June 8, 2019
As is the case most often when sanding work is on the docket....I spent most of today with the smallish 5" random orbital sander. I wanted to get past the cabin fairing and sanding to then move into painting the interior (where possible given other to-dos).
I started in the cabin, hitting the areas that I had applied a second round of fairing filler to, and then moved into the v-berth space forward of the cabin. With the sanding completed on the interior surfaces for the day, I came back and solvent-washed the areas that required further work - primarily the space at the intersection of the overhead and cabin sides, as well as the overhead and integral mast support beam intersection.
A void persisted at the overhead and cabin sides intersection, and my intention was to fill this area for aesthetic purposes. I wet the surfaces out, and then applied thickened epoxy to the void, using a squeegee to shape and smooth out the application of material.
I moved forward and applied a fillet at the intersection of the overhead and integral mast support beam. I wanted to also "clean" this area up visually, and this fillet would do the job. I will be applying one last layer of 1708 biaxial cloth to the mast support beam and wrapping up onto the overhead forward and aft of the beam, and this fillet would further allow ease of installation.
I finished with the starboard side; yes, that same "void" between the cabin side and overhead.
I pushed the thickened epoxy mixture in as far forward until the space was adequately filled.
Prior to finishing up the interior for the day, I got to work on the coach roof where the companionway is located. For some reason the balsa core was left exposed once I had removed the original companionway trim, so this needed attention prior to installing the new trim.
I chose to remove roughly 3/8" of core material between the top and bottom skins of the coach roof construction. That void was then cleaned and wet out with "neat" epoxy, followed by a liberal application of thickened epoxy. This barrier, once sanded, would allow for a neat appearance and also prevent any stray H2O molecules from reaching the balsa core material.
Finally, I moved out to the cockpit to continue work in this area of the Allied 24. I two goals for the day: apply a 410 microlight fairing compound to the water gutter outboard of the seating and at the base of the coamings, and fill the old fastener holes that had previously secured the cockpit locker lids. I began by vacuuming and then solvent-washing the previously sanded surfaces. I then followed that with a solvent-wash to clear any remaining detritus.
I first applied the 410 microlight to the gutter, and using a wood tongue depressor (an excellent and inexpensive stir tool), spreading the thickened epoxy over the surface that I had prepared with the Makita 1" belt sander as well as the "hand-sander". The difficulty in getting a tool in there presented by the tight radius of the gutter made my decision to use the microlight filler all the more obvious - the 410 microlight is an easy sand material.
I then applied a thickened epoxy mixture of 406 colloidal silica and 407 low-density filler to the outboard of the seat locker's raised lip - the locker lids had been secured with fasteners to this outboard lip. I dished out the old fasteners holes with an angle grinder, essentially creating a tapered surface area to accept more epoxy material. With the old fastener holes filled, I will come back and sand smooth (aka "fair").
Total Time Today: 5.5 hrs
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