Grinding Continues

Brigadoon skirted to contain grindings Refinishing station
Chain Plates and forward berth dismantled.


We had a great visit last week with our Grandson Julian Root and our daughter Christy. Grandpa still got his work done, mostly, but Grandma had a great time visiting. We all went to the Portland Zoo and the OMSI (Oregon Musuem of Science and Industry). They had a spectacular exhibit called "BodyWorks". I highly recommend it to anyone interested in how the body looks under the skin. Absolutely Amazing!

It's August 6th and we've been in the boat yard over a month. Walt has all the gel coat ground off the hull. He skirted the hull with plastic to keep the grinding dust controlled and swept up. Now he has to decide whether to grind off the first layer of fiberglass cloth, or grind out each individual blister. The grinding is very hard physically as well as dirty and hot. To promote drying out the blisters we also have to wash the hull daily to remove the chemical residue that seeps out of the blisters.



Besides the hull work we are also making good progress on the other projects. Walt is designing new tanks for under the forward berth for fresh water and sewage holding. Once those are fabricated, he has to rebuild the forward bulkheads and platform for the berth. The inside of the hull has teak strips lining the hull, called ceiling strips. Those were removed and Marty is stripping off the varnish, bleaching and getting them ready to go home to have 3-4 coats of varnish applied.



Also in progess is the repair on the chainplates. The rigging that holds up the mast fastens to a fitting that goes thru the deck and is bolted inside. The areas where the chainplates were bolted had dry rot and have to be removed and refabricated with fiberglass reinforcement. As of now it is all apart, including the surrounding ceiling strips which are also being refinished.



Still to come: We removed the rudder and will replace the steeing cables, installation of the new tanks, installation of anchor windlass, re-rigging the mast with all new standing and running rigging. Once done this boat will be seaworthy and ready to go anywhere we decide to take her, whether it is down the coast to the Sea of Cortez, to the South Seas, or just stay in the Pacific Northwest.