Sunday, April 09, 2006

Das new grindermaschine

So I dissected the DeWalt angle grinder and the postmortem revealed a blown apart bearing. A trip to Lowe's in search of a replacement bearing turned up nothing (big surprise!), so I went ahead and forked out $50 from the boat fund to buy a Hitachi. Why the Hitachi? Because the DeWalt was $89 - and I don't have that much mileage on the one that died. Also, I found a place on the internet that sells the DeWalt replacement bearing for $8. I'll order that, get the DeWalt working again, and keep it for backup.




By the time I'd returned home from Lowe's I only had about two hours to spend on Tradewinds, so I went to work with my new grinder and 36 grit flapper wheel - what a beaut! That flapper wheel makes all the difference: it makes short work of the paint without removing too much fiberglass. In fact, the thing works so well, I'm nearly done with all of the grinding. All I have left are a few tough spots around the chainplates that still need tabbing cut/ground out and I'm ready to give the interior a good cleaning and wipedown and begin the bulkhead installation.
With bulkhead work around the corner, I'll need to get two sheets of Okume to use between the saloon and head compartment and hanging locker. I already have two sheets of furniture grade oak that I'm using for such non-structural parts as the settee, nav station/ice box, and engine compartment.
In other news, the Tyvek suit finally went into the trash today. It was a good run, but it's time to buy another.
And in yet more other news, although I'm completely thrilled with the work involved in restoring Tradewinds, there are times when I look around and ask myself, "Where will it end?!" And I'm not talking about rebuilding the interior, that was (more or less) the plan from the beginning. I'm talking about all those little things that I'd like to change, the things I'd do differently if it were my boat, THE boat and not just a project. There has to be a line, though. The problem is that I'm always trying to figure out exactly where that line is. Is it before or after that bilge pump thru hull that should have been located on the transom? Or what about reconfiguring the v-berth to accommodate a water tank? Or repainting the bootstripe? Or resurfacing the cabin sole? The fact that it's so easy to fall in love with a boat like this makes things that much more complicated. I suppose it's only natural to want to see her functional, updated, glistening - everything a classic Alberg design ought to be.
And so I wait and evaluate as work continues. The hours of grinding offer me a chance to plan and consider just what must be done and what should be left to her new owner as they too become a part of the dream.

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