Painting saga about to begin

[holtcl]

They moved one set of channel markers to the East; we haven't had any trouble with the 53.

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[bobk]

Thanks for the nav info.

Bobk

 

[MikeP]

Last year, before they shifted the marker, I went through at low tide with the depth finder showing 3.7 feet at the shallowest point (actual water depth, not "under the keel") as the boat plowed it's way through the soft mud.

One thing to be aware of is that the old channel is marked by "permanent" pilings and the one shifted marker is just a small buoy (or it was a couple of months ago) so it is not too hard to just go between the permanent markers because it looks like the thing to do. The colors are shifted correctly and the bad day mark has (had) and X on it so if you watch the colors as you should, it's no problem.

 

[SeaEric]

Since this is the painting thread, I think Jim should give those markers a coat of Awlgrip in Hatt white.

 

[jim rosenthal]

No problem, you just row me out there in your dinghy and hang around while I do it. Happy to help.

 

[jim rosenthal]

My name is Jim Rosenthal, and I am an AwlGripaholic......this is the first step towards recognizing that I have a problem.......

 

[MarioG]

Your not wearing the mask arent you Jim?...

 

[jim rosenthal]

Mask? Did I miss something? You mean the movie with Jim Carrey in it?

 

[jim rosenthal]

Turns out that much of the hardware originally fit to my boat was secured with chromed bronze or brass screws. Which are now old and fragile etc. The WM in Annapolis has the best selection of SS including fine-thread screws and nuts etc. Also scored a 150' 1/2" NER anchor line with SS thimble for 56 bucks from their cutout rack.... and if I get my boat completed and running, I might actually get to USE it.

Front hatch cover is back in, and when I get back over there, I will fit all the SS items mentioned above. The new seal does not fill up the space between the hatch and the spigot, and won't seal. This will mean moving the mounting holes for the latch receivers down about 4mm or so, to tighten things up a bit. Not difficult, but time-consuming. Then again, everything seems to be.

After that, on to the toe rail. I keep saying that, but it really IS going to happen.

 

[the kuz]

Jim, stopped by Pinney Narrows on Tuesday to pick up some parts and while there looked at your boat. Nice shine and good progress.

Will send you PM with contact info for a blues musician friend you may want to contact. He sings/plays with several different bands around DC and Northern VA and not too long ago had 30 friends at SIYC for a great jam. Does pretty good job with some "Nighthawks at the diner " tracks. Anyway will send you his email.

See you ion the bay soon.

Best Regards, Bob K

 

[jim rosenthal]

Please do. Wish I'd been there when you were; I made a couple of runs for hardware. Today I got the downstairs radio mast back up, after polishing all the mount pieces, and new bolts and SS cap nuts. Also just about done with sanding the toe rail- I am going to get the first coat of paint on tomorrow, I think. Hatch is all done- moving the receiver mounts wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, and I had Hatteras screws to fit, so it looks right now for the first time in a while. The redone hatch and seal took me four or five days of work. It was worth it. Very little light comes through all that AwlGrip, but the hatch looks neat and clean and much better than it did. All the SS pieces on it are new as well.

Two coats, at least, for the toe rail, and then I am going to roll the deck out. At that point I will turn her around again to the proper position, stern in, and that will be the last time I have to move her, I think. The next place she will go after that, if all goes well, is home.

 

[jim rosenthal]

OK, guys; this isn't exactly news, but one of the things I decided to do was replace all the bolts and screws holding the hatch in- there is a piano hinge fitted to it, and self-tapping screws (ten each side) which look kind of ratty. And they stick through the hatch molding itself and are visible on the inside. Size is an 8-32 machine screw for through bolting.

Cost of 8-32 SS cap nut at WM: $1.25

Cost of identical 8-32 SS cap nut at Fawcett Boat Supplies, about 200 feet down the road: 0.29

Discovering that what is labeled as 8-32 at WM is in fact 6-32 because some idiot filled the bin with the wrong item, and no there isn't any more stock. So, went down the street to Fawcett's, which now has a better selection of SS hardware at about 20% of the price....

PRICELESS.

If you are in Annapolis, shop with Fawcett's. I have no financial interest in their store, I am just impressed that they are knowledgeable fair guys, with good prices and they are a local outfit.

 

[MikeP]

Concur that Fawcetts is excellent though I have to admit I haven't been in there since they moved from their old location adjacent to ego alley. But if you want a good boat clothing selection, the WM in Chester is darned good! Sure, they cost more than the same clothes at any local mall but they are all BOAT-oriented!

I'm sure the mis-placed caps crews were part of their salesman/stock specialist trainee program that just happened to go awry. It was good of you to help them with that. I get all my SS fasteners from the Tru-value up the steet which usually has a good selection of SS fasteners - though I've never looked for cap nuts.

 

[jim rosenthal]

If WM just put all the SS stuff in a pile and asked you to pay by the ounce, it would actually be a better system. The problem is that they don't watch the hardware area, they fill it with the wrong stuff, and people put things back in the wrong bins. If you just paid by weight, you would at least know you had to find the stuff yourself etc. You'd have a better chance of getting what you needed....

 

[jim rosenthal]

First coat on the foredeck and port side deck- it's going to take two at least to cover the color difference from the weathered paint on the deck to the recent repairs which have 545 primer on them. AwlGrip tech support says you can use three coats, but the second coat has to cure for at least 24 hours and be roughed up for adhesion- less than 24 hours and the solvents get trapped in the second layer. Interesting.

The side deck looks particularly good. Second and maybe the final coat goes on tomorrow. And at that point I can turn her in the slip and begin what I hope will be the final phase of this long project.

 

[jim rosenthal]

I am somewhere between third base and home plate at this point, so to speak. Today I got two coats on the aft deck surround, plus the hatches (which are off the boat and easier to paint that way). Also one coat on the stbd toe rail, the section I could not reach and work on with the boat bow in. I started the day by turning her around in the slip, with some help from a friend so we didn't ding anything up.

I stopped when I couldn't see to paint anymore. This may turn out to have been not such a good idea when I go back tomorrow and see how things look. I may wish I had quit earlier. Twelve hours is a long time to work on your boat even if you love it a lot, which I do.

Still to do: second coat on stbd toe rail (first job tomorrow) and second coat on the areas I did today inside the aft deck surround. And somehow figure out how to paint the aft deck itself; I think I am going to take as much as I can of tools, cans, bottles, sanders, vacuums, etc all home, stick the deck box inside the boat on a drop cloth to protect the carpets, and paint myself off the deck, talking the AwlGrip cans and solvents with me. I can come back later and do a second coat, and at that point the painting will be complete, except for giving it enough time to cure. I have seen first hand what happens when you DON'T wait long enough- shoe prints on deck and sanding and doing it over. No, thanks.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Last coat of paint rolled onto the aft deck today. Also reinstalled all the hardware, including two new Hatteras logos on the cabin sides. I also have a new aft awning, and all the other canvas has been freshly cleaned. I'm staying off the boat for a few days to let everything cure up good and hard, before I move her back to her usual place of residence on the Western Shore of MD.

NOW- I decided I need a new helm seat as the old one looks ratty. I am looking at various ones on line, I kind of like the Todd Gloucester. Does anyone have one of these? There are also helm seats from Wise, Pompanette, Garelick, etc. I already have a pedestal from Todd Marine and would like to stick with that hardware as I just painted the bridge deck and don't feel like doing it over- pedestals are not standardized, I think.

Any advice on this is welcome. I like the traditional helm seat design better, like the Gloucester. I also wonder why Pompanettes cost so much- are they made a lot better, or is it just that they have been around longer and have a better name?

 

[jim rosenthal]

Forgot to mention- I have a deck box made by Beachcomber Fiberglass which has been on the boat several years. Forty inch box, special ordered in Oyster White to match the paint done a while back. And also just done.

Well, the box looks a bit beat up and I wondered whether to paint it or just get a new lid for it.. Called BFT and a new lid (just the lid!) is about $350 and a new complete box is about $600!!!And this is their smallest one!

Guess it won't be so hard to paint it after all....I believe I have some AwlGrip left yet...

 

[Avenger]

Well, you want the box to match the boat right?

 

[jim rosenthal]

Exactly... when it was made, they did match the color of the paint. What surprised me is what they wanted for a lid etc. Their stuff is very well made- so much so that given my new expertise (LOL) at painting with AwlGrip, I am going to save myself a few hundred bucks and just repaint the deck box. I can do it at home- I could even maybe spray it with a PreVal or something like it.