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Spindrift 12 build log


Walt S.

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thanks.  I think I'm going to stop being a wimp and fair the tapes.  Now I see why these projects drag on for years: you think you've made it to the top of the mountain only to see the next peak across the valley is higher. I'm being pretty melodramatic here.  I DON'T LIKE SANDING. 

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If you're not sure if to sand or leave it, just take a rattle can of cheap lacquer based high gloss paint and lightly coat the areas in question. The high gloss will reveal the "real" look and you can decide if you can live with it. The paint is easily and quickly removed with some thinner and you're on your way to more sanding or calling it a done deal. To be honest, it's these seams and tape edges that define the novices from the pros and the very first thing that'll catch your eye, from nearly any distance. I find I focus on the areas that will be regularly seen and less so, on the inside of cabinets, lockers, etc. In a cockpit locker, that will be used a lot for fenders, gear, etc., I'll smooth up these seams, but under aft decks, "away" side of bulkheads, etc., where visibility is limited and occasional, maybe a just a quick smear of fairing compound, with an emphasis on being neat, to minimize sanding is all it'l get.

   In the end you want to finish the boat to some degree and fairing just sucks and eats time. You can always go back and fix screwups or make changes and adjustments to the finishes, so get it close, splash the puppy and see how much you can "change your models" in terms of fairing and finishing.

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  • 1 month later...

Primered and dusted.  Going to do the first topcoat tonight.  I was never able to set the boat on its side to sand and paint since there was too much risk of the kids knocking it over.  Actually, I DID set it on its side but then I ran into it and had to scramble to keep it from falling over while screaming for my wife to help.  I can't wait to be done leaning over into the cockpit.  I'm telling myself that things will go much more quickly when I flip it back over to do the outside.  Come to think of it, I've never seen a video of someone painting the cockpit. 

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On small boats I usually make a "tipping" cradle. This permits the boat to be rocked from one rail (or nearly so) to the other and greatly improves access to the inside or down hand (position) sanding on the bottom and flanks. The tipping cradle is just like a building cradle, except it has V shaped supports, so she can be flopped over onto one rail. You grab the opposite rail and lift her gently, to lower her to the other side.

Young-28.jpg

As seen here during a roll over, the angled supports cobbled together so the boat can flop over. The aft portion of this cradle has a flat on the centerline so it can stop, bolt upright too. The slot in the forward support allowed me to insert a set of wheels, so I could move her around a bit as I worked on her. This is the upside down cradle, but a similar one was also used when she was right side up.

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Painting the inside of my Spindrift was easy.  Just lift the boat on its side and place a stick under the keel. Easy as. I did this for all the sanding and painting with not having to bend over at all. You don't have to leave it up, just while your working on it, so it shouldn't be a problem for the kids.

 

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Another way is to paint the vertical surfaces of the interior with the boat upside down. Advantage being nothing can fall into your paint like sweat drips, hair, dust and things. I know Grahams daughter Beth prefers that method and she has a lot of experience with painting and varnishing. 

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On ‎7‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 4:31 AM, Alex said:

Painting the inside of my Spindrift was easy.  Just lift the boat on its side and place a stick under the keel. Easy as. I did this for all the sanding and painting with not having to bend over at all. You don't have to leave it up, just while your working on it, so it shouldn't be a problem for the kids.

 

 

I would've done that if the keel was on.  This seems like a great method.  Since I'm one coat away from finishing the interior, I'm just going to tough it out this time. 

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I just sanded the first topcoat of Interlux Brightsides.  The manufacturer recommends you sand with 320 grit.  For a couple of seconds, I sanded with the RO sander with 320 grit.  I quickly realized this was taking off too much.  The CLC website and Duckworks recommend using 400 grit with Brightsides and I see why.  I hand wet-sanded with 320 grit on a rubber block.  I wasn't thrilled with how much wasn't getting sanded.  My fairing job isn't good so the high spots were being stripped completely of paint.  Then I used 000 steel wool.  This worked OK.  Finally, I used a 3M ultra-fine hand sanding pad.  This worked the best.  This is what I'll use next time.  

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Alex,

 

I haven't routed the centerboard slot yet either.  

 

I painted another coat last night.  This time, I mixed some Interlux 333 brushing liquid with the Brightsides and brushed the seams and other spots that are hard to reach with a roller.  The paint flowed so much better and easier that this shaved about an hour and fifteen minutes off the painting time by itself.  I see why @Action Tiger only paints with a brush.  The boat only needs a third coat along the seams where I did a bad job brushing the first time when I didn't use the brushing liquid (which appears to be over-priced diesel fuel).  

 

The 320 grit wet-dry sandpaper left some black on the paint last time and took a lot off.  I'm just going to use a 3M ultra-fine Scotchbrite pad by itself this time.  I'm tempted to just touch-up the areas that need more paint, such as the seams, forward bulkhead, transom, and centerboard trunk.  @PAR Do you think this is a good idea?  

 

Has anyone used a soft power pad for topcoat sanding???  

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Chick,

 

Thanks.  Yes, I'm going to use an edge trimmer to route the slot then a 1/4" round-over bit followed by some glass tape.  I'd like to try biaxial tape at some point, but not this project.

 

A third coat of paint really isn't needed, though a few spots need touch-up, particularly along the seams.  

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On 7/21/2017 at 3:17 PM, Chick Ludwig said:

Good deal, Waly. Be sure that the board will still fit with the glass build-up into the trunk. If it's a problem, you could grind/file.sand a taper in the bottom of the trunk before you lay the glass. I make this taper into the trunk as i build it, before it's installed.

Thanks.  I widened the trunk by an extra 1/8" before putting it in.  I was worried about the centerboard sticking.  

 

Routing the centerboard slot went really well.  Using a trick from another guy on here, I leveled the sawhorses in the port/starboard direction and then flipped the boat over onto them.  I then set the router on the centerline and leveled it using shims between the router base and the hull.  I marked the shims and taped them onto the router based and then attached the edge trimmer.  A picture is worth a thousand words:

5976477a140d4_20170722_1114471.thumb.jpg.ec164d94430b0865ea2e26b160682737.jpg

 

Next, I used the round-over bit.  That went less-well, but my screw-ups can be fixed easily and will be glassed-over anyway:597647bab68bf_20170722_1144281.thumb.jpg.23edfc22c65788ef8dc3590bb032a726.jpg

 

I think I'm going to put on the keel, coat it with 3 coats of epoxy, and then splash it.  I need to add oar locks as well.  I'll paint the outside in the coming weeks.  

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/12/2017 at 2:04 PM, Walt S. said:

Here's Dave's guide to hardware adhesives:
 

Here's a good write-up on butyl tape:

http://sundownersailsagain.com/butyl-tape/

 

 

Welp, 3M 101 has been discontinued.  I'm buying some LifeCalk.  

 

I routed the Anderson/Elvestrom bailer inlay last week and will post pictures of the process later.  I am putting on the keel today.  

 

I ordered 8' Qualicum oars and leathers with 2" galvanized iron oarlocks.  

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