Sanding the Topsides & Fairing the Counter

October 10, 2019

I took some vacation since it was accumulating and in need of being utilized...so I got started this morning with finishing the topsides sanding.  I used the Bosch vacuum system and the 6" random orbital sander with 60-grit discs.  I had last left off roughly amidships on the starboard side, the port side being complete.  I worked moving forward to the bow, sanding from just below the cove tripe to the just below the old waterline.

I left paint around the bow (what would be the cutwater on a wooden vessel), saving that for hand sanding so as to not overly get into the gelcoat.

With the starboard side complete (with the exception of the portion just above the cove stripe, both starboard and port), I moved to the stern of the boat.  I worked to remove material from both the port and starboard outboard edges in toward the center line.  The dark strip in the center is fairing compound from patching the fastener holes from the old aft chain plate.

Next, I water-washed the 1708 biaxial cloth I added to the outboard engine well patch and motor mount installation, and then sanded this surface with 60-grit paper to rough it up for further epoxy work.

As a final to-do before heading out of town for the weekend, I applied a skim coat of fairing compound to begin fairing in the fiberglass work on the counter of the boat.

Total Time Today: 4 hrs