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Screwing down fittings

The past two weeks have been all about screwing things on to the deck.

First, I started with the swivelling block on the centre rail. When I first screwed this fitting in place, it was very tight and didn't rotate easily. So I took it apart and sprayed it with McLube, and I also hollowed out the top surface of the epoxy rail. This goes through to the purple filler but not into the cedar itself. Once that was done, I screwed it in place; I didn't have long enough Robertson pan head machine screws, but I did dig up some Phillips screws. They required grinding - not quite 2 1/2” long.

Next up were all the small blocks on the bevel blocks. Because it's a 2-series block, they require #6 machine screws - very thin, and it's important to not screw them through and into the bulkheads underneath. (As I've learnt, it's easy to twist the heads right off.)

One, two, three, four. (Compare to Mark's boat and Bram's boat. At first I thought I had the inner blocks forward, when they should have been back - but after orienting myself correctly I figured out I was ok.) I measure the depth of these by poking a paperclip with a hook on the end through, and seeing where it sticks (and how far in it goes). Then cut/grind the screw to length, roll in grease to get an even layer that covers the threads, and screw in place.

A number of the holes have accumulated gunk in them. For the holes in the bevel blocks, I used my drill with the bit going backwards; but that drives the goop in, and packs it in there. To resolve this problem, I used a drill bit that would fit through the nut at the end, and hand-drilled that in. This worked perfectly. To clear the wood/epoxy part of the hole (and not the metal threads), I use a drill bit of the correct diameter and hand-drill it into the hole. This pulls out a lot of the goop.

Next up was screwing the jib track in place. The deck has "sagged" just a tiny bit, and so I had to enlarge the holes ever so slightly outwards, so the screws would fit through. Once the holes were enlarged, I checked that the shock cord would fit through, and made a small divit in the correct spot. I mounted the screws once, but then realized that there was a sharp edge on the outside of the track - so I sanded & filed down the outer edge, and then screwed the rail back down. The screws here (like everywhere on the boat) are fairly tight - it's clear that some epoxy has gotten into the threads and made them tough. The only exception is the one special nut. I'm using 2 1/2” square-head screws for this; notice how Mark used allen-head bolts.

Next up was the forestay fitting. It looks somewhat out of place - grey in a sea of deep black - and I should probably coat it, but I can't figure out how to stop the epoxy from getting in the holes yet. (wax? tape?) The four bolts for this part I fit when I was setting the fitting, and I kept them apart, so it was a matter of not mixing up their proper holes, cleaning out the fitting hole, and screwing it down.

That complete, I screwed down a strap which isn't used in the current rigging system; I decided (long ago) that I would add it in anyway. Why not.

Finally, I installed the spin lock cleat. But notice how the cleat is a wee bit too far back.. which sucks. It's amazing to me that drilling and installing so carefully can be so far from the truth. And it's slightly askew as well. What a drag. (After pondering this for an evening, I decided I could make a 1/8” thick stainless or epoxy/glass shim which would move it forward 1/4” or 1/2”. Perhaps if it's a problem I'll do this. It still sucks, though.)

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Applying non-skid

Tamara took the kids up to Grandpa's on Saturday (making Christmas cards) - and so I had the entire day to work on the boat. I started at 11am, and worked non-stop until 7pm. It was glorious.

First up was to continue putting the non-skid on the deck. I decided on the same layout as Bill had - I was going to use Mark's design, but Bill points out that Mark built the outer edges of his wings wider than the inner ones (hmmm... somthing to consider next time?). So I'll just go with two 1” strips on the outer edge and one on the inside.

Bill's non-skid pattern

I found that the best way to determine the curves on the ends of the strips was to trace a quarter. I couldn't find my circle template sheet, but this worked out perfectly - I rather wish I had done that for the pieces on the gunwales, because they have a larger arc which doesn't look quite as good.

I cut all the remainder of my non-skid into 2” wide strips; I did this on the garage floor, which worked better than working on a table; I could put my shoes or knee down on the non-skid & ruler to ensure that it didn't slip around. (On the table, the ruler slid and I mis-cut a piece.)

Then place the 2” wide strips on the centre part of the deck. The outermost 1” strip goes all the way back to the staples for station 13. I put a right angle on the gunwale and aligned it with the end of that strip, and then carried the line in toward the centre of the boat - giving the effect of the strips getting shorter as you get to the middle. The measuring tape is the edge I clip them at (and the bottle of cleaner fluid is my centre marker). I did the same sort of thing at the forward end. Overall it looks pretty sharp.

For what it's worth, I'm using "3M Safety-Walk Medium Duty Resilient Tread 7738, 4 in x 60 ft, Black Bulk Roll", which I could only find on 3M Canada. Apparently it's been renamed into the "300 series" (not the general purpose stuff, which is more abrasive). If you want clear, it's available in Heavy Duty (sandpaper) grade, as well as Light Duty, now known as Fine Resilient/200 grade. One provider is floormat.com.

I also started screwing cleats on to the deck, starting with the bevel blocks on the wings. For these blocks, I had intended to grind screws to the right length, but then I put the cleats up against the block - and found that a 3/4” a 1 1/4” screw were pretty much dead on, and I didn't have to worry about it. The most concerning thing here was a loose screw - on starboard side, forward cleat, the outboard screw is spinning in it's hole. I'm not sure why - I'm positive they all had t-nuts in there. Perhaps I'll have to bond the screw in with epoxy?

While I was working on this, I also did a couple other things:

• I ran a piece of mason's twine through the hull between the two inspection ports, and looped it through the bung.
• I (re-)drilled holes for the bung and inspection port mounting holes. I made these a bit larger than the shaft of the screw, but not quite wider than the threads, so the epoxy would have somewhere to sit.
• I epoxied and screwed the inspection ports and drain bung in place. The inspection port screws I had previously ground so I didn't have a sharp point sticking out in the hull.
• I filed out a bit of excess epoxy & varnish from the exit scheve holes, then coated them with epoxy, then epoxied and screwed the scheves in place.
• I couldn't help but screw a few blocks in place. I measured the length of the screw necessary using a paperclip with its end folded over, greased the tip, and then screwed them in (making sure that any grease that didn't make it into the hole I wiped away before the block touched it).
• I also screwed in the spin pole dead eye and trapeze shock cord blocks.
• ...and the forward spin block. This one is supposed to have a really large backing block (mine doesn't, really). It sees a huge load. Robert ripped his out and had to drill another inspection port to install a new backing block.

Finally, I also made some progress on the centreboard trunk. I bought a piece of aluminum tubing at a hobby store; 10-24 threaded rod fits nicely inside of it. I cut it to length to fit the forward and aft lengths of the trunk. Sand one side, then use some of the extra Plexus to bond the tubes into the trunk itself. It probably would have been easier to do this while the trunk was under construction... but I didn't have the Plexus then. ;-) These tubes are to guide the threaded rod into the correct position in the bottom block.

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Waxing

I waxed the hull (or at least the varnished part of the hull) this week.

For this, I used #000 grade steel wool (Bram advised that #0000 was too fine). I also picked up some expensive 3M Marine Ultra Performance Paste wax, although pretty much everyone I've talked to has said that a basic floor wax will work just as well.

I dipped the wool in the wax, picked up a bit, and then worked it over the sides of the hull, making circles as I went. Overall I pressed quite hard (tired hands) and ensured the entire flare was coated. Repeat for the other side and the transom. I managed to get wax into the non-skid on the underside of the wing - it's hard to get out, too. Not sure how to avoid that problem.

After a couple hours, I returned and wiped it all off with a rag. This turned out to be not long enough for the wax to dry - pretty much the entire coat of wax came off. So I repeated the entire application process again on the entire hull, working it back in place, and then left it for a couple days to dry out. On the entire hull, you can see the swirls made by the wax application, but there's no "clouding" visible - the layer of wax is sufficiently thin that it hasn't really clouded up. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong or I should have put on a thicker layer - not sure.

After two days of drying time, I came back and wiped everything down. The swirls are difficult to eliminate, and ultimately I decided to just leave it on there (since the boat is going to spend the winter in the garage anyway - an extra layer of protection, I guess).

All tolled, with the protective tape removed, it's starting to look pretty nice. And with the wax finally in place, I could move the boat back into the garage and park my car back in (finally!).

[Update 2007 Oct 13: Bram mentioned a few things about waxing:

• dip #000 steel wool in the wax & polish
• buff a bunch to get it polished
• when dry, wipe the wax off with a towel.

Also, one layer is generally enough (I've read on the net that a couple of layers is sometimes a good idea...). Waxing should be done every 6-12 months. Bram doesn't remove his fittings when he waxes the deck.

Bill also sent along his procedure; he used Butcher's Bowling Alley Wax: "I used a terry cloth applicator and applied multiple thin coats, hand buffing inbetween. Your troubles may be due to applying too much wax and letting it dry too long. The paste wax contains carnauba and other fine waxes in turpentine and mineral spirits, which can bond to the varnish. Your marine wax may have the same composition."]

For waxing perfection, you need only look as far as Bill's incredible finish.

[Update 2008 Feb 26: I found a link to an article in Fine Woodworking a while back on using steel wool.]

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