Belhaven

[Scott Dunsworth]

I got finished with all of the sanding today except a wet sanding before shooting the cabin and the rest of the boat. The first coat of primer is on and the second will go on soon.

Maybe JUST Maybe I'll have the final paint job pic's on by this coming weekend.

I have been making trim and other odds and ends along the way.

If all goes well I will have a painted and trimmed out Belhaven by the end of Easter weekend.

THe tiller still has to be made along with a weeks worth of work inside.

QUESTION???? I am using store bought hatchs. I have silicon and 3m 4200. Which should I use? OR is there another?

Beckson says not to use any thing but 100% silicon on the ports, so thats what I'll use there. But I have not heard what to use on Bomar plastic hatchs.

Scott

[wkisting]

Scott,

Not sure if this is right, but I'm pretty sure I've heard you should NEVER use silicone sealant anywhere on a wooden boat. Something to do with how the silicon can taint the wood in some way--bonding tenaciously and leaving black spots.

I can't find the info-packed thread I was thinking of, but here's one from SailFar.net: http://sailfar.net/forum/index.php?topic=85.0

Also, did you mean 3M 5200 or 4200? The 5200 is fairly permanent... takes a long while to cure fully, but once it does... it's REALLY stuck. I think there is a also 4200 or a 4000, but I'm not sure the difference so can't say about that one for sure. (I THINK I've heard the 4200 is preferable if it's something that might need to be replaced/repaired down the road, but my memory fails me... again.) Sikaflex is also popular. Either would be better than silicone, from what I hear. Check out that SailFar thread above, you'll see how passionately some folks feel against silicone.

Wes

[john_manchester]

Wow is that a nice looking hull. And BIG! I also agonized between the Princess and Hartley 24. On the one hand the Hartley looked like a more comfortable boat to sleep in once your wife kicks you out for spending all your time on it. On the other hand I thought I might be able to actually finish the Princess without actually needing another place to stay. So far so good. But I still have the Hartley study prints tacked to the wall over my side of the bed.

So how are you going to turn that sucker over--or do you just sail upside-down in the Southern Hemisphere?

[Garry]

You might want to use a spacer under the flange where the screws go in to maintain a consistent thickness when first tightening the screws. Its too easy to overtighten and squeeze out all the silicone so you have a poor gasket. Dimes, nickels or washers work well depending on the thickness you want. Just put the edge under the flange and lightly tighten the screws. After the silicone has setup a little, remove the spacers and touch up before you remove the masking tape.

[Barry Pyeatt]

We always applied just a few dots (at least 3 equally spaced) of the compound around the perimeter. Let it begin to cure so that it isn't gushie any more and then spread the rest of the material. That forms the spacers and keeps the item from being pulled down too tight and squishing out all the compound. Only takes a few min between the application of the dots and being able to place the item. The dots thickness isn't critical just as long as they are all about the same size. Once they cure you can tighten up on the fasteners and you have a good set.

[Scott Dunsworth]

I am using mostly Kirbys paint. Well Monday I put was putting what was to be the last coat of Shaws yellow on the hull :oops: And guess what I ran out before I was done. So that has set me back a few days.

I called Kirbys monday and the stuff was on my door step today. So if I can get a last coat on tomorrow I will be painting the deck and cabin roof this weekend.

some friends helped me dry fit the rub rails tonight. That really set the paint off.

One of the guys told me Graham must really know how to draw boats, because he said a friend had just bought a 32 foot sail boat and my little Belhaven had more cockpit area than that boat.

Anyway I do hope to show off Grahams boat with all of her paint and trim shortly.

Scott

[Travis Votaw]

Scott, we installed Beckson ports on my Princess 22. Charlie used silicone as recommended by Beckson and to date, the ports work fine with no leaks whatsoever.

Charlie and I both have used 4200 under fittings for watertightness on Pilgrim. I had cause to remove one of the centerbpard pin covers (round ply disk) that had been sealed with 4200. This is plenty tough stuff, but I used a guitar "G" string with a piece of dowell on each end to saw under the sealer to remove the cap without damaging it. Not easy to pull the string, but it worked very well. I would not hesitate to use 4200 to seal just about anything on the boat except when something else might be specified by a manufacturer.

I really like Ray's idea of masking off the ports and Barry's idea of establishing the gasket thickness.

When you get her finished, we need to set a date and place to have a B and B get-together. Anybody got any ideas?