Saturday, August 29, 2009

Real Progress

A significant step has been made. I have removed the old sail-drive and exhaust, as I said in my last post. However, since then I sold the old sail-drive and glassed in the hole for the exhaust. And now, I have made the big step of glassing in the hole for the saildrive. It took hours to cut out the old sail-drive plug, further hours to grind away the glass fairing compound from the inside of the hull, and probably as long as either of those to grind in the 12:1 bevel on the inside of the hull. But the result is what looks to be a strong, sturdy repair.

I began rebedding the winches only to find a sopping wet ply core underneath. So, I have cut out a section of backing and core to start drying it out. I will replace the ply when everything is dry enough.
I also had the chance to sit aboard during a rain storm to trace some leaks. I re-bedded a portlight that was leaking badly. I still need to re-bed the chainplates, a number of hinges, and some other fittings. The lifeline stanchions still need to be re-installed, but I need to get access behind them to install backing plates and bolts. I also need to install new through-deck fittings for the anchor light and spreader lights. The long and short of it is I've made big progress, and I have quite a bit more progress to make.
Picture have been added. Check out www.flickr.com/photos/seastepping !

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