Sail 2 Live, Blog 2 Live

Final Varnishing

2012-05-22T16:46:49Z

Varnishing is all done now. I applied 6 coats of Interlux Perfection Gloss. Recommendation is for 4 coats. Hopefully this stuff will be as durable as advertised.

Next up. ELECTRICAL!

Varnishing

2012-05-14T06:22:42Z

I started varnishing this past Saturday. The varnish I'm using is actually a Linear Polyurethane (LPU). The folks at Practical Sailor tested a bunch of different coatings and Interlux Perfection seems to be the one coming out on top. After 1 coat, this stuff looks amazing. It is water clear and that means the true color of 'wet' teak will come through. I emphasize 'wet' as the natural color of teak is considerably lighter when it's dry. Nevertheless, the results so far are very promising. If you are thinking of using Interlux Perfection, there are some things you should know.

It's expensive: $75/quart. Though that's actually a lot cheaper than what it was when it first came out at $95/quart! I bought two quarts and I am almost done with the second quart. I will probably need two more quarts. Ouch.
It's NOT varnish. Though varnish can have a very strong odor, it's not all that unpleasant. This stuff is extremely noxious and you will want to use a respirator. Also, it will pretty much eat anything that's not wood. I used nitrile gloves when applying and after one coat on all the wood I need to replace the gloves.
A traditional, natural bristle brush doesn't seem to work all that well. I've since switched to a very soft synthetic bristle brush and so far it seems to be holding up ok. I normally use foam brushes, but I wanted to give a real brush a try. You have more control over the amount of product you can apply.
Pot life is pretty short. It takes me an hour or so to apply one coat and at the end of the hour the stuff is starting to coagulate in the container.

I usually suck at mixing chemicals. So I have been fretting over this for some time. I came up with an elaborate plan to use turkey basters and graduated containers for mixing. I was surprised at how well this worked. I was also surprised when I got some of the Part A stuff on one of the bulbs of the baster. It pretty much got eaten right away. Overall I'm pretty impressed with this stuff. I hope it holds up and isn't too difficult to maintain.

And More Teak...

2012-04-23T03:46:46Z

I guess I wasn't sure how involved refurbishing the teak deck and trim was going to be. Typical. I've pretty much been unsure about everything I've done on the boat. Originally, I was just going to fix a few leaks. Sheesh.

But, it's been a fantastic learning experience. My teak isn't going to be perfect, but I really do hope it's going to look good and last a long time.

One of my favorite design details on the teak has always been the scrollwork on the bow and stern. On Soñadora, this scrollwork was seriously worn down to the point where you could not make it out. I attempted to enhance it by painting the background green and leaving the area where the scrollwork is natural.

Ultimately though, I wanted to somehow bring out the depth as it was when the boat was made. I tried all sorts of tools including a small hand sander and a Dremel (with hundreds of different attachments). None of those were adequate. Then recently, I decided to check out YouTube to see if there were any tips on carving scrollwork. There were many videos showing how to do it and it didn't look all that difficult. So I went out and got a set of chisels from Home Depot and started carving away. It's taken a total of 6 hours or so for me to carve my first scrollwork. It may not be perfect, but I think it will pass the 10 ft. rule (looks good at 10 feet or more).

I carved away close to 1/4" of material. That made the screw heads of the screws used to keep the trim in place appear. So I had to remove those and re-sink the holes for the screws. There's only about 1/4" to 3/8" material left, so I don't think anyone will be carving this again. I'll do my best to keep it in shape.

Teak

2012-04-01T06:56:15Z

This next bit is NSFW - Not Safe For Whiners. Boat owners who have a lot of brightwork (wood trim) on their boat are a strange lot. Most sailors, it seems, don't particularly care for all the wood and for the perceived 'labor' involved to maintain it. I will agree that there is a lot of maintenance required, but for those of us who enjoy it, would you still call it 'labor'? To me, nothing looks as beautiful as a boat with finely finished teak or mahogany trim. Our boat has plenty of it. And (for now) I truly don't mind taking care of it as long as I have the time to.

The teak on Soñadora was in a pretty sad state. At least as far as I am concerned. I've already taken care of the removable stuff and it looks pretty good. I'm now working on the bulwarks, cap rail and cockpit.

The biggest problem is that I never had time to do it right from the get-go. All my varnishing efforts in the past failed because I didn't have the right conditions. It was either raining, or too cold or no time. Now I'm prepping everything as best I can. Then I'll lay on many coats (8-12) of varnish.The hope is that I can do it well enough that I'll only need to lay on another coat of Cetol (yes, I'm going with Cetol).

I started first with the bowsprit. The bowsprit is constructed of alternating layers of teak and a lighter wood, possibly holly but there is discussion it could be some other wood. This 'other wood' is not as durable in the marine environment. It's somewhat sacrificial as it does not provide any structural function. As it is difficult and expensive to carve a bowsprit out of a single hunk of teak, the laminates make it easier to build while providing strength. On our boat, one length of this softer wood had significant rot. The ideal thing to do would be to remove the bowsprit and have it professionally refinished. Time and expense would be working against me here, not to mention the impossible-to-reach nut attached to the bolt that is holding the bowsprit in place. I decided to saturate the remaining wood with epoxy resin without any filler. Then I'd fill the remaining void with thickened epoxy resin. Time will tell how well this holds up.

Next, I used the DeWalt RO (Random Orbital) disk sander and sanded the flatter parts of the cap rail on the port side. This also included the cockpit coaming. Next I used the Fein with a sanding pad to get the rounded edges and little nooks that I couldn't reach with the DeWalt. There were still some un-reachable spots that even the Fein sanding pad couldn't get to. I decided to attach the contour sanding tool and see if I could get anywhere with that. The reviews of this tool were less than favorable, but I have to say this thing worked wonders! I will try to get some better pics, but this tool made it possible to sand the cleat base without needing to remove the cleat. I don't want to remove any more stuff!

I then went to town on the cockpit bulkhead. I still have quite a bit to do before I can even think about applying varnish. Hopefully I can start doing that next week.

As always, you can see more at my Baba forum.

More Deck

2012-03-01T14:37:08Z

Last Saturday I was having a cup of coffee before heading to the boat to work for the day. From upstairs Emma called down, asking when I was leaving. "Can I come and help?" She said. WOW! That really meant a lot to me. She had been to the boat a couple times before, but I never really tasked her with anything major. With my goal of completing the deck in February (goal missed), I was anxious to get work done. With Emma joining me, I was able to cut my prep time in half. She helped with finish sanding of the seams vacuuming out the seams and more importantly - masking.

After vacuuming, We then cleaned out the grooves with a rag and some acetone. Then it was time to mask. That took about 3 hours and if I would have had to do it by myself, I would be way behind instead of just a little behind.

Masking of the deck is a very tedious job. In hindsight, if I ever do this again (which I never will), I would fold up the ends of the tape so as to provide a means for removal. It was a major PITA to take the tape off.

I initially had visions of filling all the seams then going back with the putty knife to press the stuff down. It's good that I ran out of stuff and decided to press it down in stages. There's no way I could have gone back with the putty knife after all the seams were filled. So I started at the bow and worked toward the stern.

Speaking with others about this, the suggestion was to remove the tape before the stuff cures. Otherwise, you risk pulling up the seam with the tape. No way I wanted that to happen! So I pulled up the tape while the goop was still wet. What a freaking mess! Surprisingly however, I did not get any of it on me and I managed only minimal 'goopage' on the deck. On the other hand, I did get it all over the beams of the shed because I used them to steady myself. Still have one side to go and will hopefully get to it this weekend.

Hit the deck!

2012-01-30T04:10:43Z

Soñadora's teak decks have had a hard life. Until the late 90s, she was in the wet Pacific Northwest. Then we brought her to MN, where any moisture in the deck over winter would freeze and expand, causing splits in the deck. We kept her covered over winter, but that doesn't prevent the boat from freezing. Still, we didn't notice any major damage to the decks due to this.

Over time, teak will wear down and dry out to some degree. Also, the caulk between the boards will crack with age and simply come out of the groove between the planks. The teak plugs put in over screws will also wear down exposing the screw heads. Planks will 'cup' and expose the grain when they age. This is exacerbated if harsh chemicals or firm brushes are used to clean the deck.

Our deck was exhibiting all of these characteristics of aging. One major job during the refit is to recaulk the deck. This requires all deck hardware be removed (as much as you can anyway). I had to remove the jib track and deck fills. I polished a couple of those fills and they sure do look nice! Then, the deck needs to be sanded.

First I tried using a RO (random orbital) sander, but that was hardly making a dent. I then switched to a belt sander with 50 grit paper and that was the way to go. My decks are pretty thick, so I wasn't too concerned about removing too much wood. Hopefully this will be the last time anything like this will need to be done!

Then, with everything sanded, the Fein Multimaster will go to work with the caulk blade and 'scoop' out the old caulk. I've played around with this tool a little already and it is really going to make the difference between getting this job done by end of Feb or end of May.

I hope to have this job done by end of February.

Music to the Ears

2012-01-12T14:27:03Z

I've always been a fanatic when it comes to music. I'm one of those people who feels there's always a soundtrack playing in the background of my life. I listen to music as much as I can. I cherish my 15 min. commute to/from work as it gives me time to blast the tunes in my car without anyone whining about how loud it is. Surprisingly, the sound system in my 2005 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited is pretty good. The Wrangler isn't what you would call 'acoustically friendly' so a 'good' sound system can be hard to put together, but it works for me. At work, I usually annoy the crap out of others by working with headphones on most of the time.

We currently have a fairly basic system installed. The P.O. (Previous Owner) had installed a CD player along with ADS box speakers. The box speakers are fried. The paper cones are pretty much toast. On top of that, little fingers thought it was fun to push in the domes. These speakers have been a PITA. Anyone sitting near them has to keep their head low so they don't bonk themselves. And on the port side, there's a locker that can't open completely because the speaker is in the way. I performed a mild upgrade when the CD player finally died. I installed a USB capable stereo and added Dual DMS655SM surface mount speakers in the cockpit.

Now that I'm restoring our sailboat, one thing I wanted to accomplish was to install a fairly substantial sound/video system. I am not kidding when I say I've been researching this for the better part of a year.The current system we have is OK. In fact, others in my family would say it's perfect. But I feel this is an opportunity to really have something nice to listen to when on board. Some of the units I considered were:

Lowrance Sonic Hub (which would have required other Lowrance equipment)
Clarion CMD7
Sony CDX-H910UI
Fusion Marine
Kenwood KMR700U

I finally settled on the Kenwood. I felt that it had the most flexibility for its price. The others were either too expensive (Fusion/Lowrance) or just did not have the features I was looking for (iPod connectivity, Sirius capability, RCA inputs). There are two components to this device: the controller unit and the main 'brain'. This is nice because it allows the main unit to be installed somewhat remotely. The controller unit flips down and there's a place where you can connect and store ipod and memory stick. There's also a rubber gasket included to make it water proof for external installations. Ours will be nice and dry down below.

Additionally, I will be attaching the SC-C1 Sirius Receiver unit.This comes with a cable that looks a bit like an S-Video cable and connects directly to the main unit on the KMR-700 U.

Another nice accessory is a wired remote control. Up to four remotes can be connected. We will have one in the cockpit for sure and maybe one in the v-berth.

For speakers, I only had two criteria: great sound at low volumes and good looks. I considered speakers from all the major manufacturers. I have always had good luck with Pioneer speakers, but honestly I was looking for something a bit classier. A lot of the typical car audio speakers seem to be geared towards the Fast-and-the-Furious look. I narrowed the list down to Inifinity, Boston Acoustic, Focal, Rainbow, and McIntosh. I finally settled on the McIntosh MSS630. In the makers listed, these are near the top of the middle (some Focal and Ranbow speakers are in the $1200 range). I don't know who actually makes McIntosh mobile audio speakers, but they have a very good reputation. They may not have the low end that other sets have, but I can make up for that with a powered sub.

I will also be adding video by installing a 19" LCD/DVD combo. The prices on these 12v units have dropped significantly. While many sailing purists may see this as sacrilege, I see it as another way to enjoy time spent on the boat. We will not be using it while under way and in fact will most likely only be using it while at the dock. We enjoy watching movies on the boat. In the past we used a laptop. Not bad, but it was a hassle as the screen is a little too small for many people to gather around.

I found this great site called 12v Travel that has all sorts of cool 12v devices. The TV I'm looking at is the RCA DECK18DR.

I'm pretty excited about this. Unfortunately, I have a zillion other things I need to do before I can get all of this installed. Plus, I want to be sure it's done well. If you were to see how I currently have my aft speakers installed, I'd be excomunicated from the Church of Sailing.

Obsession

2012-01-02T02:20:45Z

The new year brings a new resolve to get more done on the boat. Spring will be here SOON! One problem I encountered is my obsession for polishing all of Soñadora's metalwork.

At first, back in the spring I was simply going to clean up the brass, bronze, and stainless hardware. However, by 'accident', I managed to clean up a piece of bronze too well and I noticed how shiny it became. At the time, I was using a wire brush and a small cloth polishing wheel in a drill. The polishing wheel came with 3 sticks of some kind of compound. Wasn't sure what that was for, so I didn't use it. Even with less than adequate tools and little knowledge of what I was doing, I still managed to polish things up a bit.

All of the bronze hardware was covered in the greenish brown patina that is common for bronze that is weathered. Weathered bronze actually looks pretty nice and I really didn't have a problem with it, but once I got a taste for how shiny bronze can get, I really became obsessed with it.

My first attempts were on the oval trim for the opening ports. I wasn't sure how to even go about it. I tried using some chemicals including acetone, brass cleaner, and rubbing compounds. Nothing like that worked so I took a mechanical approach. I grabbed the angle grinder and a sanding disk. Well, that was way too aggressive! Sure, it immediately removed the patina, but it also left deep scratch marks.

Next, I tried a coarse wire wheel on a drill. That worked too, but again, too many scratches. Next, I tried a fine wire wheel as well as a wire cup. Much better. It still left marks, but they weren't as bad. I then took my Fein with a 240 grit sandpaper and that took out all the scratches. But now, even with the fine sandpaper there were swirl marks. Using the drill and the polishing wheel, I tried to remove the swirls. I wasn't sure how to use the polishing wheel. At first I put some rubbing compound on the part and hit it with the wheel. That sort of worked. I wondered what those sticks of compound were for. At first I tried applying it to the surface of the part (I laugh at that now!) That sorta worked too, but not great. Maybe on the wheel? Fired the drill up and put some on the spinning wheel. No major improvement. Then, I clamped the drill in a vise rather than attack it directly with the drill.

Then I finally decided to use my awesome internet sk33lz and hit teh google for help. That's when I came across the guys at Caswell Plating. Oh MAN what a goldmine of information for the polishing obsessed! I ordered up some polishing wheels including a sisal wheel and two sewn fabric wheels. I also ordered more rubbing compound sticks. After reading the Caswell site I finally understood what the compound was for and how to use it. I found a number of videos on YouTube that show how to polish and buff. The most striking to me are those showing how guitars are polished. Check out this guy finishing a Larrivee Bakersfield Part 1 and Part 2. No way I'm going to get to that level, but I did at least see how the compound is used. Of course, I don't need anything as heavy duty as that equipment.

With videos like that, combined with guidance from Caswell, I was able to really get this stuff to shine! My process now is to sand using a flip-flap wheel attached to the drill. The drill goes into a vise. That gives me a lot of control over how the piece is sanded. Then I use the Fein to do a finish sanding on the part. From there, I start using the polishing wheels. I converted my bench grinder to work as a polishing machine. On one end, I have a sisal wheel for doing the 'cutting'. This along with some black compound takes out the swirls left from the Fein. The finish is pretty shiny at this point, but it's still a little dull. On the other spindle I have a cloth wheel. I polish the part on that wheel using white compound which does a light cutting. The finish at that point really gives it a 'wow' factor. I would like to get a second unit and have additional wheels there. I could then go one step further with the polishing by using a polish only compound that does no cutting.

But then again, I really should get to putting the rest of the boat back together!

Happy Holidays / Hyvää Joulua!

2011-12-24T18:13:04Z

Christmas is just around the corner. We've put together our annual Christmas card. Check it out below:

English

Suomeksi

Soñadora's Refit

2011-12-21T19:43:55Z

If you haven't checked out the refit of our big girl, stop on by! Click on 'The Recomissioning of Soñadora' If you'd like to leave any comments, you can register yourself in the BBS. I'd really like to know what you think.