Finishing the 12V Battery Tray, Sanding & Painting the V-berth Floor

April 10, 2020

In addition to the core work today, sanding and priming the v-berth floor as well as finishing the 12V battery tray, I knocked out a few odds and ends. Starting with the cleats on the forward panel of the landing platform (aka 48V battery box).  I removed the tape protecting the surrounding surface, and generally cleaned up the epoxy squeeze out.

I marked and drilled two fastener holes for each cleat, choosing #10-24 machine screws that were 1.75" in length.  With the tight clearance once installed, not wanting to make installing and removing the forward panel a chore, I chose to slightly over drill the holes and tap the vertical surface of the fiberglass settee.  

I set the forward panel in situ, and using an awl, then marked the locations to drill for the machine screws.

After pre-drilling for the #10-24 machine screws, I tapped the holes for the #10-24 threads.

I managed one shot of the dry-fitted forward panel - the photo below is of the port side, interior of the battery box / landing platform.

I also removed the protective tape and cleaned up any cured epoxy squeeze out on the two small cleats for the landing platform / battery box side panels.  These cleats would keep the side panels in vertical alignment, allowing for the lid of the landing platform to be raised and lowered unencumbered. 

I then turned my attention to the first of the two core projects for the day's session: tabbing in the aft cross brace for the 12V battery tray.  I started by removing the protective tape I had applied in yesterday's work session.  Next, I applied some plastic sheeting in order to create templates for the 1708 biaxial fiberglass cloth.  

In the shop, I applied the templates to a roll of 1708 biaxial cloth, and removed the required pieces.

I mixed up a small pot of resin and applied it to the surfaces of the substrate on which I would apply the tabbing...wetting out the surfaces.

Sorry for the clumsy appearance, but I applied a few small pieces of peel ply to the tabbed aft cross brace and it looks a bit wonky.  The peel ply will limit the sanding I'll have to do prior to applying epoxy barrier coat paint.

That completed one of two core projects; the other being sanding and painting the v-berth floor.  In this area, I had previously removed two capped through-hulls, opened up the access, fabricated a new floor with a new access hatch, and tabbed the new floor to the existing substrate.  I was now ready to sand the second round of fairing filler and prime it for finish paint.  As described, I sanded with 120-grit paper, blending in the West System 410 Microlight fairing filler, cleaned up thoroughly, and then applied a couple coats of Interlux Primekote (epoxy-based primer).

I also primed the top of the v-berth floor hatch, which completed the day's work.

Total Time Today: 4.5 hrs