Things worked out so I could head to the boat Friday morning with Deb catching up later in the evening. Un-trashing the boat by getting the pilot berth area insulated and assembled and making the boat visitor friendly again was the goal for the day, not that we were expecting visitors. Making it to the store for this project didn't happened last week so a stop would be required to get the necessary materials. Going to the boat first to double check measurements and make a list of things needed seemed a good way to save a trip. (Boat projects always take more than one trip to the store.) Said list included: 1 sheet of 3/4 inch insulation board, 60 grit sandpaper, insulation friendly adhesive, (the wrong stuff melts the board like butter - you can guess how I know that) and adhesive for resetting the furring strips. (The hull would be too cold for fiberglass - adhesive would have to get the job done.)
About an hour later the trip was complete. The guys at the Home Center (centraliahomecenter.com - just in case you ever need project parts in central IL) even lent me a knife to chop the insulation board into 4 2X4 chunks so it would fit in the Z. While stuffing my coat into our rather small locker I noticed just one glove in the pocket. These are brand new gloves on their first outing but I was sure the other one was in the car. Work ensued, plastic was strung up to keep the impending dust cloud at least partly at bay, final measurements were made, ye trusty old palm sander was loaded up with a fresh square of 60 grit - first task to grind the old adhesive off the hull so the furring strip could be reattached. About 10 seconds into grinding two nasty things happened. The first was it became evident that Tartan secured the furring strips using bondo as the adhesive. Bondo - as in body filler. That was disappointing since bondo is not really much of an adhesive, it grinds into a fine dust that will penetrate about anything, and - well - after 40 plus years in the "fixing stuff" world I just hate the stink of bondo. It was also a bit disappointing since putting stuff together with bondo is not evidence of a quality boat. The second bad thing was ye trusty old palm sander finally gave up the ghost and died on me.
Rats.
My evolving personal philosophy is to try and take things as they come without adding unnecessary drama nor whining like a little kid. So, after the initial "Rats" came an attempt to fix the sander. No go - motor shot. Off to the store to get a replacement. Gotta have one, knew the old one had provided years of hard service and was on its last legs anyway, just go. I was a little miffed on the ride back into town. The day was getting away from me like, I had to admit, days doing boat projects tend to do. Go with it.
Walking into the store I noticed my other glove lying on the ground, right where I had dropped it several hours before. Rueful smile, lesson reaffirmed.
It was a 6 hour thrash to get the boat visitor friendly once again. I finally called it a day around 8:30 in the evening. Deb had pizza and beer ready in the clubhouse, and all was well with the world. Saturday we actually had visitors - marina friends who had come by to check on their own boat and were curious about our progress. The job isn't quite finished. There is a light to fix, a trim strip to add, and the area needs a light sand and stain to fix all the rub marks from trying to get over sized parts into undersized places. (Thus the need for another trim strip. I chopped one ungainly part in half to make it manageable.) Next week I hope to get back to the project that started this project.
Note: For any who care I am actually somewhat serious about my evolving personal philosophy, referring to it as "American Zen". (Taking it too seriously would be counter-productive!) It has much to do with living well without causing harm, and giving others room to find their own way without my interference. My version also involves some un-zen like language and a combination of attitudes that appear, on the surface, to be mutually exclusive. But it seems to be working for me.
About an hour later the trip was complete. The guys at the Home Center (centraliahomecenter.com - just in case you ever need project parts in central IL) even lent me a knife to chop the insulation board into 4 2X4 chunks so it would fit in the Z. While stuffing my coat into our rather small locker I noticed just one glove in the pocket. These are brand new gloves on their first outing but I was sure the other one was in the car. Work ensued, plastic was strung up to keep the impending dust cloud at least partly at bay, final measurements were made, ye trusty old palm sander was loaded up with a fresh square of 60 grit - first task to grind the old adhesive off the hull so the furring strip could be reattached. About 10 seconds into grinding two nasty things happened. The first was it became evident that Tartan secured the furring strips using bondo as the adhesive. Bondo - as in body filler. That was disappointing since bondo is not really much of an adhesive, it grinds into a fine dust that will penetrate about anything, and - well - after 40 plus years in the "fixing stuff" world I just hate the stink of bondo. It was also a bit disappointing since putting stuff together with bondo is not evidence of a quality boat. The second bad thing was ye trusty old palm sander finally gave up the ghost and died on me.
Rats.
My evolving personal philosophy is to try and take things as they come without adding unnecessary drama nor whining like a little kid. So, after the initial "Rats" came an attempt to fix the sander. No go - motor shot. Off to the store to get a replacement. Gotta have one, knew the old one had provided years of hard service and was on its last legs anyway, just go. I was a little miffed on the ride back into town. The day was getting away from me like, I had to admit, days doing boat projects tend to do. Go with it.
Walking into the store I noticed my other glove lying on the ground, right where I had dropped it several hours before. Rueful smile, lesson reaffirmed.
It was a 6 hour thrash to get the boat visitor friendly once again. I finally called it a day around 8:30 in the evening. Deb had pizza and beer ready in the clubhouse, and all was well with the world. Saturday we actually had visitors - marina friends who had come by to check on their own boat and were curious about our progress. The job isn't quite finished. There is a light to fix, a trim strip to add, and the area needs a light sand and stain to fix all the rub marks from trying to get over sized parts into undersized places. (Thus the need for another trim strip. I chopped one ungainly part in half to make it manageable.) Next week I hope to get back to the project that started this project.
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| Temporary blocks holding the panel till the trim strip is done. |
Note: For any who care I am actually somewhat serious about my evolving personal philosophy, referring to it as "American Zen". (Taking it too seriously would be counter-productive!) It has much to do with living well without causing harm, and giving others room to find their own way without my interference. My version also involves some un-zen like language and a combination of attitudes that appear, on the surface, to be mutually exclusive. But it seems to be working for me.
2 comments:
Hi there. Working my way from the start. I am curious as to how that new piece of trim would be attached since it's a new piece that you're adding after having cut the original piece in half.
Thanks
The teak piece with the horizontal strips is less than 1/4" thick. Behind it, there is a gap where there are vertical furring strips attached to the hull with glue. Tim just cut the paneling in a location where there was a furring strip already available and then the new trim strip was screwed through the paneling and into the furring strip. Let me know if you still need more info.
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