Banging bangs, varnish meditation and smelly goo
Last two weeks were very busy with not boat-related events so I could devolve only a couple of hours here and there to carry on on Meritaten. Not only due time constraints but mainly for shitty weather my boatyard visits were short and few.
Small, not headlines-making jobs like re-drilling and banging old screw holes in pentry area. I have few hundreds small mahogany plugs and now was the time to install many of them.
To keep me from being bored by that I frequently encountered stubborn old screws which could not be removed. Probably set in epoxy. Fortunately they were brass so I can let them be, just cut their heads flush.
It’s too cold to use epoxy so I switched to PU-glue, rated for outdoor use. For furniture inside the cabin epoxy strength is not really required.
I took as much as possible home, to work in warm and dry conditions.
Kitchen box plates were sanded and cleaned in the boatyard and taken home for varnishing. My family was not exactly happy seeing our bedroom as varnish workshop for many days.
Good training before coming annual hull varnishing on Meritaten. It reminded me again how calming and contemplative this process is - even though, to keep wet edge, one needs to work really fast. Epoxy-coating is a piece of cake compared to varnishing.
Pentry plates should be ready by tomorrow so I started preparing traditional coating to be put between new plates and current kitchen furniture. Last month visit in Annell Båtvarv inspired me to use this old method. And the fact that Anders is also a beekeeper, like me, added to that!
Recipe is simply beeswax with linseed oil, with added some kind of biocide. In my case I use Ettan which contains tjära and beeswax. I add chunks of Ettan into linseed oil and top it with a bit of used turpentine left from brush cleaning after varnishing. This way everything has it’s usage.
Contrary to bitumen-based pastes this mixture does not attract water and stays humid-free. It is used on wood-wood or wood-metal interfaces which are not exposed to high heat - like between frames and hull or inside the cabin.
A jar with chopped Ettan in linseed oil sat in a pot with hot water. Wax started to dissolve slowly.
After an hour the smelly goo was ready - while hot it has a thin, oily consistence.
When allowed to cool down into room temperature it becomes creamed-honey paste, easy to distribute over the surface yet not dripping.
Today I went to the boatyard to check the situation after recent storm. On the way I saw few trees broken by wind so I was nervous about my small workshop standing in the plain. Luckily it survived with no harm and Glypto greeted me with her Owatrol-shiny freeboards.
I took some thick mahogany plywood from this storage and went to Meritaten. I got this plywood from Rosättra båtvarv for free and now it will become really handy in constructing hanging table in the main cabin.
Originally I planned to substitute the box-like table with a new one, made from teak I got from Tze. After giving this more thoughts and inspecting my old table I dismissed the idea - old table is heavy and solid, made from massive mahogany with handy dove-tailed box for storing things when folded. The only problem with it were legs - wobbly! The idea was smart: double-bent brass pipes supporting the table were mounted in bilge, on floors timber. All brass and massive. Table could be swung to the side when not in use, giving free passage to fo’c’s’le.
Unfortunately - it was unstable. We had to be careful with the table while eating because any mistake in using the table as a support while moving around resulted in the mess when the table started to move!
That’s where the new table idea came from and now back to square one - the same table but mounted on the bulkhead, permanently. It will no longer swing but will be stable. I made simulations today to see where to mount it so that there is a passage up-front and still the crew can sit comfortably. Some reinforcements of the mount will be needed but I have enough mahogany to build it quickly.
And I will not have to drill holes in my brand new cabin sole!
So as to not waste the fact that I’m on Meritaten I took engine door/cockpit sole hatches and sanded them for coming varnishing.
Having freshly opened can of varnish at home (Epifanes!) and all setup in place it is a good opportunity to do them now. I didn’t varnish them last year and they got heavy beating by Sun and rain last summer - it was high time to re-coat them. I was just too lazy to unscrew brass handles but even with them in place varnishing went smooth and effect is pleasing.