Odd jobs

Last couple of days we have been catching up with odd jobs, but not finishing any of them.

The priority is the bilge pumps since we don't want to go into the water without them working automatically. We cut out the hole for the pump control panel and fitted all the pumps and float switches, 3 of each. We have two bilge pumps, excluding the manual one. A small one that is the normal bilge pump and is left on auto all the time running from a float switch. The second is a much bigger one that can be either auto or manual. We tested the small one and it kept pace with the hose running into the bilges so we are pleased with that. The third pump/float switch combination is for the grey water holding tank.

I also sanded the cockpit ready for painting and Tim put Sikaflex between the deck rubbing strip and the hull. In the process he found a small part where the hull is delaminating which we will have to fix.

We have also been making the block to support the new winch to allow the chain to fall properly into the chain locker. We put all the chain in the locker too.

Ooops... nearly forgot the main news. We have a launch date! Wednesday January 13th at 9am. So we have to get all fixed by then.

Bilge pumps and polishing

Today we started the morning with me working on the bilge pumps and Tim working on polishing the topsides. Neither of us finished our task!

However... the starboard side looks pretty amazing from the polishing. We had been sold some colour restorer and polish by Harris at Ocean Marine and to be honest I was skeptical. But the results were amazing. No it doesn't look like a freshly spray painted hull, but it does not shine and the water runs off much quicker.

The bilge pumps took a lot of work and we ended up going to see Costantinos at Comar Marine for some more plumbing pipe, clips and one way valves. We installed and tested the grey water holding tank and installed both bilge pumps and tested the smaller one. The float switch for the large one still needs fixing... another day.

Sanding topsides

Tim spent most of the day sanding the topsides of the hull. We'd tried a small part of the hull - sanding and polishing and thought it would be a quick job. It wasn't. It took him most of the day just to sand it to get the gell coat to look pristine again. He then washed it down ready for polishing.

We noticed too that there was a gap between the rubbing strip and the hull. We'll fill this with Sikaflex.

Tim also finished all the preparation work for the Treadmaster. We still need to prepare the white paintwork since that has to be done before gluing the Treadmaster... but she's getting ready for launch.

Awlgrip anti-fouling

Anti-fouling is really rotten stuff, so Jacob was wearing hat, gloves, mask and protective glasses for painting the hull with me today. And it was a good job he was too... there were paint splatters on the hat, mask and eye glasses, and significant quantity on the gloves.

Because the paint dries so fast, Jacob and I were painting in shifts, so that the roller wouldn't dry out. I was doing the high bits and...

...Jacob was doing the low bits.

I must say King Malu did look smart by the time we had finished.

We also spent some time filling the ding on the port side a small problem at the port stern and some little gell coat holes at the bow all with gell coat.

Gell goat is horrid stuff to work with, at least that's what I find. It doesn't work like a filler, more like an over thick lumpy glue/paint that refuses to be smoothed and has to be filed smooth after it sets.

Hopefully tomorrow it will be hard enough to sand off and get smooth.

I also touched up the black line on the starboard side. The masking tape had not masked completely and there was a crinkly edge to it. So I hand painted the grey edge between the black and the grey.

Acid bath and exhaust

Notable happenings today were Ken's extraction of the exhaust pipe... which had holes in multiple places. Unwrapping the bandage from it showed just how big they were!

The shape of the exhaust meant Ken was somewhat concerned about how a new one could be manufactured.

Another of the activities was to give the propeller an acid bath to clean it up. We painted the propeller four times and then washed off.  We used concentrated sulfuric acid, which was what was recommended, and it seemed to do a very good job.

It doesn't look like new, but it is totally clean brass now. 

Epoxy hull guard

Today Jacob and I painted two coats of Awlgrip expoxy hull guard on King Malu. It was very tiring work. The hull guard paint is quite difficult to roller evenly.

But the final result leaves a protective coat over the entire hull below the water line and so definitely worth it.

Fixing the ding!

Very early this morning... well... very early for me that is... I went down to King Malu and painted a second grey coat on the band around the stern. Then back to the office for staff meeting.

This afternoon I came back to the boat to fix the ding on the starboard side. First of all I ground out as far back as the cracks in the gel coat went so that there could be no water penetration through the cracks. Then chamfered the edges to that the new gel coat would take. Ahh... just asked Sue how to spell chamfered and she had never heard the word. It means to grind down the edge, like a bevel so that its not a hard edge. 

Then I mixed up Epidermix 372 epoxy and layered Epidermix and glass-fibre matting into the hole. I then used the remaining Epidermix to fill other little holes below the water line.

When I got back to the office Tim came round and was slightly concerned that the Epidermix might run since I had layered it into quite a deep hole. We went down to the boat again and found that it looked fine not drooping at all. Epidermix is, I think, a South African epoxy and takes 7 days to cure fully. But hopefully will be solid enough not to droop over night.