Interior

The holiday season has arrived.  I can't believe thanksgiving is over now begins work on the interior.  I am removing the old interior plywood which is a bit weathered.  I have carefully removed the aft starboard quarter berth.  Each screw is buried under epoxy or a wood plug so I'm using the Dremel tool to expose each screw head.  The process is a bit tedious but is necessary to preserve the integrity of using them as templates.  I've removed the aft quarter piece and I've exposed some mold so this process is definitely important.  A slow steady progress will get the interior stripped out.  Then a bit of glass work is the plan followed by a marine polyurethane.  I can tell the interior work ahead will take a couple of weeks.  Here are some pictures of the beginning of the project.

Main Hatch Fitup

Today I dry fit the main cabin hatch fairing and main hatch sliding part.  I'm not happy with how the hatch is sliding so I will look for some teflon tape that the hatch will run on.  Today I removed half of the tarps and I think I will leave them off.  I find I waste a lot of time taking the tarps on and off.  Today was beautiful the sun was out.  I didn't get a lot done I installed the aft hatch covers.  I am bedding all hardware with 3m 4000, I hope this is something I won't regret.  I am planning on bedding in the toe rail with this stuff.  I decided to take a bunch of pictures today because the lighting was so good.

Above:  The shop.

 Above:  The foredeck patch still requires some long boarding and some polishing  I don't think I will get too carried away because I am planning on covering the patch with some Raptor decking.

 The main cabin hatch fairing with hardware installed.  I need to find a slicker sliding surface and some rubber bumpers for stops.  I will not fasten the fairing until the mechanics are dialed.

Aft hatch covers installed and temporary gasket installed to prevent water ingress in the event of a tarp failure.  She is now watertight and the interior is soon to become the focus.

I bought some teak this weekend as well as some African mahogany.  The plan is to use teak on the exterior and mahogany for parts of the interior.  The teak was 36 bucks a board foot.  I don't want to take any short cuts that we will regret later.  Teak is somewhat heavy and the mahogany is somewhat light.  I think this is the plan for now.  I can install the companion way for now to keep the cats out as well as the heat in for interior work.  I will continue on where Reid left off deconstructing the damaged interior components before building it up.  We'll see where it goes.  For the next post I will take some pictures of the current state of the interior.
Fun stuff.

This weekend we enjoyed a nice lunch with Jon and Marcy Edwards it was great hearing stories from their past as well as sharing our passion for boating and family.  Thanks for the great weekend.  Thanksgiving weekend is just around the corner and I won't get much done this coming week.

Detail Work

This weekend we celebrated my parent's 50th anniversary.  It was a lot of fun and I think they enjoyed the party.

The progress is steady.  I try to get at least one task done a week.  I am working on the main hatch and I've reinforced the underside of the hatch fairing with a layer of fiberglass and epoxy.  I ground out a small crack and reinforced the high stress areas.  Fiberglass fairing compound will be used to fill in the low spots.  I'll sand it smooth tomorrow and then touch it up with some gel-coat.  While letting the resin cure.  I installed the winch handle pockets today as well as the heel gauge.  I'm now beginning to layout the plans for the interior.  I will use marine plywood for replacing some of the interior panels.  I need to buy some teak for some of the exterior components but it will be very minimal if I use it at all.  I am a bit torn at the idea of using a tropical hardwood.  The cost of teak is staggering and I have not found a good source.  I may travel to Sultan this coming Friday to check out a dealer of teak.  I will also call around to find the lowest cost marine plywood.  It is 69 dollars a sheet at Crosscut hardwoods.  It would be around 100 dollars for the minimal teak I need from Crosscut.  I have recycled pretty much all of the teak.  I think for the interior trim I will use cherry.

Main Hatch

The cabin top hatch and the sliding hatch cover are in pretty good condition.  A little bit of green algae.  I have given the hatches a good scrubbing with a little soft scrub with bleach and the pieces are looking clean.  All of the hardware that was removed has been lined up and these will be cleaned and polished as well.  I will prep the damaged glass with tapered bevels and then I'm planning on using fiberglass fairing compound to fill in the rope burns.  I will then use some color matched gel-coat to clean up the small blemishes but I'll be careful to avoid getting carried away.

I still need to locate some sandwich panel for the lower companion way.  If I get in a bind I'll make one out of marine plywood for the time being.  I need to buy some marine plywood for the interior projects.  Just like on the exterior projects it is slow and steady progress.

Cabin Windows and Deck Hatch Installed

The windows and the fore-deck hatch are installed.  Yay!  It was a lot of prep-work for the new cabin windows but like anything you spend extra attention to the end result is good.  I couldn't be happier with how they turned out.  It pretty much took us most of the weekend to install them.  The weather cooperated down to the minute.  The temperature outside was about 50 degrees right on the borderline for what is acceptable for Sikaflex.  After dry fitting the windows I masked both the windows and the hull allowing for a small cap bead of adhesive.  Jilann and myself tag teamed the installation while Sally watched Emily.  We used #8 countersunk screws that are hex driven so the look would be closer to a rivet for the finished look.  On the interior I used fender washers to spread out the clamping load with a low profile nylocks.  A small space heater helped boost the interior temperature aiding in curing.

After we bonded in the windows it started to rain lightly.  Just in the nick of time.  We will let the windows cure for a day and then the forward hatch will be installed.

 The below pictures are a day later and the masking is ready for removal.

Jilann removing the protective covering.  This is the best part.

The tint of the windows is perfect and matches the tint of the forward deck hatch.  The fore-deck patch is not finished yet but pretty close.  The long process of fairing it smooth.  The plan is installing Raptor decking.

Now all major holes in the deck have been filled.  I have aluminum tape over all exposed holes and I used some vacuum bagging material and butyl tape to seal the electrical pass through for the mast electrical.  If anybody out there needs window templates for a Ross 780 let me know I will hook you up.

The process was long creating something from nothing:
(Paper templates, traced cutouts, digitized with a faro arm, manipulated in the computer, 1:1 templates, transferred holes to templates, templates to Clearcut Plastics, they made router trim fixture, parts made, and added c'sinks, get parts two weeks later, dry fit, mark boat, scribe paper backing, remove windows, Exact-o knife out paper backing perimeter, mask boat, prime the bonding surface of the window with fifty dollar primer, wait thirty minutes, apply Sikaflex to boat in a pyramid shape to ensure no air bubbles upon squeeze out, position window and align holes, add fasteners, squeeze out material, make mess, get some on clothes, add tiny cap bead, clean up mess, watch adhesive dry, sit on heating pad)

Removing the masking was the best part and the windows and forward deck hatch look great.  The forward cutout I believe was designed for a Bowmar hatch but I found a Lewmar hatch that will work great from Fisheries Supply.  Thanks again Paul.  I do like the quality of the Lewmar hatch and the features as well.  I will take some pictures after the adhesive dries.  The good thing now is the boat is getting sealed up and I can run a small space heater in the inside of the boat.  I will also sleep better knowing that I am not dependent on some flimsy tarps.  A week ago we had 50 mph winds and the tarps were getting worked.

Now on to the main companion way hatch.  I have to reinforce the hatch with a little epoxy and some fiberglass fairing compound and gel-coat.  I am gearing up for the interior improvements as well and I have found a good source for the marine Plywood, thank you Simon.

Spring time will be here before we know it and we will be ready to sail.  For now we are ready for the winter and the race against the weather is over.

Windows Cont'd

The windows dry fit great and I have scribed and prepared the Acrylic and I will be using the Sikaflex 295i sealant for bonding and mechanically fastening the windows.  They look great and I will get these in as soon as possible.  After this I am planning on bonding in the forward Lewmar deck hatch.  All of the hard points are in the deck.  The next step will be re-building and detailing the main hatch.  It's funny one task leads into the next and she is starting to look ship shape.

Jilann is working on re-finishing the teak and I'm excited to see how this turns out.  I'm sure it will turn out beautiful because she is so attentive to detail.

I need to buy a new band saw blade and get ready for the creation of some new interior components.  The forward deck part I built this summer took the teeth right off the blade in the form of sparks.  I didn't think cured fiberglass was all that strong.  The forward patch was pretty substantial but I do not want to have any issues when I bend the mast back in breeze.  It is exciting to read other Ross 780 blogs and I appreciate the connections I have made down south in New Zealand.

Cabin Windows

The cabin windows have been made.  I'm excited to assemble them to the hull.  After a business trip to Italy, sailboat racing on the sound for Grand Prix and time spent with Jilann and Emily I have a free day to get some work done.  I will dry fit the windows today and perhaps bond them into place.  The forward deck hatch is ready to be installed.  It is critical to have her buttoned up before winter weather is fully here.  Then I will be able to focus on re-creating and customizing the interior.  Now begins the slow steady progress to completion be spring time.

I am excited to have the opportunity to work on a project like this and I'm looking forward to how this boat will change our lives.