So, with nearly all of the hardware off of the boat, it is time to actually fix something. I decided to begin with what I consider my most obnoxious source of aggravation; the ice box lid in the cockpit. I have come very close to stepping through it more than once. The wood is rotten and it poses a serious safety hazard. It has to go!
The ice box lid is the wooden rectangle on the left. Since I will be working right there, I might as well cut out the compass cuddy thing in the center too! And why not fix the AC receptacle hole next to it? What about the old gauge hole on the right? I am going to dive in head first and fix all four holes!
I started on the inside by cutting out the ice box lid support ring thingamajig that hung down about 2 inches. It took up a lot of valuable space inside and was good for nothing. It is gone! I used a multi-tool with a plunge cut blade. This took only one beer to complete.
The now removed ice box lid and it's support ring. Looks better sitting there defeated than it did lounging around in the boat being a total slacker.
Holy crap! The hole is huge now! There is no way that I can span that gap with core and cloth with so little deck to tie in to fore and aft. I am going to need a good plan in order to fix that.
Next was cutting out the compass cuddy. You can see here that it is done. This took two beers and was a bear to cut through.
Take that compass cuddy!
They make a nice couple dont you think?
Another view. What an odd shaped hole and right where I need the deck to be super strong. This is right in front of the companionway and I will be stepping there dozens of times per day.
Next up was to grind and bevel the surfaces inside. Done.
And do the same outside. Remind me to take everything out of the boat, like my tools and stuff, before grinding. It took an hour to vacuum the dust that covered literally everything inside the boat.
I went back and grinded some more on these after this shot was taken.
I decided that the ice box hole needed something solid instead of core. So I cut a 13" x 17" piece of 1/4" G10 to use as a plug.
Here it is. I beveled the bottom edges and scuffed up the surface on both sides.
Test fit. It is going to work but I dont like how high it sits.
So I cut out a 1/8" deep slot or lip around the edge using a dremel with a router bit. This was a major pain in the ass and took 3 beers to complete.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, I bonded 3/8" core to the bottom of the plug. Much easier to do now than later, upside down.
Now, I know what you are thinking. "Ewwww he lives on a ranch" right?
Here is the ranch. The back patio of my apartment. :)
The pvc/tarp covering is an engineering marvel!
The ice box plug and the cuddy lid epoxied in place. I reused the cuddy lid because it is already shaped correctly and I felt that this repair needed extra strength. I also bonded 3/8" core to the bottom of it just like the ice box plug.
3 layers of 1708 over each hole. Moving fast now! I forgot to coat them with neat epoxy after they tacked up. The next morning I had to wash them to remove the wax before coating with neat and then fairing.
I also added another layer of 1708 in this depression as you may or may not be able to see here.
And all faired out! This is two coats. 11 West Systems "pumps" and 22 heaping tablespoons full of fairing filler. Mixing fairing putty is not the most fun thing in the world, trust me on that.
I also layed one layer of 1708 on the bottom of the ice box plug. Here it is being held up there with a piece of luan under 1" foam covered with plastic. You might be able to see some fairing over the lower part of the cuddy hole too.
There are some dry spots on the left where the 1708 didnt stick to the deck. I am going to have to grind it off and fix it up later when I start on the interior.
Well, thats it! I am kinda caught up with updates. It feels nice to be current after such a long hiatus. As you can see I have been busy working on the boat and have not abandoned my project or my dream!
I am on vacation this week and will be working on the boat. I hope to make some real progress on the decks when it is not raining and sanding/grinding on the interior when it is raining. It is raining right now so I better get busy, adios!
