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: