First coat on!

Took me longer than i thought.... 4hrs to do one coat



It was thinned to 50%, and so a lot has soaked in... So only some of it has that nice shiny finish.

Another coat tomorrow, and then the final matt coat next weekend.

This week i'll finish the doors at home, order some new brass hinges and catches and refit, and then it'll be time to move on to the white bits. You'll see that i've not done the floor/sole yet... That'll wait until I've done all the other painting, and the last task before fitting a new headlining.

Ready to start varnishing!

Another 14hrs of sanding, and ready to varnish in the morning... Yaaah!

Spent the last 3hrs cleaning, wiping and hoovering to reduce dust levels, and then wiped down all wood with white spirits....

And tomorrow the good bit begins!

(and then i've got the saloon to start.... 5 times the area!!!!)

Another good day

....of sanding and scraping....

Both sides of forepeak bare, and most of top part of remainder of forepeak.

I reckon that i'll have the whole forepeak ready to start varnishing by Sunday, which means that Easter could be a rewarding weekend!

One awkward bit today has been the little fiddle rails on the shelf.... Lots of small shaped/turned pillars that were very difficult to sand.... but patience is a virtue.

Shiny portholes!

I've got a few days onboard to really get stuck in...

Arriving too late to start more varnish removal, i thought i'd have a go at the brass portholes... Years of neglect has left them green and nasty.... But i've found the answer... 1000 grade wet and dry, followed by Brasso. I've only done one so far, but its come up a treat!



I need to do the ones in the forepeak before i can varnish in there (who am i kidding.... days of sanding left yet!)

ok, so you`ve guessed...

More sanding and varnishing...

All the trim for the forepeak headliner is now done, and 2 of the 5 cupboard doors are underway.

I`ve got a bit of annual leave coming up, plus easter, so should be able to make some real progress in the next few weeks.

the other half

Started on the port side of the forepeak, and managed about one third of it before the fumes and time of day caught up with me!

I reckon one more decent weekend should see the forepeak, at least back to the heads anyway, ready to varnish.

That`ll be a milestone!!

Still lots of varnish to remove, but getting there!

More sanding

After another 12 hrs of scraping and sanding, the entire starboard side of the forepeak and the bow end bulkhead are back to bare wood!

I've also pulled out the anchor chain, cleaned out the locker and replaced the chain, and then removed the doors to take home and sand and varnish during the week.

Slow, but steady progress.

Coat 2

Second coat on....

Wavering about the matt final coat now as the battens look so lovely after a second shiny coat!

Varnishing technique

4 battens in total now stripped, sanded and have their first coat of varnish.

I'm using Epifanes Tung oil varnish, which when thinned down by 50% for the first coat, goes on beautifully. I'm looking forward to the final coat as the unthinned stuff will be a real treat!

I'm going for 3 coats only on this internal stuff... One 50% thinned, one 20% thinned and then a final coat of the 'brushed effect' version to get a nice matt finish. In between coats i'll rub down with 320 grade to just flatten off to get a good finish... Got a bit of work to do though reducing the dust levels... Nothing too serious, but you can see the odd spec in bright light.

Varnishing

After the 'fun' of putting a new fence post in this morning, i've spent the afternoon sanding one of the headliner battens... Couldn't resist putting a coat of varnish on it afterwards!

Looks great!!!!

Seacocks

Almost 100% certain that im going to put Marelon seacocks in.

I think the advantages of no corrosion outweigh the minor concerns over durability. That and the fact that proper bronze ones are SERIOUSLY expensive!

Mind you, even the plastic Marelon ones aren't cheap... a 1-1/2" seacock in Marelon is still £85

The seacocks themselves are pretty substantial though.

I've got a fair few to fit... 4 for the heads, 1 for each of the three sinks, 3 for bilge pumps, and one for the engine intake.... And i bet i've missed some if i think about it!

Pause

Not working on the boat this weekend, but have spent all evening selecting instruments, seacocks and bilge pumps... Going to have to spend some money!

Might however get some of the wooden battens from the headliner out of the garage and start sanding and varnishing... Glad i brought them home now!