Having stripped the components that are not part of the hull, I now needed to clear coat them all with resin.
The rudder cheeks looked like this.
And here are the drop boards, tabernacle, and the centreboard patches.
Having stripped the components that are not part of the hull, I now needed to clear coat them all with resin.
The rudder cheeks looked like this.
When stripping the paint from the bottom and sides of the hull with the sander I inevitably sanded through the fibreglass to bare wood in a few places.
The same thing happened on the centreboard.
For this reason I am going to strip the topsides with paint stripper only, now I know how effective it is.
So, fibreglass cloth patches needed to be applied over all the bare spots.
I marked them all up with bits of tape so that I didn't miss any. As here.
I want the new paint to have the best possible substrate, and for the hull to be as strong as it can be. So although tedious and time consuming, this preparation is really important.
It was time to remove the paint from the various components which had been removed from the boat.
I started on the drop boards. I tried using paint stripper but quickly realised that there was no real need, and switched to the sander and P80 grit, as here.
I used the sander on the centreboard too. I had to also use stripper on the curved surfaces, and it turned out well. This is it.
The outside of the tabernacle was easy to sand, but the inside had to be stripped. I used plenty of stripper left for 45 minutes, and then scrubbed the paint off with a stainless steel scouring ball. Like this.
I started work on the boat again at the end of March, beginning with the removal of the three remaining portlights which I didn't have time to do before we left on our travels in January.
This started well and the first two came away from the cabin sides easily, as here
However when I came to the final (port, rear) portlight it was a different story.
It absolutely refused to budge, and I had to prise it off with an old screwdriver. It left a ridge of hard, dry caulk inside and outside the cabin. Like this.
I wondered why this had happened and remembered that I used an old tube of caulk when I started on the portlights, and soon ran out so had to buy a new tube. The new stuff was fine - it cured to be soft and flexible and easy to remove, but the old stuff was obviously past its best.
This is the caulk I am using.
I wanted to remove the centreboard while it was accessible again, for three reasons.
First, I had no reason to believe the the paint on the centreboard would not blister just as all the other white paint had done. So I really had no choice.
Second, I was not happy with the pendant fitting when I installed the board. The hole through the board was very small and the knot at the end of the pendant had to be forced into place, and I was not sure I had heat-sealed the end properly.
Third, the centreboard pivot pin through the keel sides had a very thin layer of thickened resin around it and I suspected that it might be a weak point, given that it would be subject to considerable forces.
So this was an opportunity to put these things right.
First I drilled out the resin plugs which hold the pin in place. This is the plug on the port side.
The pin resisted efforts to knock it out so I used a heat gun to warm it it up, which worked. Then I pulled it through with a pair of pliers. Here they are.