Gelcoat - Slow Progress

Well it has been nearly a year so I guess I really should post an update to show my (seemingly disappointing) progress before this year finishes.

Matt (my shipwright mate) told me pretty much what I was expecting to hear: "gotta get that gel coat off mate, then give me a call". He suggested that I see how much I could get off with a scraper first, since grinding it off is apparently quite messy. So off I trotted to the hardware and bought the most bad-arsed scraper I could find.

Then I got stuck into it near the stern tube. 

I did manage to make progress, but it was ridiculously slow. This was all I had to show after a full day of chipping away.

So Matt kindly lent me his large grinder and a couple of really coarse disks. 

It really is a filthy, noisy, laboriously slow job, but at least it's quicker than using the scraper. The shot below shows the results of a few hours hard work. The pipe near the stern tube is my feeble and unsuccessful attempt at dust extraction.

It's a horrible job and the toxic dust produced in large volumes goes absolutely everywhere. No the best in a residential area. 

I wasted heaps of time trying to screen the job off in an attempt to contain some of this dust, but the slightest breeze made the plastic sheeting collapse constantly. 

I also had to buy another set of goggles since my ancient cheap piece of crap wasn't blocking anything. I'd find myself digging the dust out of my eyes at the end of each day. 

But at least I did make some progress over time. 

As it currently stands, I've gotten everything off from that strip (in the photos above and below) back toward the stern. There's a lot to go, but at least I seem to have gotten a heap of it off now. I've also just bought a new grinder/polisher, so I can finally give Matt his one back. I've also recently bought a heap more plastic sheeting and gaffa tape, as well as a new respirator (I think my old one was leaking/letting the dust in), so hopefully I'll be able to control some of the dust. 

I haven't been able to get any more done for months now due to lots of other commitments and an unlucky streak of unsuitable weather on my days off (too windy/too hot/too many neighbours around).

One of the biggest time distractions has been preparing for, and embarking on, a stint at the maritime college in Tasmania, to do my VTS course. I absolutely LOVE Tassie and had such a great time down there. I managed to escape over one of the weekends, hiring a car and driving like mad to cover as much ground as I could. I stopped at the marina in Kettering and went for a wander, and walking down the first wharf I came to I discovered a nice Contessa 26 at its berth (I think the universe is sending me a sign). 

Interesting modifications to the cockpit, otherwise she looks pretty standard. 

And another couple berths down I came across a Contessa 32, which was amazing. Looks well set up too. 

As if I need more motivation, when I got back home I was able to order a new book that has just been published on the little Contessa 26. It's since arrived and is awesome, but my wife has snatched it away from me and wrapped it up as a Christmas present for me. 

Anyway, that's been my year so far. I guess I should be happy with my progress, given the time/weather/financial challenges I've had, but things are about to heat up somewhat. I know I keep saying that, but things really are finally coming to a head. 

1. Our daughter will soon have her driver's licence, which means I will no longer have to drop everything to drive her to and from school twice a day (about an hour each time). 

2. Due to some changes at my work, I am about to be promoted to permanent full-time status. This is huge. It means that we can finally consolidate our financial position. Hopefully this will give me the funds to actually get this restoration done properly and in a timely manner. 

So hopefully in 2016 I will be able to share lots of useful info/progress, and we can finally see this classic beauty take to the seas once again. 

We wish you all a very merry Christmas and an excellent new year. 

Righto, Let's Get This Show on the Road

Exciting developments are afoot. It seems I'm going to be moving into a temporary (~12 months?) full-time role at work later in the year, as one of my colleagues is going to have a baby. And since I'll be needing to sort out some kind of accommodation close to work for this period, I've decided that the best option will be to try and get Sentina restored and parked in the marina in Newcastle harbour. Ambitious goal perhaps, but undoubtedly an exciting challenge. 

So with this gauntlet duly picked up, I've been getting the ball rolling.

Firstly I ceased work on my Hawaiian canoe build (see link to my other blog on this project) and moved her out to the back yard. She's near-as-damn-it to being completed, and I'll look forward to finally getting that job kicked into touch after Sentina is properly sorted out. The missus is just stoked at being able to park underneath the carport again. 

Turning my attention back to Sentina, I was shocked at how much the big bush had grown over her. It was going nuts and had completely engulfed the forward half of her. I had wanted to chop the thing out completely when Sentina was being lifted into this spot, but my wife was adamant that it should stay so I just cut it back as much as possible. Should've 'slipped' with the bloody chainsaw. 

It took a while, but its finally clear of the hull and decks. I might have a bit more of a hack at those overhanging branches later, but this should do for the time being. 

What a mess. I'm looking forward to pressure cleaning her from top to bottom again. Would this be the first CO26 that's had its hedges trimmed?

I also had a shipwright mate of mine come over to have a look at the boat for me. Matt's a top bloke, an excellent shipwright and really knows how to get jobs like these done properly and cost-effectively. He also knows the best places to source parts, equipment and materials and has loads of contacts. 

He was genuinely surprised at how good the hull is, and reckons the bones are all there. High praise indeed, and a testament to the original build quality.

He's given me a bunch of pointers and aimed me in the direction of my first task: stripping the rest of the gelcoat. Time to get dirty boys and girls.