CP-16 Complete Refitting

[Hutch]

Hello, Keith!

I only needed two quarts of the Citrustrip.  It is much easier than sanding, because that ablative paint is already very soft.  You would likely go through a lot of sanding discs, as they would probably gunk up really fast.  You will want to keep a small bucket as you are scraping, to clean your scraper.  The gel and softened paint really comes off thick.  Afterwards, I used a lot of old rags when wiping it down with acetone.  Now, I can be much more careful about sanding, as I am already down to the gelcoat.

Don't forget, I covered it in plastic wrap and let is sit overnight, which helped.  Also, I didn't put it on too thick. 

Good luck, and I'm glad I could help!

Robert

[Tim Gardner]

If you have ablative bottom paint on your 19, pressure washing will remove it lickety-split.  Just be aware of where the run-off goes.

TG

[5monkeys]

Tim is it wrong that my first thought was a do it yourself car wash? They have to filter the water right?

[crazycarl]

If you have ablative bottom paint on your 19, pressure washing will remove it lickety-split.  Just be aware of where the run-off goes.

TG

i'll second this.  i power washed the bottom paint off our 19 and it ran into the grass.  couldn't grown grass there for 2 years.   

[Hutch]

Ahoy, sailors!

Well, I have been busy the past few weeks working on the house and garden.  I hadn't done anything more than move the hull in and out of the garage everyday, so I had room for other projects.  Today, I got busy grinding out some of the old, ugly repairs on the keel and hull.  It had sustained some significant damage at some point, but was largely concealed by several layers of bottom paint.  Unfortunately, I forgot about the first rule of safety when operating power tools.  You can see I took a chunk out of my finger tip as well. 

I plan to continue working this week, since the weather is beautiful in the U.P. 

Cheers!

Robert

[Hutch]

Okay, so I got a little more work done today.  I used the Dremel rotary tool today to touch up some of the grinding, and to grind out some of the blisters.  The blisters were never repaired, and a couple layers of bottom paint was put on over them.  The problem is the paint was absorbed into to blisters, so I had to grind out the worst of them.  I ended up with quite a lot more in epoxy repairs than I had originally hoped, but I think it will work out.  There was so much cracking and blistering on the keel, that I ended up grinding out a lot of the cracks and blisters and simply epoxying over it all.  We'll see how it works out, after it cures for a day or two and I start sanding it down. 

[In The Pocket]

Okay, so I got a little more work done today.  I used the Dremel rotary tool today to touch up some of the grinding, and to grind out some of the blisters.  The blisters were never repaired, and a couple layers of bottom paint was put on over them.  The problem is the paint was absorbed into to blisters, so I had to grind out the worst of them.  I ended up with quite a lot more in epoxy repairs than I had originally hoped, but I think it will work out.  There was so much cracking and blistering on the keel, that I ended up grinding out a lot of the cracks and blisters and simply epoxying over it all.  We'll see how it works out, after it cures for a day or two and I start sanding it down.

Looks like a lot of work but it will be worth it.  I had some cracks (about 3-4") on the front of my keel.  I started grinding them out down do the fiberglass.  I noticed the cracks appeared to go into the fiberglass as well so I ground farther and am now down to about 5" square area of exposed cement.  I'll have to lay glass and epoxy to fix.   I'm sort of wondering if I should have just done it like you did and just ground out the cracks in the paint and gelcoat and then epoxied over it.  Oh well, no going back now.  Good luck. 

[Hutch]

Ahoy, In the Pocket!

You might consider going all the way.  It would be easier to lay up the glass by starting inside the keel, once you remove the concrete.  You can lay in some strand mat, and once than cures, you will have a solid backing for doing the repair on the outside.  I know, it is easy to tell you to rip apart your boat. 

It was always my intention to take on a project, so I am happy to do it this way.  The fiberglass below my gelcoat was all solid.  From what I saw of the cracking and what came off easily, there were two issues going.  At one point, it looks like someone had run her up onto something hard, some rocks or concrete, that made the long gashes along the fore and along the bottom and side of the keel.  Also, there was a lot of blistering, which was never addressed properly.  Instead, they simply put bottom paint over it to cover it.  The paint migrated into the cracks and blisters.  There were some that I ground out with the Dremel, and I found red bottom paint underneath.  So the paint was between the glass and gelcoat layer.  Over time, some of these pockets worsened, probably holding water and freezing/ thawing.  If you see the beginning of my post, this boat hadn't been in the water for well over a year, and she had been stored in my garage, yet the concrete was all damp throughout. 

So, I sanded the epoxy repairs yesterday, fairing them into the hull.  I had a couple of low spots, where the epoxy had filled into the voids, so I had to go over them again with another layer.  I sanded them a little by hand to rough them up, wiped it down with acetone, and put on the second layer.  It is probably going to rain for the next couple days, and I plan to go sailing on my Sunfish with a colleague on Monday, so I am not sure I will make much more progress for the next couple days.

Cheers!

Robert

[In The Pocket]

Ahoy, In the Pocket!

You might consider going all the way.  It would be easier to lay up the glass by starting inside the keel, once you remove the concrete.  You can lay in some strand mat, and once than cures, you will have a solid backing for doing the repair on the outside.  I know, it is easy to tell you to rip apart your boat. 

I think I'm past that point.  I just resealed the hull/deck joint (getting those rub rails back on was a son of a bitch) and the keel cement seems mostly in tact except for the one area I had to grind out and even that seemed to just be split fiberglass.  The cement underneath was solid.  I subscribe to the philosophy of "perfect is the enemy of good enough."  In this case, perfect is the enemy of me actually sailing this summer.  Ha!

[Hutch]

Ahoy, In-the-Pocket!

What did you use to re-bond the deck and hull?  Did you use sealant (like 3M 5200) or did you use epoxy?  Did you use bolts or pop rivets?  Can you update your post with pictures?

Don't worry, I will still get plenty of sailing in this summer on my Sunfish.   I don't feel pressure to move quickly on this project.  One of my favorite more line by (Tom, I think) Seizmore from the movie Heat was, "For me the action is the juice".  I just love having projects in process.

Cheers!

Robert

[In The Pocket]

Ahoy, In-the-Pocket!

What did you use to re-bond the deck and hull?  Did you use sealant (like 3M 5200) or did you use epoxy?  Did you use bolts or pop rivets?  Can you update your post with pictures?

Don't worry, I will still get plenty of sailing in this summer on my Sunfish.   I don't feel pressure to move quickly on this project.  One of my favorite more line by (Tom, I think) Seizmore from the movie Heat was, "For me the action is the juice".  I just love having projects in process.

Cheers!

Robert

Robert,

I have enjoyed working on the boat this summer.  It was actually the perfect time for it given the state of the world and the shutdown.  I had access to a Sunfish when I was younger.  Fun little boats. 

I used  3M 5200 (fast cure) to reseal the joint.  I pulled off the rail, drilled out the 4 rivets holding the rail on and removed what was left of that tape the factor puts along the joint and used an air compressor and scraper to get old, loose glue out of the crack where I could.  Then I went around with the 5200 filling larger voids left by the removal of the old adhesive.  I let that cure and then I went around and coated the entire joint with the 5200 to attempt to completely seal any openings.  After one rain I still noticed a bit of moisture on the stern corners inside the joint with my hand.  Then I realized, the holes where the 4 rivets and the bolts that held the rail on were probably absorbing water which was finding its way in.  So I took a toothpick and as best as I could, coated the inside of those holes with 5200.  Also any rivet along the joint that looked like it may be water-compromised, I coated with 5200.  You also want to check where the chainplates go through the joint.  I was getting water in there too.  I used butyl tape to shore of those gaps. 

After it was all cured the process of putting the rails back on began.  Not easy.  As others have said, wait for a hot day to stretch the rubber easier.  I did not reinstall rivets where I removed them, but instead used #10 screws and nuts.  They fit well.  I attached the starboard stern cap first, then stretched the transom rail guard and then the starboard rail guard.  I could not stretch it all the way around the joint to the bow cap so what I did was lay the rub rail up over the coaming and onto the deck a little bit (if that makes sense) so I could get the bow end all the way to the front easier, "as the crow flies."  I secured those screws at the bow cap and then went back and pulled the rubber down onto the rail . Much easier. 

I tried uploading a pic but the site won't let me because of it's size.  Good luck with yours.  I'm really hoping it takes care of most of the rain leaks I was having.  I've rebedded all the hardware and companionway hatch guides so it's as good as it's going to get. 

[Hutch]

Ahoy, Sailors!

It's been a while since I updated.  A few weeks back we had a couple of really nice days in low 70s with low humidity, so I began epoxying the hull and barrier coating.  I started early in the morning, so I could get it all done in one day.  I put about five coats of epoxy total on the hull (3 on the keel and lower hull and then two more over all).  I then followed with four coats total of barrier coating (two on the keel and lower hull and then two more over the entire boat).  Then, it sat in my garage for a number of weeks as the weather was hot and humid.  Instead, I worked on an outdoor pizza oven and some other projects like a rack for my Sunfish sailboats on the water.  Anyhow, after two weeks straight of hot and humid, we finally have our glorious summer back in the U.P.  That meant I could get out sailing on my Sunfish the past few days, and I had time to begin priming and sanding.  It's starting to look good for a top coat of red!  I would say Ferrari red, but after the past two weekends in Austria, I say prefer "fire engine red". 

By the way, I bought the Interlux barrier coating, two quarts of grey and two of white.  I did that to make it easier seeing what I had covered.  I began applying while the epoxy was still tacky, so that I could get a good chemical bond between the epoxy barrier coat and the clear epoxy I put over the hull.  If I were doing it again, I would have simply bought the barrier coat additive from West, because their epoxy is so easy to mix and use.  Honestly, the Interlux product was a royal pain in my elbow (from mixing)!

Cheers!

Robert   

[5monkeys]

That's looking great!

[UpNorth1122]

Howdy- despite saving pics as jpgs I still can?t get any to show up on my last post.  Do you mind sharing how you accomplished this daunting task?  Thanks and thanks for sharing your post!

Charles

Cheers, Carl!  Here she is when I first brought her home.  And, a couple more photos.

[bruce]

UpNorth,

I recently helped a SC owner with a similar problem. I sent you a PM that might help