Bolero Project | Wednesday, June 11, 2008

I like to get started each day with some sanding:  this morning, I sanded the first coat of white paint on the overhead panels, then brushed off and solvent-washed the panels to prepare them for another coat.  Late in the day, I applied a second coat of the white semi-gloss enamel.



Next, I washed and sanded the epoxy fillets securing the new mast collar to the deck.  I was pleased with the end result and pronounced it done, except for primer and paint, of course.



After unclamping the new beams at the companionway opening, I cleaned up the joints with sandpaper as needed, and lightly sanded all the cabin beams to prepare them for varnish.  I left the beams for the rest of the day, but applied a sealer coat of varnish once I'd completed other portions of the day's work.


         


I spent some time working on the cherry chainplate covers, and also the cherry "knees"  (i.e. trim) that I intended to install on the forward bulkhead. 

Some time ago, I glued up some blanks for the chainplate box covers; now, I cut a bevel on the top edge of each panel to approximate the mating angle with the overhead, and marked and trimmed one end of each panel to fit flush with the transverse sections of the chainplate boxes.  Before proceeding, though, I had to cut and glue in some cleats inside the boxes to which I'd secure the covers later; I wanted to actually screw the panels in place to one side (the trimmed side) before marking and trimming the second side.  So to avoid stressing the glue joints on the cleats, this effectively ended this project for the moment.  Sorry--I don't have any pictures of this scintillating process.

I made a slight modification to the cardboard pattern I'd made earlier for the "knees" up forward, and, using it as a guide, glued up two small panels from which I'd make the trim later.  I planed the pieces down to about 3/8" thickness before gluing them together into two panels.



The top edge of the cabin trunk on each side needed some trimming to allow the new coachroof to properly follow the angle of the beams all the way to the outer edge; currently, the top edges were square, and didn't account for the beam angle.  Trimming turned out to be straightforward.  By eye, I struck a tape line on the exterior of the trunk the appropriate distance down from the top edge, and then used a belt sander held at the same angle as the beams to trim down the 1/8" or so required on each side of the cabin trunk. You can see the results in this photo (repeated from above).



I spent the rest of the day on various finishing projects:

-A third coat of tung oil on the ceiling

-Sanding and varnishing the interior main bulkhead, and the cherry settees and fiddles

-Varnishing the cabin beams (mentioned above)

-Second coat of finish paint on the overhead panels (mentioned above)

-Another coat of varnish on the bottoms and sides of the cockpit seat slats and seat supports


         


Total Time on This Job Today:   7 hours

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