Paint — It’s one of those things you want to get right. But it’s also apparently one of those things that can cost $100,000 if your boat happens to be in the 40 ton range. Our criteria.1) Good, not pretty. I could care less about gloss. Durable, is much better than gloss. Epoxy chalks in the sun and chalking is fine.2) … Read More
Keels and Casting
I finally got the keel patched and put the crew to work doing the nastiest job of the year. During the last few years of construction the keels have been collecting inches of grinding dust, plasma dust, weld spatter, tools, leaves and other assorted trash. Just add water and you get the picture. Now we wait for them to dry … Read More
Mucking Out is DONE!
Wet, cold, and muddy, but the worst is over and I have Jack, Hugh, and Martin to thank for it. Ok, so Martin was seriously late, but that was Delta’s fault. Now we just need a week or two of dry weather so they can dry out, and then it’s time to pour some lead!
Casting, Rudder, Hatches and other
The engine room hatch has a gasket. A second deadlight is cast. The rudder quadrant now has put out dowel pins as several of you suggested. Thank you! The chain to cable connectors are done for the chain and cable steering system. And you get to see me continue to fail to patch a hole in a keel. 🙂 Many … Read More
Casting Deadlights – Part 1
Sodium Silicate Sand Rocks! Especially for the occasional casting or big casting. Traditional Green Sand requires, skill, storage, and a sand muller to recondition your sand. And the difficulty increases with the size of the casting. Sodium silicate sand uses inexpensive fine silica sand, and sodium silicate (water glass) which reacts with CO2 to harden the sand. 200 pounds of … Read More
Casting Porthole Deadlights – First Failure
It didn’t work but I am accustomed to that on the first try. Come to think of it, I am accustomed to that on the second and third try too. But we have great hope for our plans based on watching the sand slowly crack and fall out while we carefully moved the top have of the mold. But … Read More