So maybe that wasn't such a good idea

The rattle can primer as guide coat may not have been the best solution. It is horribly messy, seems to have penetrated deep into the Quikfair and gums up the sand paper. Oh well, live and learn. I've already got it on the other side of the boat but not near as heavy as the first so hopefully that'll be better.

Today was more sanding. Working my way down the port side doing the big X's as recommended which leave a cross hatch pattern in the fairing compound.

I have been in touch with the makers of the Flexicat sanders in Europe. I mentioned my issue with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and told them I was gripping the sander in different ways. They wanted pictures so I sent them some.

I switch hand positions quite frequently trying to avoid the strain that's put on my wrists. I do have to say these are a vast improvement over other sanders I have and I can get by without having to wear braces on my wrists at night (mostly). They also featured my video's on their Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/FLEXICAT/

I made a few suggestions that they're going to pass onto their designers. Who knows, maybe my ideas will see it in the next generation of their sanding tools.

I figured you guys were due for another sanding video so I geared up! (Hold the Teletubbie jokes please).

I thought this was just about the goofiest thing I've ever seen! But hey, that's what it takes to bring you all these exciting sanding videos! :-)  Try to contain yourselves and turn off all cell phones and electronic devices (except your computer that you're watching right now) while the show is in progress. So without any further ado, here it is.........

Cheers!

The Pro's vs The Amateurs

This job is 100% amateur. Although I've read tons and studied tons and followed dozens of blogs & web forums I am no expert. I very freely admit that. Thank the boat building gods that there are Pro's out there on the Interwebs who so graciously donate their time and expertise to help morons like my 'try to understand' all the nuances of boat building.

As of late it's been this whole fairing process. It seems simple. Spread some poo on, let it harden and sand it off. Easy peasy right? Well maybe if you know what you're doing it is. For the untrained (and frequently covered in sanding dust) it's a vicious cycle of fill/fair, fill/fair, fill/fair (Yeah I know, you've heard the before). It's actually more akin to a dog chasing it's own tail. So long story short, with the advice of some Pro's I think I'm actually getting closer to actually figuring this all out. (I think).

Today's job was to pick up some sandable spray primer (black preferable) and put a guide coat on the hull. A guide coat is simply paint that once sanded will remain in the low spots allowing you to more easily identify and correct them. You saw a bit of that before with the 3M dry guide coat (which is more suited to final fairing). For rough fairing a 'rattle can' (spray bomb) and flat primer works best.

So I went down one side of the boat and the transom spraying on the primer. Too much I've been told but you live and learn. All that's needed is a light dusting.

Once that was dry I started back over the areas with the Flexicat's and 60 grit paper. You can see in this pic that the bow and the bulwarks still need quite a bit of work. There's even more tape & fabric overlapping here than on the chines plus there's a heavy layer of carbon fiber fabric under there too.

Moving aft you can see that almost all of the black is gone. There are a few minor spots but nothing major. The guide coat did show me some high spots I never noticed before and a few lows that I didn't know existed. Those defects are actually so small you can't feel them with your hands.

I know one thing I've been doing wrong is trying to fix some low spots with the Quickfair and it's way too thick for that job. I end up with a high spot that I have to sand the shit out of and the result is low spots on either side of the patch! *sigh* Remember the part about the dog chasing his tail? So tomorrow I'm going to try making up some of my own filler, ultra thin, about the consistency of mayonnaise and trowel that on. I'll also tint it our favorite colour, blue! When it sets up I'll be able to sand that and it should eliminate the very small and shallow defects. That's the theory anyways. We'll see how it goes.

I get a fair amount of advice from a fella on The Cruisers Forum (minaret) who's a pro. He frequently looks in on my build thread there and gives great feedback. Even though I can't afford or know how to use the material he chooses in his professional career I can still work out some of the details and draw advice (and courage) from him. I thank him whole heartedly.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f55/and-so-it-begins-knottybuoyz-new-project-58124.html

Feeling the affects of

advancing decrepitude. *sigh*  When I took my tumble down the stairs two years ago I also pulled something in my back. It didn't seem to be a pressing issue but it's kicking up more and more lately. I need to peel off some beef, I know that.  I dread having to climb up on top of the boat do do the fairing and sanding. It just kills my back & knees. Boy, getting old suks!

I puttered around the shed this morning. I filled some low spots and they'll be ready for sanding in an hour or so. I had to move the cabin sides into the shed. The brackets that held them on the outside of the shed broke off in the last storm we had. The panels got wet and some mold started to form on them.

I really gotta figure out a solution to my offcuts. I might build a bin of sorts on the side of the shed formerly occupied by the cabin sides. Maybe a project for tomorrow.

While I was doing the spring cleanup on the BBQ I had to go under the boat to retrieve our propane tank. Thought I'd share a couple of pics from inside the belly of the beast!

Looking forward.

Looking aft.

I can't wait to get through this fairing stuff so I can get this pig flipped over. Then the fun begins filleting and fiberglassing the insides. At least I'll have gravity working on my side.

Cheers & thanks for looking in.

Had to take a wee break

Saturday our Ginger Moggy, Squirt, got into some trouble necessitating a late hour trip to the animal hospital. I had noticed he was acting strange and caught him earlier in the day trying to take a dump on the front porch. I though he was just being a jerk. Later on I saw him again hiding in the basement acting strange. I mentioned to Lori to keep an eye on him. She later found him upstairs frothing at the mouth and poop coming out of him. We rushed him to the vet where the Doc determined he had a bowel obstruction. Long story short, two days in animal hospital, multiple enema's, Xrays & 'The Flying Fickle Finger of Fate' procedure and $1100 later he's back home, almost normal.

I took some more time to deal with a few issues I've been putting off. Rearranged some finances and paid off the Jeep. This will free up some cash flow for boat stuff etc. Managed to get back to the boat this morning. I picked up some 3M dry guide coat and gave it a try.

The stuff is a bit messy. I'm guessing but I'd say it's nothing more than carbon black applied with a sponge applicator. It does do what it claims to do. Once sanded it'll highlight the low spots.

In some areas you can read it fairly well and keep sanding till it's gone. In others you can also tell if it needs more filling. I used my straight edge & feeler gauges and found most of these low spots to be less than .001" deep. You can't see them with the naked eye without the guide coat nor can you feel them .

I've moved onto the next smallest grit, 80,on the Flexicat's. It means a bit more sanding but the surface is getting smoother and smoother all the time. And now for your viewing enjoyment, I know you're sitting on the edge of your seats holding your breath so here it is, another sanding video! Yeah! Let 'er rip!

Cheers!

Movin' on up

to the top of the boat!

So being pretty much done with the sides & transom till I get the 3M dry guide coat I ordered I moved on up on top (actually the bottom) to start sanding the poo I laid on there a week or so ago. It seems a whole lot harder having cured for that long! Yikes!

The keel & bottom panels won't get near the treatment the sides & tansom got as virtually no one, other than Lori when she dives down to scrape the barnacles off, will ever see it!  :-)

The idea here is to knock down the shiny stuff and feather out the fabric edges in prep for another layer of poo along the keel and bottom panels.

Like I said before it's tough going on this stuff. I broke out the belt sander and it chews it up real good! Too good I think. I've got a 40 grit belt on there now so I think I'll get an 80 or 100 grit belt to see how that does. "The proper tool for the proper job" Scottie used to say!

It was 80 degs in the lower part of the shed and 95 degs on top of the boat. This took the starch outta my shorts in about 3/4's of an hour and I had to call it a day. I'll get right back on it tomorrow morning while it's still cool.

Update:  Video clip o' the day!

Standby, more to come.