More Boat Projects in Baltimore
Jun 2 thru Jun 7
—Blogpost written by Bob
Saturday, June 2
This weekend is forecast to be rainy, with 90% chance of rain today and 80% tomorrow (Sunday). It rained at some point during the night but the sun is shining brightly this morning. (While in Baltimore, the weekends mean a time for us to stay in the marina and leave our car parked in one spot so that we don’t lose our parking space.)
 |
| This is a photo of one of the delicious margaritas served in the Mexican Cafe in Annapolis-- there is nothing quite like them! |
This morning I pulled the finishing nails from the new doorway trim that I epoxied (used as a verb, it means to glue something together using epoxy resins) in place yesterday. Then, I used 100-grit sandpaper to make all the joints in the trim very smooth. I taped off the perimeter of the doorway with plastic detailing tape before staining the trim. (I keep a can of stain that I have mixed to make new teak trim look nearly identical to the old “reddish brown” original finish on the teak in our boat.) After about 30 minutes of soaking into the trim, I rubbed off the excess stain to allow it to fully dry.
In the early afternoon while a thunderstorm threatened and the stain was still drying, I corrected the hot and cold fresh water hoses (leading to the sink in the head) that were erroneously crossed when I recently replaced most of the hoses. (The head is the only place where we still have the gray-colored Qest-brand hoses and fittings.)
 |
| I have labeled all the fresh water hoses with red tape (for hot water) or blue tape (for cold water. (This view is looking from above with aft being at the top of the image.) |
In mid-afternoon I applied the first (of many) coats of EPIFANES varnish to the new door frame. (The first coat usually dries quickly and the coverage is usually inconsistent.)
 |
| The new uppermost part of the new door frame after first coat of varnish was applied. (Not bad for an amateur using hand tools, huh?) |
Sunday, June 3
We woke to overcast skies, a relatively strong wind, and a light rain this morning. It looks like the entire day today will be overcast and rainy (and it was!).
I lightly sanded the door frame using 180-grit sandpaper and then applied the second coat of EPIFANES varnish this morning. I applied it at mid-morning while our new kitty was napping, otherwise we would have black and white cat hair imbedded in the varnish on the lower part of the door frame. Now that the door frame has started to look so nice I may have to refinish the teak bulkhead surrounding it.
While I was watching the varnish dry (there’s not much else to do on a rainy day!), I reattached the drain hose from the high-pressure relief valve on the water heater (which I forgot to do last week).
Monday, June 4
Overcast skies greeted us again this morning again. The air is unseasonably cool—in the 60’s! By lunchtime the sun was shining brightly but it was still cool.
After lightly sanding with 220-grit sandpaper, I applied the third coat of varnish to the new doorway frame this morning. (It’s looking good!)
After lunch, I checked the fit up for the new Solbian-brand solar panel I recently purchased. This new little 40-watt panel is simply intended to provide supplemental power on cloudy days (and eventually to help power a small water maker). I’ve added it just forward of the 100-watt solar panel already mounted on the roof of the hard dodger.
 |
| The new 40-watt solar panel is in the foreground of this image, on top of the dodger roof. |
In the above photo, you can see a sagging of the bimini where the two smaller solar panels are mounted on the aft end. This "sagging" causes rainwater to leak in this area. One of my upcoming projects is to eliminate this sagging.
Tuesday, June 5
We awoke early to bright sunshine and cool temperatures this morning. We drove our next door (boat) neighbors to the airport this morning and then proceeded to Annapolis. We needed to order a sea water pump for our new Yanmar engine—I have been changing them out during every annual haulout because they have a life expectancy of only 500 engine hours. I also needed to pick up some fasteners and a SCANSTRUT-brand deck penetration seal for the cables from the solar panels on the hard dodger.
We had a nice leisurely lunch at Carroll's Creek Cafe in Annapolis. I really miss living in Annapolis!
 |
| Lola was completely played out this evening as she slept on the dining table. |
Wednesday, June 6
 |
| The new selector switch (circled in red) is now installed allowing us to switch between several functions available with our OGM-brand masthead light. |
Following the selector switch installation, I installed a GENASUN-brand (boost) controller for our new 40-watt solar panel. This particular solar panel produces 8 volts--the boost controller, boosts the voltage up to 12 volts so that it is compatible with our onboard power system. I wired the new panel to the controller, using a SCANSTRUT deck seal for the cables to pass through the deck. (I'm not sure what I am going to do about the two old 3/4-inch diameter holes yet.)
 |
| This SCANSTRUT-brand deck seal carries four cables (from two solar panels on our hard dodger) through the cockpit coaming. |
I used the blank rubber puck (which comes with the SCANSTRUT deck seal) and drilled four holes through it. Since I was drilling through soft rubber, the holes partially close back up after drilling. It was quite a task pulling the cables through the holes in the rubber puck until I discovered that TEFLON grease made the job a lot easier.
I should also note that the top of the cockpit coaming was reinforced with 3/4-inch thick marine plywood sandwiched into the fiberglass (due to the fact that winches are often mounted on this surface) After cutting a 1-5/8-inch diameter hole through the coaming using a hole saw, I coated the exposed surfaces of the plywood with epoxy in case any water is able to penetrate the area in the future.
Thursday, June 7
Yet another day of bright sunshine and cool temperature! While Maggie was visiting the dental museum (yes, Baltimore has a dental museum!) and having lunch with the (older) ladies of the marina, I was sanding (with 220-grit sandpaper) and applying varnish (the fourth coat) on the new door frame. It was a challenge keeping our new energetic (7-1/2 pound) kitten away from the wet varnish!
 |
| I can't keep up with Lola's energy level! |
I did some prep work on the bulkhead today, plugging some old holes with teak plugs and taping off the areas that aren’t supposed to be varnished. I still have at least one more coat of varnish to be applied to the new door frame before I start the bulkhead re-finishing. (I may be able to start the re-finishing of the bulkhead on Saturday morning.)
One of the challenges of having two cats of different ages is at feeding time. Lola is supposed to eat kitten food until she is one year old. Captain Jack, on the other hand, is supposed to eat a senior cat diet. We keep their food dishes six feet apart and we manage to get them started with their respective food but invariably, they switch positions and eat each other’s food. We’ve given up on trying to correct the situation—they simply can’t understand their assignments nor possessions.
Friday, June 8
Today was another unseasonably cool day with lots of sunshine—a great day to go to Annapolis again. I got the second coat of varnish on our documentation board this morning—I decided to start refinishing it yesterday.
 |
| Our documentation board after two new coats of varnish. It will require several more coats to get the finish nice and smooth. |
We drove to Annapolis and accomplished the following tasks:
(1) got our list of ICW bridges and locks laminated and bound,
(2) sent our failed ice cube trays back to SeaFrost for exchange,
(3) purchased a new Aqua Signal combo steaming/foredeck light,
(4) picked up some bronze wool and some (paper) varnish filters, and
(5) got our 10-pound propane tank refilled.
 |
| Our laminated list of ICW bridges and locks is simply the list from our Waterway Guide marked up with changes we experienced last season. |
We also bought some new shoes, mine for the next (cooler) fall & winter in New Bern NC and Maggie bought another pair of flip flops (her shoe of choice regardless of weather).
We got back to the boat about 4 PM and I was able to apply another (the third) coat of varnish on our documentation board and (the fifth and last coat) on our new door frame. (Tomorrow I will start work on the bulkhead by more taping off, sanding, and some spot staining.)
Thanks for following our blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment