Final Coats of Topside Primer & Spot Fairing

November 17, 2019

Having just completed a move into our new home, I finished the weekend off with a few hours on the Allied 24.  I began by sanding the topsides - the first and second coat of primer - as well as some areas that I spot-filled with fairing compound.  These were the small voids that were made obvious and visible by way of the application of primer paint.

In a combination of hand work and machine, I covered both sides of the boat, including the cove stripe.

In a previous session I had applied fairing compound to the where the motor mount would be installed as well, and so I completed the sanding (fairing) of this addition to the boat.  Well, I did have a few pinholes that would need another coat.

I test fit the motor mount and all was looking good...according to plan!

Prior to the final round of fairing for the motor mount, I went ahead and mixed a couple pots of the Alexseal Finish Primer to apply to the topsides.  I worked from the port aft quarter and forward to the bow, and then from the starboard bow to the aft quarter.  I completed two trips around the boat, and with the previous sanding, I achieved great results in the layout of the material.  I had also thinned the paint a bit more in this third and fourth coat, which aided in the flow of the paint.  As you can see, I had to erect some lighting for the final hour of work.

To wrap a long and busy weekend up, I applied a final skim coat of fairing compound to the motor mount.  In my next work session I will sand this area fair, reapply tape for the waterline, and complete the priming of the exterior of the boat.  The stern of the Allied 24 is also under some fairing work, but will be incorporated with the motor mount for the final priming work on the exterior.

Total Time Today: 5 hrs

Sanding the Topsides Primer & Spot-Fairing

November 11, 2019

Arriving back in town in the afternoon, I was able to get onto the boat by 2:30.  My focus was to get the first two coats of Alexseal Finish Primer sanded, so that I could spot fill the many small voids that suddenly were [more] visible due to the paint application.  

I started at the port side bow, using 9" X 12" sheets of 100-grit sandpaper cut, quartered into more manageable sizes.  

I "cut-in" along the tape line (aka waterline), and then worked my way up to the sheer line.

The primer is extremely durable, which is good for the durability aspect of the topsides paint, but tough slogging for the hand-sanding human!

At the conclusion of the sanding, I brought out my small pancake air compressor, and then blew out off the sanding dust.  I made sure that I covered the surface with the compressed air so that the small voids would also be revealed.  

I then wiped down the surface with a solvent to remove any remaining sanding dust, and there was enough to certainly warrant this task.

Retreating to the shop, I mixed a smallish amount of the TotalBoat TotalFair epoxy fairing compound.  The two-part system contains a soft yellow paste and a blue, mixed together thoroughly catalyzes the epoxy, known when the yellow and blue turn to green, and remains soft (in Florida) for a period of ~15 minutes. 

I slowly worked my way around the boat searching for and filling the pinhole voids.  I did this by hand, simply pushing the fairing compound into the voids and ensuring that there was enough standing proud of the surrounding surface to then sand back fair.

I finished at the aft port quarter.  It is amazing how many of these small voids were revealed with the grey primer paint applied.  The topsides were far from uniform in color palette after sanding, and the made identifying the voids nearly impossible.  The first two coats of primer served as a great base, but also served as a way to see these voids.

I finished the evening by fairing out the recently fiberglass reinforced Torqeedo motor mount.  I had recently completed the angle of attack for the motor installation, that is setting the mounting pad so that the propeller pushed water at a slight downward angle.  As part of that adjustment, I wrapped the exposed portion of the base in 1708 biaxial and 10oz fiberglass cloth.  Once I had sanded the surplus cured fiberglass from the motor mount, I then needed to come back and fair the weave of the cured fiberglass.  I did the fairing this evening, and purposefully over applied the West System epoxy fairing compound slightly to ensure that I could hand shape the final product and be ready for the next round of primer paint.

Total Time Today: 3 hrs

Deadlight Frames & Sanding

November 6, 2019

With a bit of time in the evening to give to the Allied 24, I got to work on unclamping the deadlight frames...

...and then sanding the squeeze out epoxy from the glue-up.  Later in the work session, I continued work on cleaning up the port deadlight - a tenacious battle with butyl tape.

I moved over to the motor mount aperture that required a bit of alteration.  Due to the location of the motor mount, as dictated by the lazarette bulkhead, I needed to alter the angle of the assembly of the Torqeedo motor,  I did this by gluing in a G-10 board that replicated the shape of the Torqeedo motor.

With the G-10 fiberglass board installed and rectifying the angle of attack needed for the motor, I proceeded to trim the excess fiberglass, and also smooth the transition onto the counter of the boat.

The work came out as planned, as can be seen in the photograph below, the angle of attack is moving downward from forward to aft.  

Total Time Today: 1 hr

Deadlight Frames & Motor Mount Fiberglass Work

November 5, 2019

With the boat now level, the plane of the motor mount aperture was not level to the waterline.  In fact, the propeller would have promoted an upward push of water - I wanted the opposite.  I wanted the angle of the propeller to be ever so slightly oriented downward.  So to that end, I fabricated a piece of 3/8" thick G-10 fiberglass board in the teardrop shape of the motor mounting pad.  I would glue this board into the aperture at a downward angle, fore to aft, and then fiberglass it to the counter of the boat. 

My first step was to sand away the primer that I had just applied.  It was tenacious in its grip - a good thing, and happy to have strained through it.  I cleaned up the sanding debris with a bit of acetone to prep for the installation of the G-10 board.

Back in the shop, I laid out the materials that I would need for this project:  the G-10 board, two cuts of 1708 biaxial cloth and 2 cuts of 10oz cloth.  I mixed a cup of West System resin and wet out the fiberglass, as well as the bottom surface and edges of the G-10 board.  I then went over to the boat to wet out the surfaces to be worked.

Next, I thickened the remaining resin with a combination of 406 colloidal silica and 407 low-density filler, and knowing it would not be enough, I mixed another small cup of thickened epoxy.  I applied this thickened epoxy to the backside of the G-10 board, and then inserted it into the motor mount aperture.  With a small level, I ensure that my fore-to-aft angle was appropriately sloping downward, and I also ensured that the G-10 board was level in an athwartship orientation.

I then wrapped the epoxy assembly in the 1708 and 10oz fabrics.  Later, I will come back and knock off the excess glass and sand all to smooth and fair.  I will no doubt apply a skim coat of fairing compound to bring the surface into a state that it is ready for primer and paint.

I then turned my attention to the required frames, or spacers, for the deadlights  - the two non-opening ports within the main cabin space.  I wanted to improve the look a bit, and so decided to utilize a bot of teak to create the frames.  The exterior and interior deadlight assembly was too thick for the ~3/16" thick cabin sides, thus the need to fill some space.

I selected a few boards from the cull bin, and devised a plan to utilize them.  I decide on a ~1/2" thick deadlight spacer/frame, and cut it thusly on the table saw.  

** A note to caution:  operating power tools is a serious endeavor, take your time, use the safety tools prescribed (i.e. pusher sticks, etc.).  On this occasion, I nearly ripped into the pad of my thumb!

With all boards cut, I began the layout for gluing them up.

I protected the work table with plastic, and then laid out the frame boards.  I wet out the edges to be glued together, and then came back with thickened epoxy, applying a bit to each glue edge.  With clamps, and then creative weights, I assembled the frames.  Later, I will cut out the frames/spacers to be used in the deadlight assembly.

Total Time Today: 3.5 hrs

Spot Fairing & Priming the Topsides

November 3, 2019

Today's focus was getting the first couple coats of primer on the topsides, so to that end I began by first water-washing the spot fairing that I applied yesterday evening on the topsides and cove stripe.  After water-washing to remove the waxy amine blush, I sanded the areas smooth and fair by both hand and the small 5" random orbital sander.  I also sanded the skim coat of fairing compound I applied to the outboard well repair.  After sanding these areas I noticed there were some additional pinholes and small voids to correct, so I prepped the area for a bit more spot filling.  This would not impinge on my goal of getting primer on the topsides since I would be using the TotalBoat TotalFair product, which can be sanded in 3 to 4 hours.  So, after applying the additional fairing compound, I turned my attention to striking the new waterline.

My first task was to level the boat (i.e. the waterline).  I made numerous adjustments to the sailboat stands, moving back and forth and around the boat, to get the cribbage levels to the height that the boat would be resting on them at a level orientation.  With the boat level, I could then decide on and strike the new waterline.  I found the height of the waterline that I wanted, which was at the lower edge of the original boot stripe.  This would be a classic work boat layout for the paint scheme: finished topside paint in direct contact with the bottom paint, or anti-foul paint.  There would be no boot stripe applied.  Classic is timeless.  Happy with the height, I made my way around the boat marking the new waterline - the bottom edge of the topsides paint - and used a couple tools to do so.  The first tool I used was a micro-level, walking it around the boat while marking as I went.  The second tool, or process, was to erect a horizontal batten at the bow of the boat, level with the new waterline. I then mounted a string to it and walked it back making sure the string was level.  This was to mostly verify that the waterline I marked on the hull with the micro-level was correct.  It was, so I moved forward.  I applied tape to the marks that I made on the hull every 3 to 4 inches, fairing the line as I went.  I finished up both port and starboard, and then came back to dial in the waterlines - "plural" meaning both the starboard and port.  After I was finished, and happy, with the waterline I moved on to sanding the few areas that I spot filled with the TotalFair product.   

After sanding the last minute fairing work, I cleaned the topsides with acetone to prep for the primer paint.  The primer, and finish paint, that I would be using is from Alexseal.  This two-part finish paint system, Alexseal Premium Topcoat 501, is an excellent product that has a great hardness and an ability to wet sand and buff out repair areas.  The two-part primer I am using is Alexseal Finish Primer 442.   

With the waterline struck and the topsides prepped, I mixed the two components of the primer paint and sat them to the side for the 20-minute induction period.  I did not have a good idea for the exact amount of paint to mix up for the two coats to be applied.  Just from experience, I decided on two batches of ~22 ounces of primer paint.  The mix ratio is 1:1, so I poured in ~11 ounces of the primer each into two cups, and then added 11 ounces of the converter.  I waited the 20 minutes for the paint to catalyze, and then thinned one of the cups by 15 to 20%.

Using the first cup of the two, I applied one coat to the near entirety of the topsides.  I was not intending to prime the stern in this session, given the fact that I needed so do some more fairing of the chainplate repairs, so in the end, the "guestimate" of the amount of paint that I would need was surprisingly accurate.

After finishing the first coat, as well as some spot painting on the stern, I completed a second trip around the boat with the final application of primer paint...for today.  In the application of the first two coats of primer tonight, I noticed many small voids in the gelcoat that would require spot-fill work.  This is not an issue, or aggravating, just part of the process of building a good substrate for a fine looking finish paint. 

Total Time Today: 6.5 hrs

Sanding the Topsides and Cockpit & Completing the Companionway Hatch

November 2, 2019

With the deadline on the project just around the corner, the need for full days on the weekends in at hand.  There will likely be some vacation taken in the coming weeks, and the holidays certainly provide some additional work time.  Today, my focus is on fairing the topsides.  The owner decided on Alexseal's Flag Blue - an awesome choice for the topsides paint - and as such, I will need to ensure that the topsides surface is without blemish.  The dark blue color shows even the slightest of issue on the boats surface.

I broke out the longboard...not to drop in on a perfect left, bottom turn with a long smooth arc into a hang ten, but to fair the surface of the topsides.  The longboard would ensure that I bridge high and low spots over a length of roughly two feet, helping to fair the surface.

I started at the port bow, working the sprayed on guide coat.

The hand sanding with the longboard was a task requiring endurance, but ended up yielding great results.

I worked the surface in a crosshatch pattern - working top-forward to bottom aft, and then reversed that motion.

I turned at the transom and began my path to the starboard bow.

As I finished up the topsides fairing at the starboard bow, I moved onto the cove stripe.  In a previous work session I applied fairing compound to cracks, voids, and shallow spots within the cove stripe, and now I'd hand sand to fair it out.  I completed the starboard and port cove stripes.

With the topsides finished, I moved back to the counter to sand the previous application of fairing compound.  I sanded this with the Bosch and 80-grit pads.  

I then moved up into the cockpit to sand the starboard molded fiberglass coaming, where it transitions to the gutter.  This sanding was done by hand due to the tight radius between the gutter and coaming transition.

I used 60, 80, and 150-grit paper to work the surface fair.

I then moved onto the bridge deck to begin to fair in the core repair that I had recently undertook.  I sanded this area with 80-grit discs and the Bosch 6" sander.

I vacuum up the sanding debris, wiped the surface with acetone, and applied a skim coat of the TotalBoat TotalFair fairing epoxy-based fairing compound.  The bridge deck will require at least one more application of fairing compound.

While I was dialing in the "fairness" of surfaces, I applied another skim coat to the counter - the patched outboard well and new Torqeedo motor mount.  I used West System epoxy and a combination of 406 colloidal silica and 407 low-density fairing compound.

Time to get all Norm Abrams!  I love transitioning to working with wood, after spending so much time in fiberglass.  I brought out the companionway hatch, having just applied a sealer coat of varnish, and used some 150-grit paper to rough up the surfaces across the hatch.  Using compressed air, I blew off the sanding dust, and then wiped the surfaces down with a solvent.

The next step was to apply the teak decking caulk, so to that end I taped off the top of the hatch to protect against the caulk.

I applied the teak decking caulk to each of the grooves in the hatch top, and using a squeegee, I then pressed the caulk down to fully fill the groove.

I pulled the masking tape off the surface, and set the hatch out of harms way.  I will wait for the caulk to sure before sanding the material flush with the hatch surface.  Varnish on all three hatches will then begin!

As she sits today.   Nearly ready for topsides primer, and subsequent application of deck and cockpit primer. 

Total Time Today: 7.5 hrs