Yesterday I continued sanding the cabin. After sanding for about an hour and a half, I decided to rest my shoulders and focus on installing the two main saloon bulkheads. I'd coated the ends of the bulkheads in epoxy a few days prior, so after a water rinse I placed one bulkhead and used a couple shims hot-glued to the hull to hold the bulkhead square and level while I placed fillets around its edges. The port bulkhead in, I did the same to the starboard bulkhead. It feels so incredibly good to have begun reconstruction. This day has been (far) too many years in the making.
The next three pictures are of the sanding progress. The white interior paint was flaking and mildewed in spots. I'm taking the surface back to either fiberglass or what appears to be a lightweight fairing compound Whitby used originally. I'm thinking about using Petit's EasyPoxy when it comes time to paint the interior. In the FWIW department, I timed myself sanding an area approximately 2'x2'. It took me 25 minutes. I estimate there are about five 2'x2' areas remaining on the cabin overhead. That's 2 hours of sanding left to do.
2 comments:
WOW! What a difference a couple of walls makes. Looking good. Pardon my ignorance, but what do you mean by "placed fillets around its edges."? I just removed the port bulkhead separating the cabin from the head. At the very least it needs severe refinishing, if not replacing, as do all of the bulkheads on #456 due to water damage and years of neglect.
Chip,
A fillet is simply a radius - usually created with thickened epoxy - that eases the transition between the bulkhead and the hull, thereby enabling the subsequent layer(s) of fiberglass tabbing to make an equally smooth transition from the plywood to the hull. Does that make sense? Fiberglass cloth does not like to make sharp bends, hence the need for fillets. Fillets also provide additional structural integrity to the joint.
Best of luck with your project! I'm looking forward to reading more about it.
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