Last weekend the Northwest was consumed by a monsoon. Good thing I got some cover on over the boat now. Saturday I just knocked around the house, polished some deck hardware and did some house chores and maintenance on the Jeep. I now have heat in the Jeep so this winter will be much more comfortable. Not a bad way to kill a rainy day.
Sunday I got down to the boat and spent a fair bit of time cleaning up and organizing.
I started to prep the cove stripe and waterline for paint. I tried using the profile sander on the cove stripe. It works ok, but hand sanding turned out to be easier. Also, this way I didn’t risk the profile sanded walking out of the groove, which it really wanted to do.
I hope to finish up the sanding on the cove stripe this evening. I’m not heading into work until noon tomorrow so I might be able to get a coat of paint on in the morning.
I bought most of the supplies for the bottom. The West 410 filler, Pettit 4700 barrier coat, and placed an order for the Vivid bottom paint.
I’ve spent a lot of time this week reading about this boat work idea. I’ve had a couple field trips. The Seattle Public Library is a great resource they have a good selection of boat building/ woodworking books. I also went into NW Fine Woodworking. This place blurs the lines between an art gallery and a furniture store. If you’re in the area, I highly recommend stopping in. I walked away with so many new project ideas. This weekend some of thier craftsmen will be in talking about thier work. I'll make time to attend. Tomorrow morning I hope to chat with the yard owner and get some advice/ opinions on working out of his yard.
Not much to show, so no pictures this week.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
A nagging idea
I’m trying to work out this idea I’ve been kicking around for awhile; working for myself, on boats full time (and not starving). Something like Lackey Sailing.
I have to say that my fine wood working skills are lacking. I want to talk and visit with people who do interior joinery for a living. I’m fortunate that my step-father is a fine woodworker/ cabinet maker, so I have someone I can learn the skills from, but I’d like to talk with a few people who are working on boats specifically.
Right now I’m thinking it’s feasible to have a shed/ work shop in the boat yard where I can turn out 2-3 smaller boats a year while working part time, some evenings and weekends. The yard space is cheap and the boat mover is reasonable so my upfront costs are fairly minimal seeing that I own the most of the tools I need. Also, South Park has an abundance of neglected boats that could be had for next to nothing. Keeping the boats to smaller, 25 feet and under, helps insure quicker turnovers. After some time the project should prove whether it can be self sustaining. This can also be a showcase for my interior refits, which I’d like to do as well.
So far I’m just in the information gathering stage. Delta declined my request to tour their facility due to confidentiality reasons. I’m persistent however, and I’ll find a way. In the meantime, the chance to tour and chat with smaller operations would be very grateful.
If anyone has any connections, please send them my way. I’d be more than happy to lend a hand in the shop while I chat with you.
I have to say that my fine wood working skills are lacking. I want to talk and visit with people who do interior joinery for a living. I’m fortunate that my step-father is a fine woodworker/ cabinet maker, so I have someone I can learn the skills from, but I’d like to talk with a few people who are working on boats specifically.
Right now I’m thinking it’s feasible to have a shed/ work shop in the boat yard where I can turn out 2-3 smaller boats a year while working part time, some evenings and weekends. The yard space is cheap and the boat mover is reasonable so my upfront costs are fairly minimal seeing that I own the most of the tools I need. Also, South Park has an abundance of neglected boats that could be had for next to nothing. Keeping the boats to smaller, 25 feet and under, helps insure quicker turnovers. After some time the project should prove whether it can be self sustaining. This can also be a showcase for my interior refits, which I’d like to do as well.
So far I’m just in the information gathering stage. Delta declined my request to tour their facility due to confidentiality reasons. I’m persistent however, and I’ll find a way. In the meantime, the chance to tour and chat with smaller operations would be very grateful.
If anyone has any connections, please send them my way. I’d be more than happy to lend a hand in the shop while I chat with you.
Monday, October 12, 2009
A long week
Last week seemed extra long.
Last weekend Alai and I went over to Leavenworth for the Octoberfest marathon. We each did the ½ marathon and we both did very well. At some point after the race, my left foot started hurting and by the next morning was barely able to stand on it. I stopped by my office when we got back in town and got a walking cast which, with a cane I used all week.
Thus, little happened on the boat until this weekend.
I started by sanding the black down with 220 grit on the random orbital. The streaks left by the tipping were very noticeable so it was easy to see when you had a smooth surface. This took a couple hours spaced over Thursday and Friday evenings. On Saturday I finished the last of the sanding. When I was done the boat looked super smooth and had the sort of chalkboard black look going on. I forgot the camera so no pictures.
After a good wash and scrub with a soft boat brush, I let the hull dry. (note, I’ve got the oil heater on in the boat now to keep the hull a bit warmer) Once the hull was dry, I used the Ultra Smooth High density Foam Roller and went to work on the finish coat.
I’d start by loading up the 6” roller. Then roll out the area until the roller was pretty much dry, then very lightly roll over the area again and again to flatten out the bubbles. I would vary the direction of the roller and again, use a very light touch, only the weight of the roller itself. I did find the rolling fast killed the bubbles better than rolling slow. Even still, this was not a fast operation. The roll and tip with two guys took an hour, the roll/ roll working solo took 5.
However, in the end I’m quite happy with the return, I'm also happy to be done with that section. Time for some pictures! From 10 feet the hull is super shinny:
From 5 feet you can see a orange peel effect, but I'm of with this. Its better then average.
On Sunday I decided, being that we’re into October now, I’m going to need some shelter. I bought one of those Costco car shelters. It’s not tall enough so I built two 25’ saw horses that stand just about 4’ tall and built the shelter on top of them. Being in a industrial area is great for gathering scrap wood. I found two pallets that were 14’ long. The runners were built out of 4x4 hardwood, oak I think, and weight a ton! I used 2x6’s for the legs and lots of framing nails. The thing is plenty strong, and pretty heavy. Even still I’ll add some concrete blocks or something to keep my shelter from becoming a kite.
Now I can get the final coat on the decks, and paint the bottom even if there is a threat of rain.
PS, I want to visit Delta Marine’s cabinet shop. I’ve stopped in and left a nice letter/ request for the manager. If anyone reads this and has a contact, I’d just love the chance to get to see how they create such amazing interiors.
Last weekend Alai and I went over to Leavenworth for the Octoberfest marathon. We each did the ½ marathon and we both did very well. At some point after the race, my left foot started hurting and by the next morning was barely able to stand on it. I stopped by my office when we got back in town and got a walking cast which, with a cane I used all week.
Thus, little happened on the boat until this weekend.
I started by sanding the black down with 220 grit on the random orbital. The streaks left by the tipping were very noticeable so it was easy to see when you had a smooth surface. This took a couple hours spaced over Thursday and Friday evenings. On Saturday I finished the last of the sanding. When I was done the boat looked super smooth and had the sort of chalkboard black look going on. I forgot the camera so no pictures.
After a good wash and scrub with a soft boat brush, I let the hull dry. (note, I’ve got the oil heater on in the boat now to keep the hull a bit warmer) Once the hull was dry, I used the Ultra Smooth High density Foam Roller and went to work on the finish coat.
I’d start by loading up the 6” roller. Then roll out the area until the roller was pretty much dry, then very lightly roll over the area again and again to flatten out the bubbles. I would vary the direction of the roller and again, use a very light touch, only the weight of the roller itself. I did find the rolling fast killed the bubbles better than rolling slow. Even still, this was not a fast operation. The roll and tip with two guys took an hour, the roll/ roll working solo took 5.
However, in the end I’m quite happy with the return, I'm also happy to be done with that section. Time for some pictures! From 10 feet the hull is super shinny:
From 5 feet you can see a orange peel effect, but I'm of with this. Its better then average.
On Sunday I decided, being that we’re into October now, I’m going to need some shelter. I bought one of those Costco car shelters. It’s not tall enough so I built two 25’ saw horses that stand just about 4’ tall and built the shelter on top of them. Being in a industrial area is great for gathering scrap wood. I found two pallets that were 14’ long. The runners were built out of 4x4 hardwood, oak I think, and weight a ton! I used 2x6’s for the legs and lots of framing nails. The thing is plenty strong, and pretty heavy. Even still I’ll add some concrete blocks or something to keep my shelter from becoming a kite.
Now I can get the final coat on the decks, and paint the bottom even if there is a threat of rain.
PS, I want to visit Delta Marine’s cabinet shop. I’ve stopped in and left a nice letter/ request for the manager. If anyone reads this and has a contact, I’d just love the chance to get to see how they create such amazing interiors.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
I've been making some visual progress over the last few weeks. This weekend was not exception. I put on the "last" coat of paint mid week. For this coat I tested my Dry Roll method and it really worked out well, except for a couple dry spots. I was getting close to done and in my haste missed a few spots on the starboard side.
No worries, I just gave it a little rub down with the 220 grit and rolled on the real final coat. I had one small dry spot on the port side too. I taped off around it, rolled on a light coat and let the dry for a few minutes. When I removed the tape you could see the patch a little bit. A few minutes later the paint was only lighty tacky so I was able to tamp down the edge and it blended right in. An hour later and you couldn't see any evidence.
While that was drying I started installing the windows on the port side. I picked up some butyl tape from Poulsbo RV. This stuff is great! After bedding deck hardware with goo-in-a-tube I swear by this stuff. It's sort of like silly putty. It comes in a 30 foot roll and Poulsbo RV sells 1/8" or 1/4" thick by 1' wide for just under $10.
I used the thicker tape for the 1st layer, but needed a little more goo so I ended up splitting some in half and putting a second layer on. This worked out well. Once I started tightening the screws inside plenty of butyl oozed out. Then I used a handy little tool the guy at the RV store gave me to scrape off the excess. Each window went really quick.
I was able to get all 8 port lights in, in a few hours.
I'm really happy with the progress this weekend; the boat is really looking nice. Now that I've really got the hang of rolling and Not tipping I'm going to go ahead and roll on a finish coat of black too. That might take a while, we're out of town next weekend.
Oh yeah, made some progress on the buffing too. Here's a before and after.
No worries, I just gave it a little rub down with the 220 grit and rolled on the real final coat. I had one small dry spot on the port side too. I taped off around it, rolled on a light coat and let the dry for a few minutes. When I removed the tape you could see the patch a little bit. A few minutes later the paint was only lighty tacky so I was able to tamp down the edge and it blended right in. An hour later and you couldn't see any evidence.
While that was drying I started installing the windows on the port side. I picked up some butyl tape from Poulsbo RV. This stuff is great! After bedding deck hardware with goo-in-a-tube I swear by this stuff. It's sort of like silly putty. It comes in a 30 foot roll and Poulsbo RV sells 1/8" or 1/4" thick by 1' wide for just under $10.
I used the thicker tape for the 1st layer, but needed a little more goo so I ended up splitting some in half and putting a second layer on. This worked out well. Once I started tightening the screws inside plenty of butyl oozed out. Then I used a handy little tool the guy at the RV store gave me to scrape off the excess. Each window went really quick.
I was able to get all 8 port lights in, in a few hours.
I'm really happy with the progress this weekend; the boat is really looking nice. Now that I've really got the hang of rolling and Not tipping I'm going to go ahead and roll on a finish coat of black too. That might take a while, we're out of town next weekend.
Oh yeah, made some progress on the buffing too. Here's a before and after.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
one more coat
Over the last few days I’ve put what was to be the final coat of paint on the cabin area where the port lights go. The plan is to get them in before the rains return. So far the weather looks great this weekend.
However, I’m knocking the last coat down, I’m not happy with it.
I’ve been using the roll and tip method and while it is nice and shinny from 10 feet away, up close, say 5 feet, you can see the streaks left by the tipping. Even when I used thinner. However, I experimented with strictly rolling on the cabin top and it turned out much better. I’d rather have a slight orange peel than streaks. What I did to roll is work in small areas, say 2 sqft at most. Load up the roller with paint and roll it out until you need to reload with paint, but then go back over everything you just rolled, lightly once or twice to smooth out any of the little bubbles that were left. I don’t find that this takes off any of the paint you applied. Oh, and I’m using a ultra smooth surface foam nap.
So, the area around the ports has been sanded with 220 and depending on how busy I am at work, I’ll roll on the final, final coat in the next evening or two. On Saturday morning I’m going to run down to a RV store and pick up some of the grey butyl tape to seal the ports. Ya! No more rain in the boat!
At the same time I’ve been focusing on the area around the ports, I’ve also been working on the deck so I can mount the genoa tracks and stop water from coming in there too.
Now since I’m having good results with the rolling on the decks and cabin, I’m strongly considering sanding the last coat on the hull with 220 and applying a finish coat with the roller only there too. I’m about 60% sure that will happen. I’ll know for sure after I roll the cabin sides.
I’ll try to snap some pictures in the next day or so. I’ve forgotten the camera the last couple days.
However, I’m knocking the last coat down, I’m not happy with it.
I’ve been using the roll and tip method and while it is nice and shinny from 10 feet away, up close, say 5 feet, you can see the streaks left by the tipping. Even when I used thinner. However, I experimented with strictly rolling on the cabin top and it turned out much better. I’d rather have a slight orange peel than streaks. What I did to roll is work in small areas, say 2 sqft at most. Load up the roller with paint and roll it out until you need to reload with paint, but then go back over everything you just rolled, lightly once or twice to smooth out any of the little bubbles that were left. I don’t find that this takes off any of the paint you applied. Oh, and I’m using a ultra smooth surface foam nap.
So, the area around the ports has been sanded with 220 and depending on how busy I am at work, I’ll roll on the final, final coat in the next evening or two. On Saturday morning I’m going to run down to a RV store and pick up some of the grey butyl tape to seal the ports. Ya! No more rain in the boat!
At the same time I’ve been focusing on the area around the ports, I’ve also been working on the deck so I can mount the genoa tracks and stop water from coming in there too.
Now since I’m having good results with the rolling on the decks and cabin, I’m strongly considering sanding the last coat on the hull with 220 and applying a finish coat with the roller only there too. I’m about 60% sure that will happen. I’ll know for sure after I roll the cabin sides.
I’ll try to snap some pictures in the next day or so. I’ve forgotten the camera the last couple days.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
most people's opinions are not based on reality...
Eric and I were chatting about boats on Sunday. Eric is working on re-rigging his boat and it sounds like he’s strongly considering using synthetic rigging like Dynex or Spectra.
http://www.dynexdux.com/
http://www.precourt.ca/
Since I’m still so far away from rigging, I’ll just watch what he does and go from there. But this looks intriguing.
We also spoke about thru-hulls and proper installation.
He tossed out the idea of Marelon,
I’ve been reading on line about it. Lots of opinions to say the least. And as Eric would say, most people's opinions are not based on reality...
It is ABYC certified. I’m going to call my insurance co and ask if they have any issues with it. If it’s good enough to be ABYC compliant and my insurance company won’t have any issues, well then I’d say it is a viable option.
Seeing as there are a lot of low quality “bronze” out there it might be nice to use Marelon. At least you know what you’re getting. I read (on the internet, so it must be true) that Hinckley uses Marelon.
http://www.dynexdux.com/
http://www.precourt.ca/
Since I’m still so far away from rigging, I’ll just watch what he does and go from there. But this looks intriguing.
We also spoke about thru-hulls and proper installation.
He tossed out the idea of Marelon,
I’ve been reading on line about it. Lots of opinions to say the least. And as Eric would say, most people's opinions are not based on reality...
It is ABYC certified. I’m going to call my insurance co and ask if they have any issues with it. If it’s good enough to be ABYC compliant and my insurance company won’t have any issues, well then I’d say it is a viable option.
Seeing as there are a lot of low quality “bronze” out there it might be nice to use Marelon. At least you know what you’re getting. I read (on the internet, so it must be true) that Hinckley uses Marelon.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Looking sharp
Well the boat finally has some paint on the hull, and I have to say, its looking pretty nice!
On Friday night I used the random orbital to sand the Easypoxy undercoat (primer) with 220 grit. If I were doing this again, I’d roll and tip the primer. I just rolled it and spent a little more time sanding to get the primer nice and smooth. But oh well, now I know.
The next morning I pick Thomas up and we went about doing a little bit of finish sanding along the cove strip and the edges at the bow and stern. We washed the hull real good wit plain old water and let that dry, then taped off the waterline. We put some paint in the tray and started painting. Thomas was armed with the 6” roller with a smooth surface foam nap. I had a 3” china bristle brush. We both had short saw horses to stand on, and used one of the taller ones to keep the paint tray within reach. Then it was just the basic roll and tip painting, however I did come up with a few tips. Have more than one brush available. By the time we finished one side of the boat the brush was starting to leave some light streaks from the paint that was setting up on the brush itself. Also, don’t let the roller get too far ahead of the tipper, if you can tip immediately after rolling the paint is still really wet. In the 80 degree sun the paint starts to get tacky really quick.
This is how the boat looked when Thomas and I were finished with the 1st coat. The actual painting went pretty quick, and hour tops.
The next morning I got down to the yard early and started lightly sanding the cured paint with 220 again. There were some vertical lines from the tipping that were visible from 5 feet or so. I used the orbital to hit the whole boat, and then used 220 on a backing pad to hand sand a few more spots. Then more washing with the hose and a quick trip to the head before Eric was to arrive. Eric owns a Big 32 foot gaff rig cutter and had painted above his waterline last October. We spent some time catching up, and then went to work. I picked up a second brush for today, but I accidently grabbed a synthetic one rather than the china bristle, but this turned out to be a good thing. This brush just felt a lot lighter than the china bristle. So we started on the starboard side because it was in the shade. I figured we’d add thinner as we went and moved into the sun. I had the thinner, but did not use any on Saturday, in hindsight I think the thinner would have helped the paint lay down smoother. Anyways, back to Sunday. Eric rolled and I again tipped. I really liked the synthetic brush, it floated a lot better than the China and felt smooth in my hand. However, there was no visual benefit, I could not see a difference. We added a cap full of thinner half way through the shaded side. By the time we got to the bow we had come up with a system, rather than the roller rolling out a 12-24” section and me tipping, Eric would roll out 6-8” and I’d tip immediately, then he’d roll out another 6-8 inches. This system kept the wet edge much better, but again, I can’t say that it laid the paint any smoother. Again the painting went really quick. I’m happy with how it turned out. I have one small dry spot and a couple finger prints to touch up, but luckily they are pretty close together and I can just blend in the whole area.
Still having a lot of day left I stopped by Home Depot and picked up a 6” bench grinder and some buffing wheels. I’m buffing out all the hardware before it goes back on. So far I’m only having so-so results with the aluminum, but the stainless is coming out like a mirror!
I went back down to the Yard last night after work and put another coat on the cabin sides. I want to get the windows in soon so I don’t have to keep tarping the boat every time it rains. I’m going to get one more coat on tonight, and then I can work on cleaning up the aluminum window frames on the buffer. I’ve read some good things about 3m’s aluminum marine restorer. I might pick some up and see what happens.
So far I’m very happy with the outcomes. I can’t wait to get the waterline and cove strip finished. I’m really digging the black and white. I find it really classy, Ace does too!
On Friday night I used the random orbital to sand the Easypoxy undercoat (primer) with 220 grit. If I were doing this again, I’d roll and tip the primer. I just rolled it and spent a little more time sanding to get the primer nice and smooth. But oh well, now I know.
The next morning I pick Thomas up and we went about doing a little bit of finish sanding along the cove strip and the edges at the bow and stern. We washed the hull real good wit plain old water and let that dry, then taped off the waterline. We put some paint in the tray and started painting. Thomas was armed with the 6” roller with a smooth surface foam nap. I had a 3” china bristle brush. We both had short saw horses to stand on, and used one of the taller ones to keep the paint tray within reach. Then it was just the basic roll and tip painting, however I did come up with a few tips. Have more than one brush available. By the time we finished one side of the boat the brush was starting to leave some light streaks from the paint that was setting up on the brush itself. Also, don’t let the roller get too far ahead of the tipper, if you can tip immediately after rolling the paint is still really wet. In the 80 degree sun the paint starts to get tacky really quick.
This is how the boat looked when Thomas and I were finished with the 1st coat. The actual painting went pretty quick, and hour tops.
The next morning I got down to the yard early and started lightly sanding the cured paint with 220 again. There were some vertical lines from the tipping that were visible from 5 feet or so. I used the orbital to hit the whole boat, and then used 220 on a backing pad to hand sand a few more spots. Then more washing with the hose and a quick trip to the head before Eric was to arrive. Eric owns a Big 32 foot gaff rig cutter and had painted above his waterline last October. We spent some time catching up, and then went to work. I picked up a second brush for today, but I accidently grabbed a synthetic one rather than the china bristle, but this turned out to be a good thing. This brush just felt a lot lighter than the china bristle. So we started on the starboard side because it was in the shade. I figured we’d add thinner as we went and moved into the sun. I had the thinner, but did not use any on Saturday, in hindsight I think the thinner would have helped the paint lay down smoother. Anyways, back to Sunday. Eric rolled and I again tipped. I really liked the synthetic brush, it floated a lot better than the China and felt smooth in my hand. However, there was no visual benefit, I could not see a difference. We added a cap full of thinner half way through the shaded side. By the time we got to the bow we had come up with a system, rather than the roller rolling out a 12-24” section and me tipping, Eric would roll out 6-8” and I’d tip immediately, then he’d roll out another 6-8 inches. This system kept the wet edge much better, but again, I can’t say that it laid the paint any smoother. Again the painting went really quick. I’m happy with how it turned out. I have one small dry spot and a couple finger prints to touch up, but luckily they are pretty close together and I can just blend in the whole area.
Still having a lot of day left I stopped by Home Depot and picked up a 6” bench grinder and some buffing wheels. I’m buffing out all the hardware before it goes back on. So far I’m only having so-so results with the aluminum, but the stainless is coming out like a mirror!
I went back down to the Yard last night after work and put another coat on the cabin sides. I want to get the windows in soon so I don’t have to keep tarping the boat every time it rains. I’m going to get one more coat on tonight, and then I can work on cleaning up the aluminum window frames on the buffer. I’ve read some good things about 3m’s aluminum marine restorer. I might pick some up and see what happens.
So far I’m very happy with the outcomes. I can’t wait to get the waterline and cove strip finished. I’m really digging the black and white. I find it really classy, Ace does too!
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