CP-16 Complete Refitting

[Hutch]

Hey, Charles!

I have a Mac.  I made a folder on my desktop for all my Com-Pac 16 photos.  After I upload my photos to iPhoto, I then export them to this desktop folder and set the quality to "high" instead of the default, which is the full size.  High seems to be the maximum quality that works with posting on this forum.  I hope this helps. 

Robert

[Hutch]

Ahoy!

So, I have begun laying down the color.  I have a two layer base coat, dry sanded it 220, and put the second coat on this morning.  From here on out I will be wet sanding, working my way up with finer grit: 320, 400, 600, etc.  I will see how it goes, but that is the plan for now.   

In the meantime, we get have been getting plenty of sailing in on the Sunfish!

Cheers!

Robert

[Hutch]

Ahoy, sailors!

I have been enjoying the summer and getting out a lot on the Sunfish.  I had a small setback, when I started masking off the boot stripe and the paint hadn't fully cured.  I suppose it is accurate to say that it had not adequately cured, because it needs roughly a month at 70 degrees and with low humidity to cure to ~98%.  Anyhow, I was playing around with the boot stripe and I peeled up some of the paint from the hull.  I cursed my haste, and spent a few days filling in, sanding, and then finally putting another coat on the entire hull.  I waited a full week, with weather near 80 during the days, 60 at night, and relative low humidity.  So, I taped off the boot stripe.  My method was to set the bottom of the keel level, and then make a mobile jig (in the picture) with a sharpie, and started off the factory 28" from the deck joint at the bow.  I simply walked it around as water always finds level.  Anyhow, so far, so good. 

Cheers!

Robert

[Hutch]

Ahoy!  It's been a while, and things are taking a little longer now that the weather is colder.  Here is an update, now that I have unmasked my boot stripe.  It looks good, and I will let it cure for at least a week, or longer, if I get some warmer weather.  Afterwards, I plan to wet sand, polish, and finally put a coat of anti-foul wax on the bottom.   

I will continue to update, but my progress will really depend on the weather in the next couple of months. 

Cheers!

Robert

[Hutch]

Ahoy!

Things are progressing slowly, but progressing nonetheless.  I let the paint cure for a couple weeks, and now I have wet sanded and polished it out.  I have to replace the keel rollers and bunk carpet on my trailer, which I am going to do before setting the hull back on top the trailer.  Then I can begin replacing the wood on the interior, lead in the keel, painting, etc. 

Cheers!

Robert

[Renae]

That looks amazing.  Fiberglass skills like yours would certainly open a lot of doors for any sailor.

[Bob23]

I like the white transom.. a very nice touch!
Bob23

[Hutch]

Thank you, Bob! 

I made a couple of updates to the trailer, new keel rollers and bunk carpeting.  I have her back on the trailer now, and I laid out the lead I am going to set in the keel as ballast.  I spoke with West System yesterday to discuss my project, and they advised that I could still set the lead in epoxy, using the fast setting (205) catalyst.  We have a few more nice days in the 40s forecast here in the U.P. over the next week, and I will put a heater in the garage overnight to make sure that the hull doesn't get too cold.  I will keep the epoxy and catalyst inside for a few days, to keep it at room temperature before I get ready to mix it with the lead shot. 

By the way, in a few areas of the keel where the polyester resin was thin or void, the epoxy coating I put on the entire hull seeped through.  It made me feel good about putting several coats of epoxy on the entire hull, followed by the barrier coats. 

[Hutch]

Ahoy, sailors!

I started setting the lead ballast into the keel this weekend.  We had a couple of warmer days, and using a propane heater to warm up the garage, and an electric heater to help keep it warm, I began to set the ingots and lead shot.  I kept the epoxy resin and catalyst indoors for a couple of days, so that it would be warm.  Once I heated up the garage to about 60 degrees, I shut down the propane and kept the electric heater running.  I started by coating the bottom of the keel with epoxy, and then I began setting the larger lead ingots (20 lbs) and medium sized (10 lbs) and filled in with other smaller sizes (2 lbs and 1/2 lbs).  I then mixed epoxy with lead shot, into a slurry, which I used to fill in the the voids.  I then set a second layer of ingots (pictured) and let that cure over night.  Today, I went back out, and began filling in with epoxy and lead shot slurry.  You can see how much lower the ballast now sits in the keel, which will lower the center of gravity and make a nice bilge for collecting water.  It is setting up slowly in a 50 degree garage, but I will fill in with a final coat of epoxy and glass, so that I have a smooth bilge for collecting water. 

Cheers!

Robert

[Hutch]

More photos of the lead ballast in the keel.

[Hutch]

A couple more photos.

[Renae]

Since the ballast is more dense and lower in the keel, did you reduce the total weight?

[Hutch]

Hello, Renae.

I did not reduce the overall ballast.  I had considered doing that, and glassing in a battery storage compartment in the keel, to add the weight of the lead-acid battery to the keel, but I decided against that.  Having the ballast lower in the keel will increase the righting force and stability overall, but I did not want to change the overall displacement and how she sits in the water. 

Thanks for asking!

Robert

[Hutch]

Ahoy, Sailors!

So, I got some more work done.  Four layers of glass laid over the lead ballast in the keel.  I alternated chop strand mat and woven mat.  Once this has cured, I will make some thickened epoxy and filets along the edge all along the inside of the keel. 

Cheers!

Robert

[Renae]

What you're doing to that boat is amazing.  I can't imagine undertaking such a bottom up rebuild, but you're killing it.