No... I haven't given up

Seeing as it has been about a month since my last post, I assume many followers have concluded that I bit off more than I could chew and have in fact, given up. While this is partially correct, I did bite off more than I can easily chew, I have not given up.

The keel fairing was a major pain in the asteroid... took forever. I can't count the number of small and large batches of fairing compound that I put on and then sanded off... wait, yeah I can... about $300 worth! Roughly two gallons worth. The keel is nearly perfectly faired and in much better shape than it started. Getting the radius where the keel meets the hull was a challenge but in the end, I think it is considerably better than it was previously. I owe a huge thank you to my friend Mitch Renella, skipper/owner of Skamokoa, an SJ24 in the Oak Harbor fleet. Without your help Mitch, I'd likely still be fairing that keel... or possibly collecting insurance money after an "accidental" fall off the trailer...

Between batches of filler, while waiting for it to dry only to be mostly sanded off again, I decided I would get a few minor things done to the cabin. As I began, I realized that I was going to have a beautiful and completely restored boat on the outside, with an old dingy drab cabin interior. Well... that just won't do. I figured "i've got the time between fairing coats to get things done up here...might as well" So... the interior was sanded back down to gelcoat, wood was stripped/sanded, I cut away a portion of the forward bulkhead to open it up, washed it down, blew it out and am now ready for a coat of 545 primer. Following a coat or two of good primer, I'll be spraying Awlcraft on the interior (we had leftover after painting top-sides)...

I am getting ahead of myself though. That is next week, hopefully. At the moment I am finished fairing the keel and in the process of laying down coat after coat of Interprotect 2000e epoxy barrier coat. Manufacturer suggest putting coats on until it is 10-12 mil thick. OK- I am putting my fifth coat on tomorrow and I will likely have enough material for a sixth coat. After that stands for 24 hours, and I've sanded it smooth (yay!!)  I'll be ready to start applying Baltoplate bottom paint. After a few coats of that, I'll be sanding again... my least favorite thing in life. Once I have a smooth finish, I'll be done with the bottom and ready to move up a bit.

I've still got to paint my toerail, lay down non-skid, spray the inside, then install all the hardware. I have missed all my timeline goals, and blown my budget completely out of the water but... well, who couldn't see that coming.

I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now though and I know the boat is going to be the best looking (and hopefully fastest) SJ 24 around. I'll add some pics and captions now so you can all see the progress.

Looks a bit different with a gray bottom... I kinda like it. The baltoplate will burnish to a grayish brown, but it won't be this sharp.

The keel after the only a couple applications of fairing compound... you can see it took a little practice to be able to lay it on smooth and thus avoid horrendous sanding.

The man who mad it happen for me... Mitch. Thanks for all your help!

Nearing completion. It may not look pretty, but it sure feels pretty!

Foil is pretty close to spot on from top to bottom (according to the CAD drawings anyway.. wherever those came from)

A couple blisters had to be "dealt with". In this case I removed the de-laminated area and re-glassed then faired smooth

Patch job once it had set up, before I set to sanding and fairing.

Taped off and ready to start applying barrier coat.

While I was waiting for my first coat of Interprotect 2000e to dry, I finished fairing the rudder.

First white coat of interprotect is applied. Had a few runs while I was getting used to the way it laid down.

A borrowed boat on a borrowed trailer in a borrowed garage. Man, I've got great friends!

My beautiful keel looks much better when it is all one color!

I wonder if the keel will ever be the difference between 1st and 2nd place?

 

First coat of gray interprotect is on. You alternate between gray and white so you can see where it isn't thick enough.

Half done with my third coat!

Rudder has two thick coats on and expect to lay at lease three more down.