Your spring project reports are due soon. (10 pts)

What sort of projects have you been doing to
improve your boat? Report in, or take a dozen
lashes!

My report: Hull Fairing and Painting Project

The last few weeks I've been fairing the hull of my
big boat with a goal of getting it in the water by May
30th. I've just about completed the bottom of the hull,
and plan one more layup of fairing material on the hull.
So far I must have over 24 hours of sanding, and my
brother has another 16 hours logged.

Time to move the poppets and fair the areas under them.
I've been fairing the thru-hulls to take them from nipple
size down to the opening diameter.

Here's what I've learned about fairing a hull.

1. Make small batches of fairing material and apply each
batch carefully. Excess has to be sanded off. Mix your
own and use lots of filler to make it easier to sand.
Several thin layers are easier to work than a single
thick layer. I used West 410 filler and found it mixed
well, and was not too hard to sand. 407 filler was harder
to mix but sanded much easier.

2. Fair every inch of the hull--don't be lazy. I used
a 6" knife to spread it. I cleaned it with solvent when
applying more than one batch. When leaving overnight,
It was faster just to break the plastic off the knife
the following day.

3. The best sander to use is a 6" orbital hook and loop
--6 hole hook and loop--60-80 grit paper. I also used an
air powered longboards for final sanding--use 80-100 grit.

4. Use a vacuum cleaner with the sander and get plenty of
bags.

5. Stay upwind of the sander, and pick a cool, windy cool
day and get the job done quickly If you stay upwind of
the grit on a windy day, you won't need a repirator.

6. Repeat the fairing and sanding a few times and it will
look good.

7. Use a respirator when you are underneath the sander.
Always use eye protection.

8. Take asprin or other pain killers before you start
working--trust me on that one. You'll get more done.

9. Drink at least two beers after every hard day and go
to bed early, so you can start in again early the next
day.

Future work: The keel needs a little more sanding and
fairing, as does the rudder. I've discovered my rudder
is actually slightly concave. It was repaired at some
point. My feeling is I need to fill the hollow spot six
inches in from the trailing edge to make it flat or
slightly convex. I'm worried that as it is--slightly
concave, it'll make the rudder prone to stalling.

Next comes barrier coat and bottom paint. I'm going with
copper-poxy, which needs lots more sanding, but lasts
years longer and can be sanded in the water. It also
serves as a barrier coat, which might save some work.

The shrink wrapp comes off soon. It is starting to get
in the way. So far we have had very little rain, most
of that has passed to the north and missed the boat. My
wooden platform is also getting in the way. Time to bite
the bullet, buy a longer ladder, and improve work access
to the topsides.

After May 1st, I'm going to borrow a mast dolly, sand
and paint the mast, replacing some shives, and work on
the masthead. I want to stick a couple of extra Ham
antennas up there and haven't figured out how to do that
yet.

Bart Senior

N1EE wrote:
Your spring project reports are due soon. (10 pts)

What sort of projects have you been doing to
improve your boat? Report in, or take a dozen
lashes!

Not so much 'improve' as 'restore'...

I've nearly finished refinishing the rudder (a little paint to do and a
retainer clip to fit), and have finished making the tiller. (Pics sometime
soonish.) Per another thread, I'm looking into new windows (ho ho), and I've
started pulling my Seagull outboard apart to see what needs replacing. Good
to see it has gearbox oil (pity about the propshaft and the tube it sits
in).

For a bonus point, I'm helping my skipper with his masthead light tomorrow -
it came loose during the last race.


--
Wally
www.artbywally.com
www.wally.myby.co.uk/music

Install new, bigger holding tank.
Made a new mount for the bow red/green light. Someone broke it off at my
slip.
New ign. switch for the Yanmar.
replaced water pump impellor.
Oiled and re-routed the engine shut-off cable.
New packing in stuffing box.
Touched up bottom paint.
Buffed and waxed the hull, but need to do it over again.


--
Scotty
S/V Lisa Marie
Balt. MD USA

"N1EE" wrote in message
m...
Your spring project reports are due soon. (10 pts)

What sort of projects have you been doing to
improve your boat? Report in, or take a dozen
lashes!

My report: Hull Fairing and Painting Project

The last few weeks I've been fairing the hull of my
big boat with a goal of getting it in the water by May
30th. I've just about completed the bottom of the hull,
and plan one more layup of fairing material on the hull.
So far I must have over 24 hours of sanding, and my
brother has another 16 hours logged.

Time to move the poppets and fair the areas under them.
I've been fairing the thru-hulls to take them from nipple
size down to the opening diameter.

Here's what I've learned about fairing a hull.

1. Make small batches of fairing material and apply each
batch carefully. Excess has to be sanded off. Mix your
own and use lots of filler to make it easier to sand.
Several thin layers are easier to work than a single
thick layer. I used West 410 filler and found it mixed
well, and was not too hard to sand. 407 filler was harder
to mix but sanded much easier.

2. Fair every inch of the hull--don't be lazy. I used
a 6" knife to spread it. I cleaned it with solvent when
applying more than one batch. When leaving overnight,
It was faster just to break the plastic off the knife
the following day.

3. The best sander to use is a 6" orbital hook and loop
--6 hole hook and loop--60-80 grit paper. I also used an
air powered longboards for final sanding--use 80-100 grit.

4. Use a vacuum cleaner with the sander and get plenty of
bags.

5. Stay upwind of the sander, and pick a cool, windy cool
day and get the job done quickly If you stay upwind of
the grit on a windy day, you won't need a repirator.

6. Repeat the fairing and sanding a few times and it will
look good.

7. Use a respirator when you are underneath the sander.
Always use eye protection.

8. Take asprin or other pain killers before you start
working--trust me on that one. You'll get more done.

9. Drink at least two beers after every hard day and go
to bed early, so you can start in again early the next
day.

Future work: The keel needs a little more sanding and
fairing, as does the rudder. I've discovered my rudder
is actually slightly concave. It was repaired at some
point. My feeling is I need to fill the hollow spot six
inches in from the trailing edge to make it flat or
slightly convex. I'm worried that as it is--slightly
concave, it'll make the rudder prone to stalling.

Next comes barrier coat and bottom paint. I'm going with
copper-poxy, which needs lots more sanding, but lasts
years longer and can be sanded in the water. It also
serves as a barrier coat, which might save some work.

The shrink wrapp comes off soon. It is starting to get
in the way. So far we have had very little rain, most
of that has passed to the north and missed the boat. My
wooden platform is also getting in the way. Time to bite
the bullet, buy a longer ladder, and improve work access
to the topsides.

After May 1st, I'm going to borrow a mast dolly, sand
and paint the mast, replacing some shives, and work on
the masthead. I want to stick a couple of extra Ham
antennas up there and haven't figured out how to do that
yet.

Bart Senior

"Scott Vernon" wrote in message

| Buffed and waxed the hull, but need to do it over again.

Did you use your Industrial Grade Grinder to polish it??

Maybe you can find one on Ebay. ;-D

CM

Nothing that much. Had a diver clean off the bottom. Also,
just got a mailsail cover made. The guy who sewed it for
me, didn't get the length right, but he's redoing it. Should
be ready in a day or two.

http://www.sailnow.com/gifs/mainsail1.jpg

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

OzOne wrote in message ...
On 23 Apr 2004 19:25:22 -0700, (N1EE)
scribbled thusly:



3. The best sander to use is a 6" orbital hook and loop
--6 hole hook and loop--60-80 grit paper. I also used an
air powered longboards for final sanding--use 80-100 grit.

Beg to differ, but the BEST sander to use is the Powerboard
http://www.atlcomposites.com/product...powerboard.htm

You'll be astounded at just how fast you get the job done


Oz1...of the 3 twins.

I welcome you to crackerbox palace,We've been expecting you.

This year I'm paying some extra attention to my 2 Yanmar 2GM20FC's, and
saildrives.

Propellers pulled, new zincs installed, props back on with about half the
hardware replaced.
Replace lower gear oil.
Pull exhaust elbows, chip out carbon, clean with Dremel.
Drain antifreeze.
Pull out heat exchanger coils - I found a large clump of eel grass blocking
about half the passages in one of them - now I know why that engine would
overheat when run too fast. Clean and re-installed.
Change water pump impellors.
Change fuel filters
Replace fan belt on fridge.
Replace water pump on fridge.

Still to do:
finish putting stuff back together, replace antifreeze
buff topsides
bottom paint (I have two 36 foot hulls to do!)
paint saildrives
start engines
replace plastic (strataglas) on one hardtop window
powerwash deck
launch
bend on sails
have a beer, think about installing proper raw water strainers.

Jeff: tip for the futu needing to pull the heat exchanger cores is
very rare. Just drop the end caps and use a 22 cal. bore brush.



On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 07:18:31 -0400, "Jeff Morris"
wrote:

This year I'm paying some extra attention to my 2 Yanmar 2GM20FC's, and
saildrives.

Propellers pulled, new zincs installed, props back on with about half the
hardware replaced.
Replace lower gear oil.
Pull exhaust elbows, chip out carbon, clean with Dremel.
Drain antifreeze.
Pull out heat exchanger coils - I found a large clump of eel grass blocking
about half the passages in one of them - now I know why that engine would
overheat when run too fast. Clean and re-installed.
Change water pump impellors.
Change fuel filters
Replace fan belt on fridge.
Replace water pump on fridge.

Still to do:
finish putting stuff back together, replace antifreeze
buff topsides
bottom paint (I have two 36 foot hulls to do!)
paint saildrives
start engines
replace plastic (strataglas) on one hardtop window
powerwash deck
launch
bend on sails
have a beer, think about installing proper raw water strainers.

"Marc" wrote in message
...
Jeff: tip for the futu needing to pull the heat exchanger cores is
very rare. Just drop the end caps and use a 22 cal. bore brush.


Yes, I can appreciate that, and that's what I did on my last engine (a
Westerbeke). However, to really clean it you need to pull both end caps, and
on the Yanmar, the core just slides out after that. Actually, from my point of
view, the real hassle is draining the fluids - once that's done you might as
well do the complete job.

Also, it did seem like removing one end cap might compromise the seal at the
other end. And I was happy to get a good look at them, since they are
vulnerable to freezing and I spent half the winter wondering if I had done
enough to protect the engine from the deep freeze we just went through. I had
to fix two broken pipes in the basement this winter, so I've been a bit
apprehensive!

-jeff

On 23 Apr 2004 19:25:22 -0700, (N1EE) wrote
this crap:

Your spring project reports are due soon. (10 pts)

What sort of projects have you been doing to
improve your boat? Report in, or take a dozen
lashes!

No. Please don't beat me!

I had my crew put on a folding prop. I had my crew secretly modify
the keel.

My report: Hull Fairing and Painting Project

The last few weeks I've been fairing the hull of my
big boat with a goal of getting it in the water by May
30th.


You must be kidding! By Memorial Day, I will have won several series
of races.


I've just about completed the bottom of the hull,
and plan one more layup of fairing material on the hull.
So far I must have over 24 hours of sanding, and my
brother has another 16 hours logged.


Boring! You call that improvements? I call it maintenance.

[all other boring crap deleted]


I want to hear about improvements, not about how you changed your oil.





My T-shirt says, "This shirt is the
ultimate power in the universe."

On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 23:25:51 -0400, "Scott Vernon"
wrote this crap:

Install new, bigger holding tank.

Now there's a load of crap.

Made a new mount for the bow red/green light. Someone broke it off at my
slip.

Those *******s!

New ign. switch for the Yanmar.
replaced water pump impellor.
Oiled and re-routed the engine shut-off cable.
New packing in stuffing box.
Touched up bottom paint.
Buffed and waxed the hull, but need to do it over again.

Maintenance. Boring.




My T-shirt says, "This shirt is the
ultimate power in the universe."