There is no difference between the
foredeck and rear deck caulking, except that the rear deck is a little
wider and more difficult to reach. The same masking, priming and
squeezing of the gun is needed, and the same second beading to
compensate for shrinkage.
Starting at the starboard side with the masking. The hatch cover is already done.
At the end, the sanding will strip off the sacrificial varnish coats, and the decking will have to be varnished anew.
But, just before starting there, I wanted to knock off those plugs on the gunwale.
Caulking starts on the port side, then moves to the starboard. In order to reach the inner strips I have to remove the hatch and stand in the rudder compartment.
After the first bead of caulking (left), and then the second (right).
162. Refinishing the Decking
Forward to October '09
Starting at the starboard side with the masking. The hatch cover is already done.
At the end, the sanding will strip off the sacrificial varnish coats, and the decking will have to be varnished anew.
But, just before starting there, I wanted to knock off those plugs on the gunwale.
Caulking starts on the port side, then moves to the starboard. In order to reach the inner strips I have to remove the hatch and stand in the rudder compartment.
After the first bead of caulking (left), and then the second (right).
The second line of caulking tends to
widen a bit, but that is reduced again by the sanding.
The wide caulk line prior to sanding.
The wide caulk line prior to sanding.
Only when the existing caulking
is dry can the final strip at the stern be added.
The final caulking line on the rear deck.
The final caulking line on the rear deck.
This may be the last time I have
to use epoxy,
although I have mistakenly thought that time had been reached earlier,
but I am not entirely opposed to it after my experience with Sikaflex.
If I thought epoxy was messy I was in for a nasty surprise with the
caulking. At least epoxy can be removed with metho or acetone up to 20
minutes, but after a minute on the skin Sikaflex has to be scrubbed off
with sand soap.
While the decks are drying, before the sanding can be done, I took the opportunity to permanently attach the port side gunwale, which until now has only be held on temporarily with a few screws. Now it needs its screw holes plugged and trimmed, but, in the meantime, I can safely start to sand the decks.
The port gunwale glued on.
Gunwale with plugs.
While the decks are drying, before the sanding can be done, I took the opportunity to permanently attach the port side gunwale, which until now has only be held on temporarily with a few screws. Now it needs its screw holes plugged and trimmed, but, in the meantime, I can safely start to sand the decks.
The port gunwale glued on.
Gunwale with plugs.
162. Refinishing the Decking
It seems a
terrible shame to take the sander to the decks again, but it is for
more than just levelling the surface. In parts, the caulk has oozed
under the masking tape a bit, and that has resulted in thicker lines
than necessary. These can now be brought back to their proper width.
Doing so gives a much sharper edge, too.
A caulking line before and after sanding back to the right width.
A caulking line before and after sanding back to the right width.
In
some areas the sanding dust reveals small depressions in the caulking
which have persisted despite the second bead. These are generally very
shallow and can easily be filled with varnish.
Sanding dust reveals a central depression.
Sanding dust reveals a central depression.
When
the
deck is completely stripped back and the caulking lines are
satisfactory the Sikaflex has to be recoated, this time with primer, so
that the varnish will adhere to it. There is no point in masking the
boards during this procedure, as the primer is excellent at getting up
under masking tape. Instead, the painstaking task of painting the caulk
has to be done freehand with a small brush. Any primer which gets onto
the wood might leave a different colour than will be achieved with the
varnish.
Then, the alternating stripes of Monocel on the beech and Cetol on the mahogany is reapplied. After that, the Monocel can be put over all the deck, as the Cetol is being used only as a stain.
Work begins on the starboard foredeck. The mahogany is given the first treatment, and only the decking strips, not the covering boards. That is because the colour variation in the covering boards has meant that five of them had to be coated with the Teak Finish version of Cetol, while the other was done in the Natural.
Then, the alternating stripes of Monocel on the beech and Cetol on the mahogany is reapplied. After that, the Monocel can be put over all the deck, as the Cetol is being used only as a stain.
Work begins on the starboard foredeck. The mahogany is given the first treatment, and only the decking strips, not the covering boards. That is because the colour variation in the covering boards has meant that five of them had to be coated with the Teak Finish version of Cetol, while the other was done in the Natural.
I
am
using three coats of Cetol on the mahogany strips, before
overcoating them with the Monocel. Each one takes a day to dry, so
progress is slow. Here, the mahogany strips and the covering boards
have been done, and the beech is next.
Between
coats
I have time to knock off the plugs on the port gunwale, and trim
the horn from the end of the stem. Up to now it has provided a useful
hanger for the camera, but its time has come.
The treatment of the tip of the stem.
163. Attending to the Transom
The treatment of the tip of the stem.
Note
the
two small wedges behind the tip of the stem. They were necessary
because the covering boards did not sit quite far enough forward to
meet the full width of the stem. I am hoping that the colour
discrepancy evens
out with some more finish.
The hatch covers are next, and this is the time to cut the holes in them for the vents to work. I used teak finger rings to line the holes. These will be hidden under the clam shell vents when they are replaced after the covers are varnished.
Finger ring openings in the hatch covers.
The hatch covers are next, and this is the time to cut the holes in them for the vents to work. I used teak finger rings to line the holes. These will be hidden under the clam shell vents when they are replaced after the covers are varnished.
Finger ring openings in the hatch covers.
With
the
hatches closed the foredeck is now complete, except that the beech
has to be coated too.
The starkness of the white beech is lost with the first coat of Monocel, but the grain pattern is accentuated.
The starkness of the white beech is lost with the first coat of Monocel, but the grain pattern is accentuated.
While
waiting
for drying times I can shift my
attention to the rear deck for more of the same.
Sanding and revarnishing start on the starboard.
Sanding and revarnishing start on the starboard.
The
rear
deck proves to be more difficult than the foredeck was. The
decking strips are slightly cupped in the middle, which means that the
sanding pad cannot reach the edges and the caulk. Sanding here has had
to
be more aggressive to flatten the cupped strips. That, in turn, brought
out the noise sensitive neighbour storming up the drive again, so for
the sake of peace I can only do a little at a time. Hence, the
revarnishing of the starboard is started before the sanding of the port
has begun.
After some time:
After some time:
The situation at the transom was
caused by it being built in two halves. There is now a slight
discrepancy in thickness between the top and bottom halves, with the
top sitting a few millimetres proud of the bottom, more especially on
the port side. This has to be planed back to be level. Because of the
work needed there I have not painted the wood, apart from some
undercoat, so that needs to be done too. The view is best shot in a
mirror leaning on the wall.
The position of the boat in the garage makes in awkward to get at the transom, especially with tools, and the curve makes in difficult enough to plane anyway, so the easiest solution seems to be to take the power planer to it, and then sand out any planing marks at the end. That means that the stub end of the gunwale, which has only been roughly trimmed to length, has to be removed to allow the plane to get in. That will give access to the lip on the upper transom.
The stub on the gunwale (left), and the offending lip (right).
The position of the boat in the garage makes in awkward to get at the transom, especially with tools, and the curve makes in difficult enough to plane anyway, so the easiest solution seems to be to take the power planer to it, and then sand out any planing marks at the end. That means that the stub end of the gunwale, which has only been roughly trimmed to length, has to be removed to allow the plane to get in. That will give access to the lip on the upper transom.
The stub on the gunwale (left), and the offending lip (right).
Once the stub is
trimmed and shaped, the machinery makes quick work of removing the lip,
and the stern log is given a coat of Cetol for colour. The green boot
top will be extended almost up to the level of the clear finish,
resulting in
a two tone log (with a white stripe and a lower lip of grey bottom
coat). All my attentions to the fitting of the two components
of the stern log, which were designed to make it look as if it came
from a single piece of timber, were only partially successful. The
casual observer may be fooled, but a close inspection shows up the
difference in colour between the face grain of the transom and the edge
grain of the top piece.
The trimmed stub of the gunwale (left), and the view of the transom in the mirror (right).
The joint line on the top of the stern log.
The trimmed stub of the gunwale (left), and the view of the transom in the mirror (right).
The joint line on the top of the stern log.
The transom up to
the level of the bright work is now re-coated in Prekote, in
preparation for the new boot top.
The white Prekote and first coat of the green boot top.
The white Prekote and first coat of the green boot top.
After
the boot top is completed, the white boat side colour is carried across
the transom to give it a bit of definition.
Next,
the grey bottom paint is restored along the base of the transom,
resulting in a transom boot top the same width as the side.
Once the transom is
complete, the rest of the month is taken up in varnishing, sanding,
varnishing and sanding again, until the necessary UV protection of at
least four coats is in place. There is not much to show during this
process, so an update can wait until it is finished. I was not happy
with the finish on the forward and side covering boards, so off it
came. That means even more delay.
An unsatisfactory covering board job (left) is stripped back to bare wood (centre), and started again (right).
An unsatisfactory covering board job (left) is stripped back to bare wood (centre), and started again (right).
But the rear deck is
beginning to look good, so there is hope.
The rear deck.
The rear deck.
Finally,
I am happy with the covering boards, and the foredecking is beginning
to shape up too.
A word
of warning about the Monocel, however: the instructions advise that if
a large area is involved a short nap mohair roller can be used, which I
did. The result was a hairy boat, and another day wasted sanding that
layer back for recoating with a conventional brush technique. That is a
pity, because the varnish dries quite quickly, and it is not possible
to go back and brush out the stokes after a few minutes. The best
approach seems to be to start at the back, where a covering board meets
the stern log, and work forward and around the boat, tipping off the
stroke marks as you go, until you get back to the point where you started. If you
start at the front, your last lot of brushing will get you back to the
meeting joint of the forward covering boards, and you will foul the
area you began at.
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