I started the day thinking I was going to do a final sand and
paint with primer on the pilothouse and
cockpit, then test out the top coat on the hatches and dorado vent boxes. Went to the supply store and they were out of primer in 1 litre tins, but expected more to arrive today, so suggested I come back later in the day when I was ready to
paint. I kept an eye on the clouds and finished sanding/washing/masking, but after 3 more trips to the supply store the paint still had not arrived so I gave up and moved onto other projects.
I did buy 20 litres of Hempel antifouling paint so will have it ready to apply after the
mast is back on the
boat and the boom and
sails are out from under the
hull. Cost was a bit over $700 (more than my previous estimate, which may have been per 10 litre tin) but still better than the cheapest quote I had from contractors at $1500.
The
canvas guy finished my new lazy bag so I put it back on the boom along with the main sail. The
rigging guy came over with the new cut
headliner pieces for the
mast surround (to replace the
water damaged ones that disintegrated when the mast was removed).
The bow pulpit has been annoying me, as it bolts into the scuppers and half the
stainless steel bolts had let go of the aluminium plate. This is a problem because there is the potential for the pulpit to fall off in big waves or when someone leans on it, and also because the bolt holes allow
water from the scuppers to drain inside the
boat damaging
wood and corroding screws. I had not previously been able to remove the final bolts, but decided to have a go today with the new impact driver, and managed to free them all and temporarily seal the bolt holes. I will need to get larger diameter bolts, then drill and tap the plate to securely mount the pulpit again.
Fore of the mast the
bilge is the aluminium plate of the
hull, but aft of the mast there was 2-3 inches of a black composite material that had been poured in over the top of expanding foam and blown in foam and aluminium plate and set. I guess this used to make a nice waterproof channel but it has now cracked and this allows water to seep through the cracks and sit between this material and the
bilge plates. I was worried about this being a source of
corrosion, so planned to remove all of the material and inspect. When time permits I have been working with hammers, axes, wrecking bars, and a jigsaw to slowly break the composite into smaller pieces that I can remove from the bilges, and today I levered up a large piece, and water started leaking through the bilge walls. It turns out the
corrosion in the bottom of the bilge has been severe, and there are holes through into the port water tank and through the bottom of the bilge down into the foam. I still need to finish the cleanup to see how deep the damage goes, and whether there is any corrosion down in the hull or in a
keel cavity, but expect I will at least need to get the welder back to replace the plate at the bottom of the bilge and do some
repairs to the port and probably starboard water
tanks. This won't be a fun welding job, as it is down in tight spaces, so I hope I don't need to start lifting
teak floor boards. The good news is that I removed the port water tank
inspection plate, and there is no corrosion on the inside which is a relief after the corrosion issues with the starboard
fuel tank. Tomorrow I will remove the
inspection hatch on the starboard water tank.