrow for close work and some wide for the side panels. Once we were all set, we mixed up some more of the Interlux Perfection Plus varnish and worked our way down the port side. This time, I made a lot less of the varnish since it's a 2 part system. I didn't want us to waste any having too much when we got to the end of where we were applying it. In the end, we used the last of it just as we completed the stern teak. We had the same problem we had yesterday in that the varnish developed lots of little bubbles in it. Today was one of the hottest days we've had since we got here with just a few clouds passing by even though Wunder Weather claimed there was a 50% chance of rain. I'm glad it never showed up but the heat of the day cooked the teak causing air to come out, plus it makes the varnish cure quite quickly. Faster than normal. We thought of covering the area with tarps but there was no way to deploy the tarps without taking the chance of them hitting the fresh varnish. It had to bake in the Sun.
We moved to the starboard side and pulled out the sanders again along with more of just the sand paper. I needed to apply more of the teak caulk to one of the splits in the bulwark panels so it would keep any water from getting behind them. We'd planned on applying the first coat of varnish but we suddenly had water coming out between the boards on the side. Three different places suddenly started seeping just a bit of water. Not a lot but enough to make us delay the application. We really have no clue was to where the water is coming from. Tracy had run the electric sander over the cap rail and perhaps it dislodged some water that might have been trapped under the rail. I just kept blotting it with a towel as I didn't want it spreading and affecting other panels. In the end, it did stop and the panel started to dry but there was no safe way to do the varnishing. It's all set to go for tomorrow. ]
The plan is to get up early-0600, and do a quick sanding on the port side again to knock down the bubbles and then apply coat 3 to the port side. Since all the chandleries close tomorrow by 1400, I walked over the Budget Marine(not really budget)and got another quart of the Perfection Plus. I'm glad I went as I got the last can they had. We're good for several more coats. We've already used up one set of cans(it's two part stuff) putting two coats on the port side and the stern. I'd already bought a second set and now we've got a third. I'd have hated to get into this project and then not been able to finish due to a lack of the product.
It was so hot today(and darn few clouds) that we finally stopped working about 1600 as we were both getting over heated even though we were taking breaks for drinks throughout the day. Tomorrow, to avoid that, we are planning to get started about 0600 during a much cooler time of day. If it works out, we should have varnish on the port side by 0800 and the starboard side by by shortly after that(if the water will just stop coming through the panels). We still have to give it a bit of sanding but nothing nasty. There is a side project that I'll be attending to earl tomorrow morning. Quite some time ago, we removed a teak bung from the base of the bulwarks so water that had gotten trapped there could get out. I got some replacement bungs from the wood shop and glued one in this afternoon. Tomorrow, I'll be shaving it down and sanding it smooth so we can varnish over it. With all the sealing we have done on the sides, lets hope the water seepage is over. Guess we will see.
Again, one of the highlights of the day was walking up the hill for a nice cool shower. I did pop in a token for 4 minutes of warm water but once it stopped, I just let the water run and after a few minutes, I was nicely cooled down and felt much better. One thing I've found is that when you live in the tropics, no one sells thermometers to see how hot it actually is. Oh, no one sells flyswatters either and in Trinidad, no one sells pretzels nor the original Johnsonville Brats. You can find every other type of brat from Johnsonville but not the "original". Go figure.