What I did on my summer vacation…
Okay, it’s not officially summer yet, but I am on vacation. Technically, my other half is, though my muses don’t take break, so while I’m spending my day adorned in a Tyvek suit, gloves, eye and lung protection, my phone and Evernote app are always close at hand. And just as I predicted some time back, the weather patterns would shift to make the task of finishing the Great Deck Nightmare as unpleasant as possible. I’d say 90 degree days with high humidity qualifies. And I’m posting this a bit early, because I’ll be back up a more than a bit early to get a head start before the thermometer starts its daily rise. But as I was cleaning up from today’s work I paused to consider each of the weapons of destruction I consider indispensable. Let’s take a look.
The cockpit at day’s end. Yikes. But there’s a method to this madness. First off, dust control. After assassinating four shop vacs over the years, another crazy trawler-restoring soul showed me the amazing Dust Deputy you see below. Essentially, it sends all your debris into a vortex, and 99% of what would fill the vacuum instead falls into a bucket. This has become one of my favorite tools, worth every penny of the $99 it set me back. Had I bought this years ago, my prior shop vacs wouldn’t have died early deaths. They didn’t die in vain, though. Their hoses live on, and 40′ of vacuum hose on a 32′ boat comes in real handy.
The sum of a day’s itchy work.
Want to cut through very tenacious layers of glass? (Really? Reconsider.) But if you must, take one angle grinder, attach one cutting wheel, and let the destruction begin.
Next, heat guns and chisels. Need some bare glass but don’t feel like grinding it off? I don’t blame you. But heat guns don’t just remove paint and varnish — they’ll strip gel coat straight off — there’s a picture that shows the results coming up.
Sanders. What would a job like this be without sanders? Far less itchy, but far more lumpy in the end. Not in the picture, the dreaded, dreadful belt sander, version Four. My theory is the boat was traumatized by belt sanders in her earlier years, and has vowed to kill as many as possible in retaliation.
Jigsaw and Sawzall, for all the things you want to saw. But Baby Powder??? Yes, baby powder. Liberally coat yourself with this wondrous stuff before working, and the nasty itchy dust to follow stands less chance of finding its way into your pores.
The corner of the cockpit with a mix of new and old coring, all level and ready to be sealed off. When complete, a final layer of cloth then mat will wrap from inside the cockpit to over the rail. The inner edge shows just how effectively a heat gun and chisel can remove your gel coat.
A settee full of fiberglass. Yards and yards of mat, cloth, and biaxial. This is what a deck looks like before it becomes a deck.
And what’s in the cooler? Let’s see. Soda, Sam Addams, and ICE. Lovely lovely ice.
So tomorrow as you read this I’ll finishing the prep and cutting the first yards of glass. Wooo Hooo!
Share on Facebook
