tired arms and all

Today was spent with most of the morning holding a grinder above my head. By the time this boat is done I'm going to be ripped! In the main cabin the battens were stapled into the deck. They held for a long time so that method works if you have a core to staple into. That's not the case in the hull sides. Here there is nothing to staple into and it's not as thick as the deck. So.. heavy duty construction glue was used and damn it was a pain to get off. The wood would split before the glue let it go. This is good news, one because this is the method I used in the Westerly, and because I might use it again. Expoy can take so long to set, you have to mix it, and it's not cheap. Glue on the other hand, is cheap and there is no mixing. I had to remove the old battens because they were at odd angles, OK if you're going to use headliner vinyl, but not for the wood finish I want. I'll need better prep so off it came. 1st with a pry bar and hammer, followed by the grinder and flap disc. The disc works wonders, it melted through the glue and wood. But you better pay attention. You'll burn through to sunlight if you're not careful, a light touch is all it takes.

Tyvex suit, goggles, respirator, gloves and a shop vac and even still the place is a mess! There is glue dust covering everything. The short story is after many hours of grinding off the old glue the forward birth is ready for battens. Since the deck is cored, battens are there only to allow the fixing of the finished wood, not for the insulation. Thus, I'll plan to use 1/4 battens. I can fill the area between battens with the cork I have on hand. The new battens will be set with the heavy duty construction adhesive. These battens will sit at better angles for the finished wood.

This week is a work week. I plan to rip down a couple 4x8 1/4 sheets of ply. I'll use these for the new battens. This coming weekend I'll plan on gluing in the battens up forward. If thins work out, I'll do the overhead main cabin too. I'll set the battens in glue, but I plan to use some staples to hold them in place. This will nix the need for braces to push up while the glue sets.

This is the long, slow work, but it's crucial for the finish I want. If I wanted a functional overhead the was "stock" I'd save some time in this stage, but the vinyl liner would be difficult so I guess it all works out in the end, but in my ending I'll have a really nice finish.