Clearing the Deck

I think we mentioned in a earlier post that we were considering flipping the boat upside down to work on the bottom.  Others have done this http://2842j24.blogspot.com/2009/08/bottom-fairing.html, and it looks like it could make working on the bottom of the boat a lot easier, both to do, and on our shoulders.  We've talked with Doug M who has some experience in getting his J/22 from the horizontal position back upright, so we are planning to give this a shot (more about  how in a later post).  But before we can flip the ol' boat, we need to clear the deck.  So this past weekend, we took off all the hardware that (1) either we weren't going to use anyway, or (2) would get in the way when we go to flip her.  This included all the stanchion bases, bow and stern pulpits, and a variety of other hardware.  Below is a picture of 2762 ready to roll!

The remaining question is once it is flipped, where should the support beams be placed?  There is a nice flat spot fight at the stern (aft of the lazarettes) that we think would work for support at the back.  Our main concern is up near the front.  The deck curves, and we are not sure how best to support the full weight of the keel.  Another option is to take off the entire main hatch (slide and cover) and build a post to help support the weight of the keel directly.  But we still need to choose where to locate a cross beam on the bow.  In addition, I think we will build some small supports to hold up the gunnels of the boat right where the bulkhead attaches, as that will both help to support the weight of the keel, and provide some side-to-side stability.  Feel free to add suggestions!

The Trailer Pads are Done (almost)

Several posts back we talked about making the new brackets and pads for the trailer we are refurbishing for this boat.  The plywood pads were painted and prepped, and then we used 1/4" stainless carriage (or step) bolts and stainless nylock nuts to bolt the brackets to the pads.  Here is what they looked like with the hardware on.

After that, we discussed a couple of options for padding.  One was the double D rubber dock fender molding http://www.taylormadeproducts.com/dockprod.html, and while nice, the price on this material just wasn't going to work.  Next option was to use some of the trailer bunk board material, which once again seemed like it would work just fine, but was a bit pricey for what you get.  After thinking about it some, we decided to use some indoor/outdoor BeauLieu Perfection Gray carpet from Home Depot (SKU #591529).  At ~$0.60/sq ft, the price was just right. While it isn't the softest material, it should work fine for the boat, at least for now.  Ended up using a hot glue gun to glue it down, just along the edges.  We didn't want any water to get trapped behind the carpet being held there by glue beads.

Used some clamps to make sure we were getting good tight adhesion to the edges of the pads.  Here are a couple of the final pads with the carpet glued on.  So the Trailer Pad and Bracket project is almost complete.  Just have to go out and mount them to the trailer posts.

Few More Blister Pictures

Here are just a few more blister pictures, a little closer up.  If you look closely, you'll notice that we did not even get all of them.  So, I think after much thought, a little angst, and some trepidation, we have decided that we need to strip all of the gelcoat off, and then recoat the bottom.

 

So the question of the day has become, what tools do we use to strip the bottom.  I've read on several of the forums, that you can use a large disk sander, but that seems like an awful lot of work with some real potential for lots of "Whoops!"  There is a tool called a marine shaver http://www.paintshaver.com/marineshaver.html that looks up to the task, but at $600-$800 seems a bit too much for this project.  So, we are seriously considering using a 3 1/4" planer.  The Makita KP0800K http://www.makita.com/en-us/Modules/Tools/ToolDetails.aspx?ID=316422 , the Dewalt DW680K http://www.dewalt.com/tools/woodworking-hand-planers-dw680k.aspx is another option.  Both of these are being considered, because they are reasonably priced, and if we mess up the tool in the process we are not out a lot of money.  So that is the plan at the moment.

Ultimately, we'll peel off the gelcoat and outer glass layer, then we'll wet out with epoxy, apply filler, fair, filler, fair (until it is smooth), and then we'll come back over it with 6-8 coats of Interlux Interprotect 2000 or some barrier coat.