Interior Sanding (Final)

November 26, 2018

After copious amounts of triptophane, I was able to make it out of the house for a solid day of grinding the interior  - the final day of grinding.  I donned the grinding outfit (Tyvek suit, gloves, full-face respirator and hearing protection), and got to it.  I made a full day of it, eager to be done with this aspect of the Allied's restoration.  The weather is now easing a bit here in the sunny south, and that has made this task bearable. I've done a past bottom job in Tyvek, in the summer, in Florida....and it's not fun.  The weather is the thing - to borrow from, with alteration, one of the Bard's famous lines. 

I outfitted my 4.5" angle grinder with a 40-grit flap wheel and removed the old paint, and generally smoothed out the heavy roving used to layup the coach roof.  Using an angle grinder on laminate is not for the faint of heart....especially on surfaces that will be visible.  The grinder is a bull in a china shop, with the flap wheel somewhat taming the beast slightly.  The operator needs a keen hand and concentration to ensure the surfaces are not "dished out" in abusive regularity and severity.  I do have several places to fill and fare, so the surface at the moment are far from where I intend for them to be.  Finishing the surfaces will come, along with several other tasks.

It felt good to have this aspect of the refit completed.  I started at the bow, grinding the overhead.  At the bow I will be rebuilding the foredeck, to correct a previous repair attempt that was done in a completely temporary manner.  With future fiberglass work in mind, I ground the surrounding surfaces of the obscene opening to ensure it was ready to receive new glass.  I then made my way back on the port side, working the overhead and the surfaces beneath the side deck.  I worked the cabin top overhead next, and then turned my attention to the port hull sides.  I finished on the aft portion of the cabin - the surfaces beneath the bridge deck and the forward surface of the cockpit well.  

It was awful...but it's done!

Total Time Today: 6.5 hrs

Sanding Interior (Part 2)

November 18, 2018

** Graphic Content - Photo Redacted **

Just sanding and grinding the interior...lots of dust, full-face respirator, Tyvek suit, Porter Cable 7335, angle grinder with a 40-grit flap disc....misery!  Nobody likes this part of a refit...unless they are a gluten for punishment.  Based upon today's progress, I estimate one more session of this loveliness.

Total Time Today: 3 hrs

Interior Sanding (Part 1)

November 10, 2018

Getting back to the Allied 24 was of priority this weekend, since the past days and previous weekend were busy with alternate responsibilities.  The day's focus was grinding the interior paint and loose tabbing that had secure the forward anchor locker / collision bulkhead and the primary bulkheads.

I used a Porter Cable 7335 with a 6" PSA pad and 40-grit discs to begin with.  After my second 6" disc the adhesive surface layer decided it wanted to separate from the pad, rendering the PSA pad scrap bin worthy.  I tossed it, and replaced it with a 5" hook and loop pad.  I started back up with 5" 40-grit discs and completed the forward half of the boat.

I began in the anchor locker, worked my way back to the location of the starboard primary bulkhead.  I sanded the hull, stopping just above the v-berth and just below the hull-to-deck joint.  When I made it back to the starboard bulkhead, I moved back forward and repeated on the port side of the boat.  I managed to make a fine mess today.

Total Time Today: 3 hrs

Tabbing the Aft Bulkhead (Lazarette)

November 4, 2018

I had more ambitious plans for the day than what I ultimately was able to accomplish.  I got into some other home-related tasks around the house, and with the time change, I just ran out of both time and ambition.  The second half of the work session was down after the sun went down.  I don't much enjoy the "fall-back", as I'm more of a "spring-forward" kind of guy.  I decided to at least get the new tabbing on the aft surface of the lazarette bulkhead.  The tabbing that is currently on the bulkhead looked to be in the 4" width range, and suspect in several spots.  The grinding I had done the previous day focused on removing loose tabbing as well as roughing the surfaces that I would soon be laminating on top of.

Anyway, I began by sanding a couple places on the recently ground surface that I wasn't convinced was ready for any further epoxy work.  I then vacuumed the surfaces of the lazarette, and then thoroughly wiped the surfaces with a solvent to remove any remaining debris and contaminants. 

I measured the length of the tabbing at the bulkhead itself, and decided upon two 39" lengths of 6" wide 1708 biaxial cloth tabbing "tape".  To then make it easier to wet out and carry over to the boat, I cut each of those 39" length in half.  Seen below, the first of the 39" length halved and ready to be wet out.  However, before I wet out the tabbing material, I needed to apply a layer of neat epoxy to the fresh surface within the lazarette.  I mixed a pot of "neat" epoxy - straight epoxy resin and hardener without any thickening agent - and then applied it to the areas I would soon be working.  My next task was to mix a batch of thickened epoxy to spread onto the soon to be tabbed surfaces to fill any voids that existed.  The epoxy resin I am using is West System, and the thickening agents, or fillers,  I used tonight are 406 Colloidal Silica and 407 Low-density, microballons.  I also applied the thickened epoxy to a few areas in the field of the hull itself that contained voids in the laminate.  I used a flexible, plastic squeegee to push the thickened epoxy into the voids and across the surface.

With the surface wet out and the thickened epoxy spread over the surfaces to create a smooth base, I was now ready to wet out the tabbing cloth itself.  I mixed a pot of neat epoxy and applied it to one surface the tabbing cloth with a chip brush.  I "painted" the epoxy onto the cloth and then flipped it to repeat for the other side. 

With the first 39" length of tabbing wet out, I walked it over to the boat and placed the first piece on the center line, overlapping to the port side, with most of the cloth laying on the starboard side.  The second piece of the 39" length overlapped the first by a few inches and continued up the starboard side.  Roughly 3" of the tabbing lie on the bulkhead and roughly 3" lie on the hull.

I repeated that process for the second 39" length, but this time oriented it to a port-side application.  With the tabbing in place, I then worked out air bubbles by hand as well as by using a fin roller.  Just forward of the engine/prop well (hole in the hull for the outboard engine), there was a fairly dramatic void that I uncovered after pulling out the rotten outboard bracket.  While there was curing epoxy on those surfaces, I used the opportunity to fill the void and apply a layer of 1708 biaxial cloth over it.  There will be more work to do in this portion of the boat, and it will be dependent on the owner's wishes for auxiliary propulsion.  But for now, the modest rebuild and improvement is satisfying.

Total Time Today: 2 hrs

Sanding the Lazarette

November 3, 2018

Having family up for the weekend brought me to a later start time in the day than I had originally planned.  The weather has turned here in the hot southeast United States, and when you have days like this and projects like this, you need to take the time to done the anti-itch fiberglass-preventative clothing and get in there!  Alas, I had a fraction of the time I intended, so I carved out a smaller goal for the day: the lazarette. 

Using a 4" angle grinder and a couple flap-disc wheels, I managed to take the surface down to bare fiberglass.  

If my ultimate goal was to simply repaint the surfaces in the lazarette, then I would have rough-sanded the surface and called it "good".  However, since I had removed shelving and the outboard bracket, and also needed to re-tab the bulkhead, I had to take the surface down to bare glass.

In addition to the work listed above, I also need to fill in the outboard's lower unit and prop well.  The new owner of this Allied 24 Greenwich is opting for a Torqueedo electric motor that has an alternate installation.  The opening in the boat's lazarette will be glassed in, with support added to aid in the installation of the electric motor.

I managed to have time to radius the deck surrounding the installation area of the new core and topskin for the aft port cleat.  I grinded a few additional areas that required repair: raised lip for lazarette hatch, and a few spots along the aft cockpit transverse. 

Total Time Today: 3 hrs