A Coat of Many Colors

Yes!  You CAN put five coats of paint on a full-keeled 42-foot Westsail in one weekend!  With the soda blasting having been finished, Mike prepped (fiberglassed, sanded, and faired) the hull during the week.  Then Saturday (after a good breakfast at Kegs and Eggs) we taped and painted two applications of a barrier coating (waterproofing).  Sunday we went back (it was in the 80s!) and were able to paint two more coats of barrier coat and then one layer of the anti-fouling, or ablative paint.  (This is the sacrificial layer that is meant to shed, keeping things from growing/sticking on it.)  We would show you before, during, and after pictures, but you've seen the before (which are "after" the blasting).  There's one action shot "during" (since it's messy handling the paint and the camera).  And we've decided to show you the barrier coat in the background with a couple of painting buddies instead.

Action shot applying first barrier coat:

Watching paint dry:

And finally, you can see the painting pals:

Exhausting Work

Literally and figuratively -- it was exhausting work.  Because the original exhaust system used black steel fittings, they had corroded.  (Yes, sea water and steel do not play well together.)  Oh, and along with the corrosion were exhaust leaks.  So being the safety-conscious individuals that we are, we decided to replace them now (with fiberglass) instead of waiting until we were in 20-ft seas.  (Just kidding!)  In addition, the original exhaust hoses were exhausted because they were over 30 years old.  So what the heck, why not replace them, too? 

The new fiberglass fittings worked well with the new hose and "T" bolt clamps:

But, have you ever tried wrestling a 3", wire-reinforced exhaust hose?  It's sort of like wrestling a python.  And there were some curves that this python just didn't want to take.  So, it took two handlers to tame it and guide it through the maze.  One of them here is about to be squeezed!

But finally, after much grunting and groaning, the python, er hose, was clamped into place on the "U" fitting (in the return loop) and now has a new lair.

There is a happy ending to this man vs python, er ... exhaust hose, story.  Man triumphed.

With any luck, this will last us for more 50 years this time!

Prism Leak Solved

Well, just like any other project, a boat project isn't any different.  What we thought was just a leaky seal for the starboard prism turned out to be much more.  You see, the decking, when originally placed, was not glued well.  There was only one bead of polysulfide (caulk) between the teak wood and the fiberglass deck, eventually allowing water to run under the teak and into the cutout for the prism.  We thought we had fixed the problem by recaulking the prism, but it turned out that the seal was ineffective because of residual moisture, causing the caulk not to seal properly.  Do overs.

This time, the teak decking along the starboard gunwale was removed, first by removing the existing caulk between the boards as well as all the bungs and screws holding the wood in place.  Then the teak planks (came up easily and) were cleaned and dried.  The fiberglass deck had to be cleaned, with a wire brush, to remove the residual caulk, and then the planks were re-grooved (using a router) and epoxied in place.  New screws, new bungs, and new caulk were the last steps in restoring its integrity.  This time we WON'T need any do overs!  But there is the rest of the decking to be done ...

Before, during, and after:

Her Barest Bottom

Yes, Abake has bared all.  But, she's had a little help.  At the end of the week, she had her bottom blasted, taking away many, many layers of paint.  "It was really hard paint," we were told, "and there's a lot of bottom there" we also heard.  But the team from Chesapeake Blasting were professional and couldn't have done a better job.  Now she has the cleanest bottom she's had maybe since she came out of the factory in 1980!

Bottom painted and bottom bared:

And if you want to see what it looked like while it was happening, here is the tented work area with someone inside working (notice the puffy sides) and what one of the blasters wears to do his job.

We were really impressed with these guys -- not only does Abake look great, there was no residue to be found in the marina.  They are definitely one of the preferred subcontractors!

Our next step is to prep the bottom before painting her with a barrier coat, and eventually with ablative paint.  We're on a schedule now, so hopefully good weather will coincide with our schedules.  Extra high tides will be early May and early June, and that's when we'll have to launch Abake.  She draughts too much for any normal day on the creek.

Patina Vs Paste

With the brass window frames having cleaned up beautifully, Mike is determined to clean all the brass.  With the teak decks weathered, I kind of preferred the matching weathered look (patina) on the dorades, but he wanted shiny brass.  Since the polishing wheel wouldn't work well on the dorades, we looked for alternative methods.  From the web, Mike tried the ketchup idea and we found where it was a little thick, it seemed to clean off the patina.  Mind you, the brass stilll needed polishing, but it was a big help.  So, being a little thicker acid, we decided to try tomato paste (which we can use in the future no matter where we are).  Here you'll see the dorade have had ketchup rinsed, lathered, and repeated (with tomato paste).

Then we applied the paste right to the patina version and voila!  We had good results.  Here are the before and during pictures.  (The patina is the greenish coating on the brass that is caused by oxidation.)  We'll have to post the final picture later.  I guess we forgot to take one.  You'll see it after the insides are painted!

Seeing the Light

Literally, we can see the light now.  The glass was replaced in the portholes and the portholes were re-installed on Abake.  And, the glass was replaced in the portlights and the starboard portlights were re-installed.  We can see the light!  The installation process involved replacing (the glass and) the gaskets around the glass, re-installing the glass into the window frame, and screwing in the brass frames, inside and out.  Rather than use 5200, we've grown very partial to butylene tape (far less messy and much easier to work with).  So the screws and windows were rimmed with butylene tape and then installed.

Here's the butylene tape, wrapped around each screw and then on the (exterior) frame, so it seals against the fiberglass cabin top.

Then the glass is set in the frame and the outside frame was put in place.

And finally, the inside frame was placed and the two screwed together to create a tight seal on the exterior:

And a beautiful finished look on the interior:

So you can see here, the three portlights in the various stages:

And the exterior of the portlights:

And the portholes:

Binnacle Bling

After polishing, buffing, cleaning, waxing and TLC, we now have binnacle bling!  The 30+ years of patina has been reset;-)

Next weekend will be portlight and porthole re-installation.  Pray for warmer weather, because daytime highs in the 20s and low 30s right now.