Progress

A good 6 hrs spent working on the boat in 2 hr blocks. No major visible progress but proceeding to the first coat of primer paint. I remade and reinstalled all of the support braces that were removed/rotted off the bulkheads that were replaced. They support the starboard settee, the port side and starboard side shelves, the galley cupboard shelf and sink shelf and the upper cupboard shelf with a new trash bin installed. There are two more cleats I would like to make and install to reinforce that upper cupboard shelf as I modified that area quite a bit. I need all of this in place before I put on the first coat of epoxy primer. I have two other areas I plan to build up but I will do these after the priming/painting. One is the head shelf and enclosure. I need to raise the level for the new porta potti and this may or may not alter where that shelf goes. The second is my new electrical control box. I still have to make the front face and install. Leaving both of these off will also help me gain better access to reinstall/rebed the chain-plates after painting.

I re-attached the copper grounding straps that were removed for bulkhead replacement. They have 30 yrs of paint on them that came off in most areas but I assume won't harm their intended porpose as long as the connections are good and clean and plan on painting them again. They attach to the middle shroud (upper) on either side. I never did find any termination point to check for connectivity. Both sides dissapear into the cement encased ballast. Proper lightening grounding is something I am not completely sure of other than you want a direct path from the top of the mast to the bottom of the keel. It appears I have that and the fact that the boat hasn't exploded in the last 42 years gives me some comfort.

The rest of the time was spent patching holes and areas needing fillets and sanding the entire cabin top getting ready for paint and another thorough vacuum of the cabin. This week I will wash down all the surfaces and begin tape off of the wood work. Try to get a coat of primer on this weekend.
Finally, you may have noticed my running miles have dropped off the chart. I have given in to the Achilles tendonitis and will admit defeat. I will not run again until mid October, giving myself a full 30 days off. Lots of spinning to keep the cardio up but it is not the same.

Back Order

Not the plan, just the parts. I have had great luck with ordering parts and pieces for the boat. All my orders have been from the mainstay of boat refurbishing vendors: Defender, Jamestown Distributers, McMaster Carr and even West Marine. This past week I expanded my searches which introduced 3 new vendors to my list in the hopes of lowering costs even more. The results were as the title of this entry. To be fair one did actually ship and was damaged in transit. Two new quarts of Interlux Yacht Enamel are spread over the inside of a big brown truck somewhere making the only big brown truck they have that has a Hatteras Off white interior. So to be fair, Boatersland Marine, did come through. Lets see how long it takes for them to re-ship. This is the first thing I have had damaged by UPS in my life, so we can let them slide too.

I ordered the thruhull transducer from Amazon. Seems like an odd place but their price was $30 less than any other source. This might turnout to be one of those "too good to be true" deals. They have yet to ship and keep pushing back the delivery date on the website. I will give them another week. No pressing need for the transducer but I would like to verify size before drilling the hole. I did epoxy in a blank backing plate and the instructions do say a standard 2"hole but I would like to be sure. It is a intelliducer that has 3 sensors in one thru hull, speed, depth and temp. I don't really need the temp but really wanted one hole and not two. It is NEMA 2000 ready and will connect to a future purchase of a Garmin chartplotter and possibly a Garmin GMI 10 panel.

The other back-ordered items were all the chain plate covers for the deck from Fisheries Supply. Again no great need as I need to finish painting the inside cabin before installing and I won't have any paint until UPS is finished repainting their fleet of trucks. I am having the two chain plates that were heavily corroded remade as well. Something I could have done myself with a lot of effort but a friend is charging me material only so it is a great deal. So this weekend will be lots of final prepping and painting hopefully with the one thing that did arrive; a new gallon of DP235 epoxy paint.
Also, finally found an image of what my table is supposed to mount to. I have the table, intact and in good shape but no clue where to mount it. Now I just have to find some brackets that will work on the engine compartment; hopefully from McMaster Carr!

Epoxy Paint

Very stout stuff! I had never used this before but in looking around for what to prime the insides of the boat with I came across an article where somebody had used it. It is the epitome of the belts and suspenders approach, at least when it comes to priming. I am starting at the forpeak and working towards the rear. I needed paint for what was to be visible, above the settees, ceiling, etc., and a paint for below but not in the bilge. Two coats of the Sherwin Williams DP235 epoxy paint, above and below has done the trick. Below it will be left in it's gloss white, easy to clean and very durable. Above it is then covered with two coats of Interlux premium Yacht Enamel in a Hatteras off white (cream color). So far it is coming out pretty well. I still have the head compartment and the hanging locker to do then I can close the door on the forpeak and finish a little patch sanding in the main cabin.

In between coats I also put on a couple coats of grey BilgeKote in the bilge areas up to the engine compartment. I ordered the last thru hull for the depth/speed/temp transducer that I need to install before the final painting in the cabin. There is still lots of little work in the cabin to do before final paint, attatching seat supports, some fillets, building a new electrical box enclosure, and now filling a small hole (rotten) in the starboard settee where it came in contact with the rotten engine compartment (already replaced).

Chainplates

Since everything else has been removed from the boat it was no big surprise that I now choose to remove all the chainplates. I had tried not to do this but i have come so far now to leave them in place would probably come back to bite me. They had obviously been a source of water leaks before so rebedding them would help that. Once removed I could properly clean them up as they had been painted over many times and one was even encased in fiberglass. I widened the top deck fiberglass (all new and painted) with a dremel to allow for removal. Unbolted they removed quite easily with a little hammer persuasion. I was surprised to find that two of the stainless steel plates showed signs of corrosion (heavy pitting) right where they penetrated the deck. This would have been below the teak decking but just above the fiberglass. I have no choice but to replace them so I will have to fashion the replacements from some 1/4" stainless stock. Luckily I can use the old ones as templates.