The first finish coat didn't go on as smoothly as I'd hoped. Some sections were okay, but most had either little specs of stuff or deep brush strokes. I spent the day sanding the coachroof, which is where most of the hardware goes, and tried to figure out what to do next -- I can't keep sanding each coat, these are supposed to be finish coats, i.e., they shouldn't need anything other than a little polishing.
I called the Interlux help line again, and although they really weren't much help, they did suggest I add more thinner. The can says up to 10%, but they guy said up to 15% -- I added a little less than 5% yesterday. I'll mix a very small batch tomorrow and experiment. I'm hoping that if I mix small amounts, take my time, and apply super thin coats, I'll get better results.
I also asked him about tipping. My worst results were due to brush strokes from tipping, though not nearly as bad as the results I got with the primer. I was wondering if tipping was really only meant for vertical surfaces. i.e., to prevent runs and sagging. My worst brush marks were on horizontal surfaces. He basically punted and said that if I got better results not tipping, don't tip. Not a very informative answer, but I guess they don't want to be held responsible for the results. Anyway, I think I'll try to do little or no tipping, and probably only in places where there might be a chance of runs or sags.
I finished sanding the coachroof a little while ago -- well, more or less, it got dark and I'm not really sure about the last few feet -- so I'll roll another coat tomorrow. However, I've decided that the side decks (the last 2 photos posted this morning) are done for now and that one coat is good enough. Besides the fact that I don't really have time to sand and roll another coat on them before I put her in the water, calling the side decks done allows me to pull the rafter feet off the toerail and back onto the deck and remove the bracing lines that ran from side to side and kept them from slipping over the side. Not only does it give me a good place to stand while painting the coach roof, I no longer have to crawl over or under them which was wearing me out.
That also means I can start working on the toerails. There are still some places that need to be fixed, and then I can caulk under them and start varnishing. I figure I'll start with a single coat, and add more when I get a chance. Right now, I'm only concerned with doing just enough to get her dry and into the water. I'll finisher her up later.
12 October 2010
Deck Photos
Here are a few photos of the forward section of the deck that I painted yesterday. I hope to roll the second coat later today if the weather holds. It turned out pretty good, but I'll dull the finish once I'm done to cut down on the glare.
And here's a photo of Zoe on the deck earlier this summer before it was painted.
And here's a photo of Zoe on the deck earlier this summer before it was painted.
11 October 2010
First Finish Coat
I rolled the first finish coat today. It takes a long time to clean and prepare the deck, so I wasn't able to get it ready yesterday in time to roll before it got dark -- it takes a couple hours of crawling over the deck to vacuum, wash with a sponge and towel, then wipe down with solvent. I'd hoped to roll 2 coats today, but wasn't able to start mixing until around 1100, and didn't finished rolling until after 1400 -- it takes a long to to roll it too -- and you need to wait around 6 hours before you can re-coat. And now I'm exhausted again. If I catch my second wind, I'll try to clean and re-prime the cockpit this afternoon, but am not sure I'll make it.
The finish coat didn't go on as well as I would have liked, but I have to admit, it's looking better and better as it cures. I guess the stuff continues to settle and even out for a long period of time. Some places look perfect, and others not so good, but even those are looking better and better. When I was crawling on all fours on top of the coachroof and under the cover and the support lines trying to finish the last section without touching anything I'd already painted, I was ready to just take off the whole cover for good and risk it.
It's going to rain tonight and tomorrow, but after that, we should have a few good days. I may just take it off and use the cover as a tarp if it does rain. I can't really do much when it rains anyway, so it really won't make much of a difference. I may keep the superstructure in place over the cockpit area for the time being, but at least I can stand up back there. I just can't keep crawling around -- my knees are shot.
The instructions on the paint say that you should avoid direct sunlight while applying it, but maybe I can figure something out. In any event, the cover's got to go. It's driving me nuts.
The finish coat didn't go on as well as I would have liked, but I have to admit, it's looking better and better as it cures. I guess the stuff continues to settle and even out for a long period of time. Some places look perfect, and others not so good, but even those are looking better and better. When I was crawling on all fours on top of the coachroof and under the cover and the support lines trying to finish the last section without touching anything I'd already painted, I was ready to just take off the whole cover for good and risk it.
It's going to rain tonight and tomorrow, but after that, we should have a few good days. I may just take it off and use the cover as a tarp if it does rain. I can't really do much when it rains anyway, so it really won't make much of a difference. I may keep the superstructure in place over the cockpit area for the time being, but at least I can stand up back there. I just can't keep crawling around -- my knees are shot.
The instructions on the paint say that you should avoid direct sunlight while applying it, but maybe I can figure something out. In any event, the cover's got to go. It's driving me nuts.
10 October 2010
Painting Temps
I just took a look at the instructions on the Perfection can, and it says it can be applied between 41 - 95 decrees -- the primer has a range of 50 -95. Based on that, I'm going to concentrate on finishing the primer as quickly as possible, since I should have another few weeks of weather warm enough for the polyurethane finish coats. I'll still try to roll a coat on the forward section today, but will go ahead and plan on rolling 2 coats before I start remounting hardware since I've got more time.
Cold Night
It got down to the mid 40's last night. I had the little electric heater running, so it didn't get too cold in the cabin, .e.g., Zoe didn't even need to get in my bag to stay warm, but I did have trouble sleeping. My sore leg and foot made it difficult to get comfortable, and around 2 AM, the wind picked up, so I had to get dressed and go down and secure the tie downs for the cover. I don't think there was any danger of it blowing off, but it was making a bit of noise. It died back down as soon as I was back in my bunk, and there's no wind at all right now. However, the forecast calls for 20 mph winds this afternoon, so I'll have to paint with the cover down -- hope there's enough light to see what I'm doing.
Boat watch:
The final primer coat on the forward section of the deck looks pretty good. I didn't finish sanding yesterday, but only have a small area left to do. I'll try to finish it up this morning, re-tape the toerail, and start rolling the first finish coat this afternoon. The high is only 67 today, so I'll need to let the boat warm up first, and probably won't have a very long window to paint, but I think I can get most of it done today. I'm using Interlux Perfection, and bought it in quarts. It looks like a full quart will be more than enough to do the whole forward section, but I'll mix up half to start and see how far I get before I mix the rest. I still haven't figured out a good way to keep a wet edge, but I'll try to work that out as well.
Zoe watch:
She likes the cooler weather. There seems to be a lot of activity in the boatyard after dark, so she's on high alert once the sun goes down. We see rabbits almost every night on our walks now.
Boat watch:
The final primer coat on the forward section of the deck looks pretty good. I didn't finish sanding yesterday, but only have a small area left to do. I'll try to finish it up this morning, re-tape the toerail, and start rolling the first finish coat this afternoon. The high is only 67 today, so I'll need to let the boat warm up first, and probably won't have a very long window to paint, but I think I can get most of it done today. I'm using Interlux Perfection, and bought it in quarts. It looks like a full quart will be more than enough to do the whole forward section, but I'll mix up half to start and see how far I get before I mix the rest. I still haven't figured out a good way to keep a wet edge, but I'll try to work that out as well.
Zoe watch:
She likes the cooler weather. There seems to be a lot of activity in the boatyard after dark, so she's on high alert once the sun goes down. We see rabbits almost every night on our walks now.
09 October 2010
Slips and Falls
I rolled the "final" primer coat on the forward section late yesterday. I was also able to roll about half the cockpit before running out of paint. I mixed up a pint and thinned it 25% as per the instructions on the can, and tried to be very careful with the roller. I decided to follow the recommendations of the guy at Interlux, and didn't tip it.
Other than a few bubbles, most of which flattened out, it went on pretty smooth. I still need to sand it, but feel much better about this coat than any of the others. Since I only did the touch-ups, it shouldn't need too much sanding. I hope that's all the priming I'll need to do on that portion of the deck. I'm planning on removing the masking tape along the toerails this morning while I do the sanding. Since I didn't pull the tape while it was wet -- too much trouble, even if I could reach it, which I couldn't-- I'll need to use a knife to cut the edge as I pull it up. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a clean edge.
At that point, I'll need to decide if I want to go ahead and re-tape and roll the first finish coat, or caulk the edge first. I wish there was someone around here I could talk to about it, but either way, I should have the first finish coat on that section rolled by tomorrow night. I still have some more work to do on the cockpit, but I'm not going to worry so much about how it looks, I just need to get it covered. I'll redo whatever needs more attention once I get down south.
Injury watch:
It's hard to believe, but I went the whole summer without any major mishaps. However, I did have three in quick succession in the last 48 hours. First, I slipped on the wet grass while walking Zoe and hyper-extended my right wrist. She wanted to visit another dog at the top of a slope, and I slipped on the way back down. It wasn't a big deal, but I was wearing my khakis and didn't want to get them too dirty -- it's too hard to clean things right now. Anyway, I broke my fall and kept my pants clean, but it's not even sore anymore, so I think I came out ahead.
The second and third injuries occurred yesterday, one right after the another. While I was cleaning up the cockpit and vacuuming around the locker hatches, I was balancing one on it's edge and it slipped and landed on my right foot. The foot's okay now, but I might have broken a bone. The last injury happened a little while later when I was climbing up the stairs in the cabin. I was favoring the foot, slipped on one of the treads, and banged my right shin just below the knee.
Although the last one hurt the worst, it turned out to be nothing more than a bad bruise -- of course it still looks a lot worse than the others too. Now, I just need to get out of here before anything else happens.
Zoe watch:
It's a beautiful day, so she's hanging out under the boat. I'll try to walk her a bit during the day, but had to cut short our walk this morning due to my foot. It loosened up during the walk, so now it's just sore -- no limp. But that's a good reminder to be careful.
Other than a few bubbles, most of which flattened out, it went on pretty smooth. I still need to sand it, but feel much better about this coat than any of the others. Since I only did the touch-ups, it shouldn't need too much sanding. I hope that's all the priming I'll need to do on that portion of the deck. I'm planning on removing the masking tape along the toerails this morning while I do the sanding. Since I didn't pull the tape while it was wet -- too much trouble, even if I could reach it, which I couldn't-- I'll need to use a knife to cut the edge as I pull it up. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a clean edge.
At that point, I'll need to decide if I want to go ahead and re-tape and roll the first finish coat, or caulk the edge first. I wish there was someone around here I could talk to about it, but either way, I should have the first finish coat on that section rolled by tomorrow night. I still have some more work to do on the cockpit, but I'm not going to worry so much about how it looks, I just need to get it covered. I'll redo whatever needs more attention once I get down south.
Injury watch:
It's hard to believe, but I went the whole summer without any major mishaps. However, I did have three in quick succession in the last 48 hours. First, I slipped on the wet grass while walking Zoe and hyper-extended my right wrist. She wanted to visit another dog at the top of a slope, and I slipped on the way back down. It wasn't a big deal, but I was wearing my khakis and didn't want to get them too dirty -- it's too hard to clean things right now. Anyway, I broke my fall and kept my pants clean, but it's not even sore anymore, so I think I came out ahead.
The second and third injuries occurred yesterday, one right after the another. While I was cleaning up the cockpit and vacuuming around the locker hatches, I was balancing one on it's edge and it slipped and landed on my right foot. The foot's okay now, but I might have broken a bone. The last injury happened a little while later when I was climbing up the stairs in the cabin. I was favoring the foot, slipped on one of the treads, and banged my right shin just below the knee.
Although the last one hurt the worst, it turned out to be nothing more than a bad bruise -- of course it still looks a lot worse than the others too. Now, I just need to get out of here before anything else happens.
Zoe watch:
It's a beautiful day, so she's hanging out under the boat. I'll try to walk her a bit during the day, but had to cut short our walk this morning due to my foot. It loosened up during the walk, so now it's just sore -- no limp. But that's a good reminder to be careful.
08 October 2010
Painting
I'm going to roll another coat of primer later today. I'd hoped to do it yesterday or even the day before, but sanding took a little longer than expected. I finished sanding yesterday afternoon, but decided to go ahead and sand the cockpit too so I could prime it all at the same time. We're supposed to have several days of good weather, so I hope to I'll be able to start remounting hardware next week.
I'm really not sure how far I'll get, but I'm running out of time, so I'm going to ask them to put me in the water either the last week of this month or the first week of November. They're already pulling boats, so I'm not sure exactly when they'll get to me, but hopefully it won't be a problem. I'll blog the date as soon as I know. Normally, they'll only commit to the week, so I still won't know the actual day until a day or so before.
Unfortunately, I don't think I'll have time to get much of the non-skid on, but will try to at least put some down around the mast and to and from the cockpit. I'm not going to go too far offshore without non-skid, so the trip will take a bit longer, mainly because I'll only be able to travel during the day, but also because the route is a lot longer. Once I get to warmer water, I'll try to do a bit more painting and try to finish up the non-skid. With any luck, I'll have most of it done by the time I get to the Gulf.
I'll post a preliminary float plan as soon as I get a chance. All my charts are packed away in a locker right now, so I'll have to break them out first, but I'm tentatively planning to sail through New York City down the East River, then down the New Jersey Coast and into the Delaware River. From there, I can get to the Chesapeake via a canal, and sail in relatively protected waters all the way down to Norfolk, Virginia. I should be able to pick up the inter-coastal from there and stay in it most of the way down to Florida, but since I've never done it, I don't know any of the details right now.
I'm really not sure how far I'll get, but I'm running out of time, so I'm going to ask them to put me in the water either the last week of this month or the first week of November. They're already pulling boats, so I'm not sure exactly when they'll get to me, but hopefully it won't be a problem. I'll blog the date as soon as I know. Normally, they'll only commit to the week, so I still won't know the actual day until a day or so before.
Unfortunately, I don't think I'll have time to get much of the non-skid on, but will try to at least put some down around the mast and to and from the cockpit. I'm not going to go too far offshore without non-skid, so the trip will take a bit longer, mainly because I'll only be able to travel during the day, but also because the route is a lot longer. Once I get to warmer water, I'll try to do a bit more painting and try to finish up the non-skid. With any luck, I'll have most of it done by the time I get to the Gulf.
I'll post a preliminary float plan as soon as I get a chance. All my charts are packed away in a locker right now, so I'll have to break them out first, but I'm tentatively planning to sail through New York City down the East River, then down the New Jersey Coast and into the Delaware River. From there, I can get to the Chesapeake via a canal, and sail in relatively protected waters all the way down to Norfolk, Virginia. I should be able to pick up the inter-coastal from there and stay in it most of the way down to Florida, but since I've never done it, I don't know any of the details right now.
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