Emerging from dust
Even though temperature during the day reaches 16 degrees it is still quite cold in boat hall. After yesterday’s epoxying I didn’t expect the glue to fully harden overnight at these temperatures. Checking on some epoxy remains left on the tray proved to be the case: the glue could be easily dented with just a nail.
So I left glue work to fully harden before I will start riveting and instead I decided to clean my boat thoroughly. It is quite depressing to see all boats around being cleaned and almost ready for the season while on Meritaten it is still lots of dust and construction-site landscape.
Several hours of vacuuming and removing all the stuff needed during winter renovation has changed that entirely - she looks again like a proper boat! There is still quite a bit to finish before going to water but now it is mostly installation of things which I prepared long before: cockpit structures, new floor, new cabin entrance, riveting and driving new bronze screws plus engine re-installation.
Jim with his wife were working on Kaika, Börje also payed a visit so this afternoon became a social event rather than usual heavy work. Lots of boat-talk and useful advices.
I’ve checked with Börje that screws which I drove out of my boat are indeed bronze so these are good news: at least frames were screwed with proper metal. I have no idea why they used brass for floor timber but if all other screws are bronze, as it seems, then I have one big task off my head.
At the end of the day the test epoxy sample was fully cured so I dared to try removing few M4 positioning screws from yesterday’s work. To my relief, after hammer whack, they all could be backed from epoxied frames so Farm on threads indeed inhibited them from being permanently glued.
Tomorrow I will remove all temporary M4s and prepare holes for installing rivets. I’ll need to first do some tests on which hole size is the best to drive these rivets home. If time allows I’ll also fully screw new frame to the floor timber so that I can close the hull there and call it a day.
To do list before the season:
screw and rivet all frame repairs
screw laminated frame to floor timber #3
painting motor room - I’ll use traditional iron oxide instead of bilge paint. Seems to be better choice for timber health and I like to keep it traditionally red
close all rivet/screw holes with plugs - installed on Farm 80 or Sika, I haven’t decided yet
cockpit installation
durk adjustment in the main cabin to fit into new floor timber and frame
engine installation and trials - that’s a biggie but at least here Servicevarvet can help me if I get stalled
installing new mainsail track and anchoring it to the hull
hull varnish and bottom paint
And that should conclude this winter work. I still see it possible to hold the time plan and go to water by end of April. A week of delay, if needed, will not be the end of the world.