Captain’s log
Dateline: 03.05.2022
More work on round hatches
Turns out the round hatches are all glued shut, not just stuck. It’s a security feature, not a bug.
They’re all old and most of the plastic outside was eaten by the sun long ago, currently cracked and glued multiple times. They all need to be replaced.
Since they won’t open, some nuts just can’t be easily detached from the thread — the screw they’re on rotates along with the nut when I try to unscrew it. Oscillating tool will help with that, but plastic dust is not fun. Good thing I have a respirator.
Most likely the hatches were installed and not glued right away, then somebody later decided to glue them shut to prevent any break-ins, since those hatches lack proper locking mechanism. Too bad they didn’t think about how to detach them from the hull once it’s all glued together and can’t reveal the screws, but that’s okay, just another fun little adventure.
I’m probably going to cut around them anyway, if I go with six bigger (22") round hatches on the sides, and four 700mm square hatches in front, all by Lewmar.
Ken
Ken gave me two blades to try with my oscillating tool to remove those ugly wooden planks that are glued all over my boat on the inside. One didn’t fit my Ryobi tool, and the other one could work, but it seems like it’ll take much longer when compared to using convential wood-cutting blades.
I’m most likely going to either use masking tape to protect the hull while I’m stripping my hull off those stupid wooden planks, or use the dull blade that Ken gave me as a protection layer, giving some elevation to the blade as well. Here it says,
It is suggested that you have a piece of scrap material supporting the blade when making a flush cut. If you need to rest the blade on a delicate surface, you need to use cardboard or masking tape to protect the surface.
I’ll try to see if I could use some kind of dissolver to get rid of the rest of the glue, or just sand it down. Lots of work either way, but that’s good.
Dave
Met a very cool guy named Dave today at a bar. The dude is a badass engineer, builds and flies airplanes. He’s currently planning to build a fully electric one.
Told me about E-Z Poxy epoxy resin that’s often used in building aircrafts. It’s supposedly stronger than what West System has, but much harder to mix and use, definitely not for novices like myself. Maybe one day I’ll get there, but for now I’m likely going to stick with West System.
He also gave me good advices for my project:
1. Do one thing every day, even if it’s small
1. Only focus on most important things, non-crucial tasks can wait
1. Only buy things that may become outdated (e.g. electronics) when you’re ready to set the sail — all those gizmos becomes old fast
Told Dave about Ken, another airplane-building enthusiast from St. James City. His eyes lit up right away, he gave me his card to pass it to Ken. Ken owns Golden Palm Resorts with his wife Julie, it’s where I used to stay while my boat was still at Bob & Annie’s Boatyard. They still let me use their washing machine and dryer even though I’m no longer a guest.