Mainsheet Block & Ventilator Pads | Stripping Paint

While stripping various components I remembered that  some small painted parts were packed away, awaiting the refit.

So I retrieved them and stripped them for repainting. Here are the mainsheet block support pad and the ventilator pads being stripped.

Every vestige of the old paint will be removed, eliminating the risk of blistering.

Companionway Slide & Tabernacle | Stripping & Sanding

Alongside other activities I removed all the old paint from the companionway slide and the tabernacle using paint stripper.

Here I am stripping the tabernacle.

And here I am stripping the slide.

Here are the fully stripped articles.

Finally I sanded the tabernacle, ready for sealing with clear resin. The inside faces had to be sanded by hand, so I did it outside. As in this pic.

We are getting there!

Drop Boards | New Lower Board

Part way through repainting the bottom of the hull with the original paint I thought I should make a test to be sure that the blistering would not reoccur when in contact with water.

I therefore painted the lower drop board and left it outside in all weathers for a while to see what happened.

To my horror it appeared to blister again, with tiny pinhead blisters.

I sent it to the paint manufacturers for examination, and never heard from them again!

With hindsight I think the blisters may have simply been dust particles, but I was taking no chances and switched to Epifanes paint.

Consequently I needed a new lower drop board, so I found a piece of scrap marine ply and marked up a board using the pattern.

Here I am cutting out the new board.

This will get two or three coats of clear resin to seal it, and will then be painted at some point.

Dorade Boxes & Seatbacks | New Drain Holes

It is of course very important that the enclosed spaces in the hull have drain holes so that water which will inevitably enter the spaces can easily exit them also.

I made the drain holes exactly as the build manual directs, which was through the sides of the Dorade boxes above the fillets which join the sides to the deck, and through the sides of the seatback lockers again above the stringer which joins the sides to the deck.

They looked fine and I thought no more about it, until we put the boat on its trailer for the first time about eighteen months ago.

This being the UK, it promptly poured with rain. Because the drain holes were effectively 30 to 40mm above the deck, the bottom of the boxes and lockers were then under water to that depth.

This, incidentally, was when I first discovered that the paint blistered when in contact with standing water. But the immediate problem was that it would do the boat no good at all to have all that water sitting around, not draining out.

I resolved to redrill the drain holes much closer to the deck, so this would not happen.

First I had to fill the original holes in the Dorade boxes. I sealed the holes from the inside with plastic tape. Then I filled the holes with thickened epoxy and sealed the inner hole with tape and the outer hole with a piece of plastic card taped in place.

This is the starboard outer hole, plugged.

And this is the starboard inner hole.

Then I drilled new holes. This was the result on the starboard outer side.

You can see that the new drain hole is much lower down, nearer the deck, and actually passes through the fillet.

Drilling the inner holes was a bit trickier. The holes are 12mm in diameter, so have to be made with a drill with a standard sized chuck. This limits how close to the deck the holes can be made.

This is a test with a 3mm bit which I did to see how close to the deck I could get.

Very little improvement could be made on the original hole's location. So that is the best we can do here.

This is the inner hole on the port side, with its first coat of clear resin to seal it.

And this is the starboard outer drain hole with its second coat of clear resin.

This is much improved and hopefully will prevent lots of water from lying inside the Dorade boxes.

The seatback lockers were a different problem.

Like the inner Dorade box holes it was impossible to drill a new hole level with the deck, so I simply enlarged them down to the bottom of the locker.

They do not look very elegant, but I think they will have to suffice.

This is the starboard drain hole with its second coat of clear resin.

And this is the port side.

Not very aesthetically pleasing but they will drain the lockers completely, which is the main requirement.

They should look better when painted... I hope!

Seatback Lockers | Stripping & Sanding

Stripping the paint from the two seatback lockers was always going to be difficult, so I left it until last.

The main problem was accessibility. Not only was there a fully enclosed space at the rear of the locker, but the boom gallows tube support block was smack in the way.

There was nothing to do but get stuck in. Here I am at the start of the exercise with paint stripper and a bucket of water.

This is the partly stripped starboard locker with a selection of tools which I tried.

As with the companionway hood, it turned out that a stainless steel scouring pad was the most effective method.

This is the stripped starboard locker with the mirror which is essential for seeing into otherwise invisible and inaccessible places.

And this is another view of the starboard locker, with the boom gallows tube support clearly visible and very much in the way!

I am pleased that paint stripping is now complete, and I can progress to getting ready for new paint.

Onwards and upwards!

Companionway Hood | Stripping & Sanding

I was not looking forward to removing all the old paint from inside the companionway hood, but it had to be done.

The first task was to cover the interior of the cabin to protect it from splashes of paint stripper, which would be inevitable no matter how careful I was.

I covered the floorboards with a sheet of plastic, and masked off the walls with polythene sheeting. Like this.

Then I got to work with the paint stripper. I mainly used a stainless steel scouring pad to strip the paint, although a pear-shaped blade in the small Bahco scraper was very useful in seams and corners. This is it.

It was messy, tedious and unpleasant work but at least it was not too difficult.

I eventually prevailed. This is the front of the hood, freshly stripped.

The drain holes were reamed out to get rid of the old paint and congested stripper. This is on the port side.

And this is the whole interior. Stripped, sanded and washed clean.

I think there is a good case for making the hood removable for maintenance, since it will inevitably require repainting during its lifetime.

So that's that - ready for paint!

Next job is the seatback lockers, which will be even more unpleasant...

Topsides | Paint Stripping

With the cockpit stripped of paint it was time to start on the topsides, cabin and forward deck well.

I started with the the forward deck itself. Here it is half stripped.

I am using a small, circular Bahco scraper to clean up the fillets.

Here the port Dorade box and the deck well have been stripped and the cabin wall is half stripped.

Before I started on the cabin roof and the companionway hood I covered the entrance to the cabin to prevent splashes of paint stripper. Like this.

In this pic the port cabin roof is half stripped.

I taped over the portholes in case stripper got into the cabin and spoiled my paint job!

This is the forward deck well, fully stripped.

The mirror is useful for seeing under the rails, and inside the upper breast hook. Like this.

At last I finished stripping the port side of the upper hull, like this.

I then moved on to the starboard topsides, as here.

You can see the patches that I made to fill the holes for the ventilators which I cut in the wrong place. Oops.

This will at least give me an opportunity to properly fair the patches, which are far from flat and even...

Finally the whole of the upper hull was stripped. Here it is seen from astern.

This is the forward deck well.

And lastly here is a view of the starboard topsides.

I will now have to strip inside the companionway hood and the seatback lockers, neither of which will be easy. I am not looking forward to that, but afterwards we will be preparing for new paint. Which will be wonderful!

We are making progress, albeit slow.