July 13, 2019
Getting back on the boat today I was eager to begin painting, but managed to somehow yet again delay that task. There s plenty to paint (I'm referring to interior surfaces here), and I just need to focus solely on painting in the work session instead of the many smaller tasks that still need to be done. I, however, did get straight into the sanding work. I began the sanding rounds in the cockpit well, first working the old ice box repair. After the sanding, I noticed two very small and very shallow low spots.
Next, I sanded the aft portion of the cockpit well. This surface is now ready for primer paint.
I moved into the boat to sand the mast support beam. In the previous work session I applied one final layer of 1708 biaxial cloth to the mast support beam in between the primary bulkheads. I had applied a layer of peel ply on top of the fiberglass, so sanding was kept to a minimum.
The forward portion of the boat (v-berth) is ready for paint, and will receive its first coat in the coming days.
I moved aft to sand the fairing compound I had applied to the companionway. This surface is also ready for primer paint.
Here's where the painting derailment took place. I was ready to solvent-wash the cockpit locker space after having earlier vacuumed it, but allure of resolving the old fastener holes and uneven surfaces on the transom was just too great. I ditched the painting idea and took to the stern.
The surface underneath where the aft chainplate resided was uneven, and it ran nearly the entire height of the transom. The old chainplate was very narrow, a bit on the thin side, and much too long. The owner of the Allied 24 is having new chainplates fabricated, with the new aft chainplate to be shorter and wider, with a bit more "meat on the bone". Aesthetically, the new aft chainplate will be a dramatic improvement.
So to repair the surface, I ground a convex surface from the deck to the counter. This area will have fiberglass applied to it as well as fairing compound to bring the surface to fair. I also tapered the old fastener holes to port of the aft chainplate surface repair.
In the lazarette, I easily removed what turned out to be a backing plate. The backing plate, at first, appeared to be glass to the hull's surface, but as it easily was removed then changed my plans on how to deal with it. Originally, I intended to taper the openings to the old fastener holes on the interior and fill them with thickened epoxy. With the backing plate off, I decided to now permanently glue it to the hull with epoxy resin, fill the holes, and then apply a layer of 1708 biaxial to the interior surface.
To get started, I cleaned up the surface of the hull where the backing plate was mounted, as well as the backing plate itself. I used a 40-grit flap wheel on the angle grinder to accomplish this. This tool always gives me pause...it's a little Tasmanian Devil in the hand.
With the surfaces prepped for further work, I solvent-washed them and then took some basic measurements for fiberglass. Where the old chainplate resided, and where in which I ground the convex surface, I wet the surface with epoxy resin and then applied two layers of cloth: a 10 oz layer and a 1708 biaxial layer.
I came back with thickened epoxy, and applied a layer to the chainplate surface and the old fastener holes to port.
On the interior, I applied a layer of 1708 biaxial to the aft chainplate "backing plate" (now epoxied to the surface of the hull), and to the interior side where the old fastener holes were located. On top of these fiberglass applications, I applied a layer of peel ply to reduce the sanding required for paint prep.
With the balance of the thickened epoxy, I faired out the overhead at the transition point of the integral mast support beam and the overhead itself. With a plastic squeegee, I pulled the fairing compound aft in order to fill the weave of the layer of 1708 biaxial I recently applied.
Total Time Today: 5 hrs
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