July 11 - 13 2011
I got to the boat at 10pm on Monday and went right to sleep under the fan. I got up early and started grinding away the rust spots on the keel. I made some progress, but the grinder from Harbor Freight (used once before for the previous keel work two years ago) started overheating and spitting out red plastic pieces. I got most of it cleaned up except for some stubborn and complex areas around the top. Kenny came over and looked at the rust and said I needed to use a hammer. He loaned me a Chipping Hammer, and wow it really knocked the chunks of rust off. When I got all that done he brought the welder over and filled in the holes and ground them smooth. I was pretty much covered with grinding dust and fiberglass so I took a shower, drank water, and rested in the air conditioned lounge.
Later that afternoon Randy set up the air hose so I could sand blast the areas to get them ready for priming. Just as I was getting started the air hose popped off the fitting and started jumping around like a crazy snake. Randy came rushing back when he heard the blast from the hose. He trimmed the ragged end and reattached the hose with two opposing clamps and that held for the rest of the job.
The sandblasting was fun. It really textured the metal and cleaned it 100%. Since the heat index was well over 100, I was pretty well covered with sweat and grit and rust by the end. But it was necessary to prime the bare metal immediately. Randy mixed the primer up before he left. I needed a 1.5" brush, but all I had was the little .5" acid brushes. I taped 3 of them together and it worked very well. I got the whole thing primed as it was getting late (and cooler). Unfortunately there was so much sweat and grit on my glasses, and the sun was glaring on them that I missed a little spot of primer right near the forward port lifting ring and I ground with the grinder and primed but did not sandblast 4 sq. in. on the forward port side right near the top of the keel. I'll see if it rusts in either of those spots in a year or two.
Susan and Bill from Osprey, who we met in Coconut Grove, Miami, and then a couple of times in the Bahamas, showed up at the Boat Yard and invited me to dinner at their Condo. When the priming was done I showered and drove to Atlantic Beach to visit and have dinner with them.
Wednesday morning it was hot before the sun got up, and I had trouble getting started. But I had to get the next coat of primer-2 on before I could start the epoxy, and the timing was important. All the solvent needed to evaporate, but the epoxy needed to still be a little tacky so the final layers would adhere to the primer layers. I got the second primer layer on by 10:00am and expected to wait till 3:00pm to start the final epoxy and glass layers.
With the sun killer-hot I made a little "A" frame to support a line from the radar mast to the bow and was able to mount my shade tarp over the cockpit. The silver fabric reflected most of the heat, but was so hot that I got burned when I accidentally touched it.
With shade now up, I switched projects and began to work on the toe rail for the bridge deck that will keep the cushion away from the traveler car. First I had to grind a curve into the bottom of the tow rail so it would fit the curve of the bridge deck. That went very smoothly with a 60 grit belt on a belt sander. Then I marked the location for the toe rail on the bridge deck and drilled 6 holes for the bolts down from the top, but not through bottom layer of the bridge deck. Then I fitted a little "L" shaped knife into the drill and used it to cut up the foam between the top and bottom layers of the bridge deck at each hole. Then I filled the voids around the holes with epoxy resin. The purpose for this is if water gets into the holes it can't migrate through the foam between the top and bottom layers of the bridge deck. Also it prevents the foam from getting crushed when the bolts are tightened.
Now it was 1:00pm, and the primer was ready for the final coats of epoxy. It is now about 100F and the epoxy is setting up in about 3 minutes. Talk about working fast. I cut out about 3 pieces of fiber glass, about 15 sq inches or so, and that was about as much as I could do with one pump measure of epoxy. By the time I got the next section done the first was cured and ready for another layer. The result was that I three layers of epoxy done and sanded by 3:00pm. Under cooler conditions I would have had to wait for 2 six hour curing periods between layers of epoxy. So now the keel is protected and sealed and ready for me to put on another final smooth protective layer in the high load contact area and re-attach the glide rails at the top of the keel.
3:00pm, time to finish off the toe rail. Now that the epoxy in the holes was hard I could drill the holes all the way through. Then I placed the toe rail in position and drilled one hole up from underneath. Then I tapped the hole to accept a bolt and bolted it in place so I could drill the next hole. Then removed the toe rail and tapped the second hole and bolted it back in place with two bolts. With it held securely by the two bolts I drilled the rest of the holes, removed it again and tapped those holes. Finally I coated the bottom with Life Caulk and bolted it for the final time. Unfortunately, two of the holes didn't align up exactly right and the bolt wouldn't go in. In desperation I took the tap and ran it up through the bottom and it re-cut the threads so the bolts went in securely.
My two main projects were done and I wanted to get home. I rushed to get everything put away. I had to leave by 4pm so I could get to the sail maker to leave the sail for repairs. I did get everything put away, but there was no time for a shower if I was going to get there on time. I called ahead, and even though I was 20 minutes late (Garmin GPS didn't count on the ferry trip being so slow), they waited for me and I dropped off the sail and drove home stopping only at King's Barbecue for dinner. ($6.99 buffet) I got home just before 10pm.
I wish I had taken some pictures -- but it was way to hot to think about anything but getting done.
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