Spring 2014 Project Time !

Creating this thread as a place holder for my spring commissioning project(s).

As I type this, it is snowing here in Annapolis and a Nor`Easter is getting ready to blow up off the coast.
We only expect a couple of inches of snow here, but the northeast coast could get hammered tonight and tomorrow.
My boat is still under her shrink wrap as spring hasn't really happened here yet.
If the weather cooperates, I might be able to remove the shrink this week.

So... my first entry.

Jumped on my mechanics schedule early to have a complete service done on my motor, which was completed March 19th.

Gear case oil changed
Grease prop shaft and fittings
Change out the water pump
Change out thermostats
Change fuel filter and water sep filter
Clean VST filter
Remove O2 sensor, clean, test, and re-assemble
Replace poppet valve, grommet, and gasket
Replace spark plugs
Run on hose and check operation

Mechanic found my SeaStar cyl at the motor was leaking, so the end caps were replaced.
He noted that the shaft appears to have a pit on it, so I may need to polish that with some emery cloth during my spring prep.

$1,219.43 for parts and labor.
But... After a 'major service' like this, I should be in good shape for a couple of years. :wink:

The cold weather has set us back a week or two up here North of Boston. I pulled the cover off Saturday but if if doesn't warm up soon I won't get the Wax to properly set and the bottom paint will take ages to dry.

What else is on your list this year? I just remembered it's been a couple years since I resealed my pie plates and aft bilge slam hatch to the deck. Probably will need new gaskets too.

cbigma":2006hfuo said:

The cold weather has set us back a week or two up here North of Boston. I pulled the cover off Saturday but if if doesn't warm up soon I won't get the Wax to properly set and the bottom paint will take ages to dry.
What else is on your list this year? I just remembered it's been a couple years since I resealed my pie plates and aft bilge slam hatch to the deck. Probably will need new gaskets too.

Click to expand...

Snow on the ground and 27 degrees this morning, and the rest of the week is not looking much better.
Too cold to paint the bottom or start the compound and wax just yet.

No major projects on tap for this year, though that could change as I get working on her.
I will go over her with a fine tooth comb and deal with anything I find. Mostly detailing everything to the 9's. :wink:

Maybe next week.

Kevin

Your list is exactly what I did last weekend
This year I bought the Shurhold buffer and Buff magic and the polish

http://shurhold.com/buffing-machines-pads/dual-action-polisher-with-bonus-pack

was warm here last weekend when we worked on the boat
At the end of the day I got the buffer out to just try it
I bought 2 wool pads and used buff magic then the polish with the black pad on the front rise of the pilot house
I have to say I am impressed cant wait till it warms up more to hit the whole boat

I have a pair of similar random orbitals, a 6" and a 3", that I got from Griots Garage that I use on my collector car.
The boat get the 7" Makita 9227c with wool pads.

What can you tell me about the Pro polish product?
I'm always looking for something better.

Well I saw it on ship shape TV
And also looked at it on you tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I9cEDKSLHE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiVhdy6G4H0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I9cEDKSLHE

Sully":3ifot6oo said:

Well I saw it on ship shape TV
And also looked at it on you tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I9cEDKSLHE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiVhdy6G4H0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOofz33LfPY

Click to expand...

Fixed the last URL for ya.

The stuff I've been using on my boat is very similar to the Pro Polish product, but I might need to give both of these products a try.
I'm always up for trying something new. Just look at my 'boat shelf' supplies.
Thanks!

Megabyte you are all over that motor check list. I'm now realizing that I need to be checking my motor out also. I've been focused on other stuff. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Your post is a good reminder to get that manual out and see what needs doing. It sucks for me being separated from my boat by 4 hrs to get work done though. As the weather is looking good this week, I'm taking few days off and heading down to Beaufort to check some of these boxes off.

I used Buff Magic last year and was impressed with the results. It required frequent changes of the wool pads. I kept a spray bottle of water to keep things damp while buffing.

Planning on doing the top sides with it again. The hull just needs two coats of wax.

Good luck with it!

How do you guys clean/protect the roof of the sport cabin with the textured surface? Looking to save time and do it right.

Ludicrous40":siprfbeg said:

How do you guys clean/protect the roof of the sport cabin with the textured surface? Looking to save time and do it right.

Click to expand...

I used to avoid doing anything on the spatter-coat surfaces (roof top, and washboard tops), since they are 'walking surfaces'.
Thing is, I noticed that over the season the gelcoat would leach out of those areas and run down the sides of the hull when it rained.

A neighbor of mine owns a yacht management and detail business, and he showed me how he solves that issue on his customers boats, many of which have colored hulls.
The 'splatter' surfaces on our boats are not aggressive non-skid like the cockpit floor is, so he simply uses Meguiers cleaner wax, a Makita and a 7" wool pad.

I tried that on my boat a couple of years ago and it works fantastic.
The first time I did it, I got a lot of oxidized gelcoat on my wool pads, because those surfaces had never been done before.
Now, all it takes is a single application during my spring detailing and it lasts all season.

Best part?
No more gelcoat leaching and running down the sides of the hull. 8)

Finally... some progress to report.
Today we had mostly sunny skies and temps in the low 50's, so it was game on.

Today, the shrink came off, the teak was removed (so it could be refinished at home), batteries plugged in to get them up to charge, and the entire boat scrubbed down to remove all the funk it had gathered since last November.

I took a bunch of photographs, made note of things that need attention, and started a material list.
Forecast is for showers the next 3 days, so I may be working on that teak sooner rather than later. :|

Some photos from today...

It has been a long, cold winter. I'm ready for a boat ride too!

Kev I too removed all my teak last night out of the inside of the PH to redo it. Whats your process of refinishing it? I grew up around boats with a lot of teak on them and we always used Cetol as a finisher, just wanted to see what your process is.

miky2884":1232hmpq said:

Kev I too removed all my teak last night out of the inside of the PH to redo it. Whats your process of refinishing it? I grew up around boats with a lot of teak on them and we always used Cetol as a finisher, just wanted to see what your process is.

Click to expand...

The first time I refinished my teak was about 7 years ago.
I don't think it had ever been cared for previously, so it was quite dirty and dull.

When I removed each piece, I used a Sharpie and noted where each piece came from on the back side, also labeling port/stbd or up and down to make sure I knew where everything went (and it's orientation) when I was ready to re-assemble it.
Something else that I noticed was that all the screws were not the same length, and some had been cut to limit their depth.
Because of that, I carefully laid out everything in the same position from where they were taken from, so they could all go back in the same hole.

When I got the wood home, I used one of those 'teak refinishing kits', that included a cleaner, a brightener, and oil.
I started by cleaning over 10 years of funk off of the teak with the cleaner, a scotchbrite pad, and bronze wool (for the really dirty parts), then rinsing everything with large amounts of fresh water.
Next I used the 'brightener' which is essentially a mild bleaching agent, again rinsing with water.

After letting everything dry, I sanded everything first with 150 grit, then 220, and finally 400 until everything was smooth as a babies bottom.
Teak is a relatively soft wood, so it doesn't take much sanding to prepare the surface.

Finally I laid all the wood out on newspaper and began applying teak oil.
I put the oil on in successive coats until the wood just wouldn't take anymore (about 10 coats if I remember correctly).
I let that sit for about 24 hours, then used an old terrycloth towel to wipe off any excess teak oil and buffed the wood lightly.

Let the wood sit again for about another 24 hours, wipe down again, then re-install.

This go-around will be much easier as the wood is clean and in pretty good shape.
The pieces that see the most sunlight are the lightest due to sun bleach, so my plan is to simply sand everything lightly, evaluate the color, and re-apply the teak oil.
It should not be a big deal this time. :wink:

Of course I will take before and after photos.

An edit to my previous post...

I am finding that my teak is still holding a good bit of oil, so my process thus far has been...
Initial sanding with 100 grit until the color is uniform, and then a final sanding with 220 to make it smoooooooth,

This is going to take a little time to make everything look nice, but I think it will be easier than the last time I did this. :wink:

It was looking like rain, so I worked on the teak inside the garage today.

Photo 1... The 'before' shot. As you can see, it really wasn't all that bad.
Photo 2... The sun came out so I took everything outside. This is 'after sanding' shot.
Photo 3... After only one coat of Starbrite teak oil.

I think I'm done here!

Good info Kev. I know my teak has never been done, (boat is 14 years old) So I got the kit with the cleaner and oil. I will follow your steps and post up some pics of the process (in a different thread so I dont hijack yours) . thanks for the info

Mike... I found some old photos from the first time I did my teak.
Notice how blond it was after cleaning and brightening, then how rich after oiling.

Good luck with your project.

Awesome Kev. im hoping for the same results