Hurricane Sally Report

L&VW all I have left is a bit of the port bow hull, and some other chine and flange bits. Chines are not too hard to rebuild but the flange is difficult. And a variety of just flat deck and hull chunks.

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Plus 1981 hardware.

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mixmkr I think you may have given us the tip on the Dust Deputy, it's a good piece of gear, so good we wrote a review for Small Boats Magazine. And yes WAVE is ready, and fancy. Another good tip we got from SBM were these DeWalt Concealer goggles, I can fit eyeglasses under them, they have a good seal and don't fog up except in the most Florida of Summers, but that's a different issue i.e. sauna

Selfie time with WAVE photo bombing. We were goofing off because the fairing compound that I applied 3 hours earlier was still tacky. 65F in the Carriage House, so it might take 5-6 hours vs 4 to be ready to sand. In the Summer it hardens up fast

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BreezeB, WAVE has been patient and understanding. She has been through Texas hail storms, tangled with a brick border stone wall and I pitchpoled her carrying my Brother In Law one day. Bent the yard arm and limped back to shore under a scandalized sail, Skipper did not keel haul me yet, I think she's saving up and will take care of it all at once.

If you look close you can see my poor hull patch, circa 2000, on the cover photo of The Sunfish Owners Manual. Our late 2019 restoration took care of that, along with the hailstone damage....actually you don't have to look that close. And look at Lil Skipper, no cam cleat, ratchet block, sheet hook or nuthin. Nautical Total Gym.

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Circa March 2020...

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Possibly so on the deputy tip. I professionally sand and paint a lot of boat bottoms (it's killer money) and used to use a $500 Fein sander and their associated $400 24hr vacuum. The Fein was heavy, required an amount of regular maint and was basically just way to expensive a system, although revered by many boat yards. I bought a couple $60 DeWalt random orbit (one for spare) and a cheapie Wal-Mart Shop Vac. Amazon supplied another 30ft of vacuum hose and the fittings to hook the hose to the sanders. Of course the $100 Dust Deputy. I've done 3yrs with this setup...or about 60 boats now ...30ft-45ft. Works flawless, SO MUCH lighter and I've yet to replace a component. The entire system paid for itself on the first boat and I can sand a 40 footer in about a day. The shop vac has actually held up and yet to replace the paper, corrugated filter. Oh...one last item I did put in the system, is an auto on/off switch for the vacuum. I plug both the sander and vacuum into this little box switch (attached to the shop vac top), and when the sander us turned off/on...does the same for the vacuum, so it's not constantly on or requiring me to get up and shut it off. The switch was a $50 internet purchase.
Where was this setup 25 years ago!!?
 
Btw...this bottom paint sanding setup is so dust free (hold the sander flat against the hull), that you don't get the "bottom paint smurf" look, which is so toxic too. Particularly dusty paint, a decent little high output fan keeps any errant dust directed away from the nostrils!
Bottom sanding is kinda nasty anyway, but I've got a system down, keeps me in physical shape, and like I said, the money is crazy good. Whenever a customer does their own boat...they say; "never again"!!....and it takes them 4 times as long. When customers sand their own boats, I always end up gaining more business in the end!
 
I was smurfed once on our Catalina 22 :) Not fun. Our little Dabber bottom was not so bad...

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The interior of the Dabber another story, she sat under a tree for a decade or two...

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$75 at the car wash...

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Suited up for that one and just threw away my shoes when I was done!

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We'd be interested to learn more about your sander attachment, right now I just stuff the vac hose into a butchered DeWALT dust collector

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Room for one more totally unrelated photo...name that boat.

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That switch is cool, I ordered one...oh wait, my sander is cordless....

Seriously, on big jobs I use the corded RO sander or the belt sander. The cordless is good for quick jobs but the head is a little bigger because of the battery, it is actually more work on my wrist that the corded tool. Seems to torque more.

Insert random photo here... Picker gear

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Sanded second coat of fairing compound, removed flaky paint in areas of the foredeck. Below is a history of the deck coatings, bare layer of fiberglass, original faded blue gelcoat on top of that, then 2 layers of Interlux Brightside Medium Blue. Our goal at this stage is to get a smooth surface scuffed enough for primer to stick to.

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I had some ridges in the last coat of paint, sanded those smooth and flattened the gloss on the previous coat. Primer Prep.

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We had a viewer comment on our youtube channel that they didn't think the fairing compound would stick over one part paint. They are mostly right, the compound will not have optimum grip over flaky, old, compromised one part paint, so we caled the Tech Team at Jamestown Distributors, who sell all of the products we are using. They told us the "Best Practice" if a flawless finish is expected, is to remove all of the old one part paint. We are going for a "Galloping Horse" finish, we removed most of the paint where we faired, sanded the foredeck fiberglass, TotalFair, gelcoat and paint extensively with 120 grit and then we will prime over the top of everything with TotalBoat Topside Primer. Stay tuned to see how it turns out and then we'll see if The Usual Visitors can notice it from the shoreline or from their boat as they try to catch Skipper.

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We only have white primer, would prefer gray so we ordered a few quarts of TotalBoat Topside Primer. Another option would have been to order Interlux primer. Either primer will work as a bridge between the sublayers and the new paint, so my focus was to get a primer that would be in the same family line as the fairing compound underneath.

Seems we need to flip WAVE and fair her bottom now, while we wait for the UPS truck to deliver.
 
Painting that war horse almost seems wrong at this point. But bare fiberglass isn't always the friendliest. Spraying some gel over those bare, sanded spots might make for a hull that can take a licking and keep on ticking....and look a little "fierce" too. Dock scrapes....eh...mearly a flesh wound.
 
WAVE on her side so we can pour some foam to secure the port side, forward flotation block.


Tacked the block in place with Great Stuff.

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Poured TotalBoat Marine Flotation Foam. 2 small batches.

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A little bit of foam...

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...goes a long way...5 minutes later...

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While the foam sets up, might as well sand sand sand

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60 and 120 grit on a DeWalt 20V random orbital sander. Check out the fancy shopvac adapter. I ordered one, hopefully it will fit. Hey mixmkr, show us your setup, what size vac you use, hose diameter, adapters etc...please.

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After sanding big chunks, we filled in some nooks and crannies in the seams with both TotalFair and THIXO.

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More sanding.

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Fairing with TotalFair Round 2

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55F here in sunny Florida, trying to bump up the Carriage House temp a few degrees with the oil filled radiator heater, and get the fairing to dry faster. Up to 70F last I checked

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In the dirt biking world, we'd call that a "FrankenBoat!" Ugly "stitched" seams, electrodes and all... :eek:

But she will sail again, and that's all that really matters... a little more work, and she'll look like a million bucks! ;)

Once you're done sanding & painting, few will ever know of the hidden trauma... unless ya tell 'em, LOL. :rolleyes:
 
WAVE was looking pretty sporty back in early September, with her SLO Sail and Canvas Spars On Deck, Sunbrella Pacific Blue, with straps cover

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All in all the cover held up pretty well in 8 foot storm surge.

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SC: You have a Pawleys Island Hammock! I suspected as much... I LOVE my Pawleys Island Quilted Beach Stripe Hammock, it is the 3-season bomb! Well, hell, 4-season really, since I was in the Infantry, LOL... ;)

Fremont, I'm in Benson, a small burg east by southeast of Tucson on I-10 in Cochise County. However, I lived in Show Low for two years prior to coming here, and I used to sail my Minifish on lakes in the White Mountains, a regular paradise on earth! :rolleyes:

Here, my plan was to take two weeklong paid sailing vacations in San Diego every year, maybe three with the other two paid days tacked onto a long weekend, but that plan all went south earlier this year when I hollered at some fool prison inmate for lighting his stanky-@ss cigarettes near fuel containers on the job... :confused:

God forbid I hurt the poor inmate's feelings while he endangered the lives of everybody else in the workplace! I STILL can't believe that whole raw deal, considering it was a MAJOR OSHA VIOLATION, plus I had already asked this clown NOT to do it at least a dozen times, PFFFFFFT. :mad:

Fooliot would spark cigarettes while fueling carts or equipment at the 1000-gallon gasoline tank outside the barn or maintenance shed... he'd also smoke atop fuel cans containing gasoline & AvGas, as well as a propane tank inside the building, flicking his hot cigarette ash directly over the containers & tank. :eek:

It's a long ugly story, but this is one of those election years where criminals and jackholes get a free pass while hard-working taxpayers are left holding the bag, AYE? I couldn't believe it when the management let me go, hand... I was like Scarface: "WHAT, ARE YOU F#%NG KIDDING ME?!?!?" :mad:

I used to haul nothing BUT hazardous materials clear across the continent, including Class 3 flammable loads of drummed-up waste, so I'm especially sensitive to that whole issue, ya know? I wish the dirtbag had simply blown himself up before the whole incident led to my termination... :(

I worked HARD at that job too, cleaning up the disgustingly filthy shop (dead animals & thick layers of dust on the shelves, zero organization) and bringing 65 gas-powered golf carts up to speed, running strongly. Many certified mechanics won't touch those carts, the electronic manual is 200 pages long, go figure... :eek:

Meh, here's my new plan: get on board with the county or ADOT, rack up the paid vacay, and do it all over again with the Dago visits... just chaps my @$$ that I could've ALREADY taken TWO weeklong paid sailing vacations out there, and I'm talking about sailing to Catalina and $h!t!!! GRRRRRRRR!!! :mad:

You know what? F#% it, I just had a BLAST with a long-lost skateboarding friend from Coronado in my high school days... this guy is hardcore, he retired from the Infantry last year after 33 years of service, he was even wounded by an IED in Afghanistan but he kept on charging, he ain't no whiner, LOL. ;)

This hand and I go WAY back, and we're both from ugly broken homes, yet we're doing our best to persevere & prevail, aye? I got to meet one of his five kids who came along for the ride, never met him before but we all had a wonderful time catching up, drinking beer by the outdoor campfire, shooting pool, etc. :D

Anyway, this hand has a home & family up in Oregon, but he's currently working for a tech outfit as project manager on the construction side, putting up a facility here in Arizona, not two hours away! When I contacted him and learned this, I said, "DUDE, GET YER @$$ OUT HERE & BRING THE KID!!!" :rolleyes:

Had a really good time, now they've returned to the construction project upon which they're both working, and I'm getting ready to call it an early night prior to an 0400 wake-up call and a BIG DAY manana on the new job. So let me cut this long-winded spiel short, time to make custom sandwiches for lunch, LOL... :cool:

I'LL BE TOO BUSY MONDAY THRU THURSDAY TO BOTHER Y'ALL, NO WORRIES, BUT THE 3-DAY WEEKENDS WILL BE NICE... SO I'LL RATTLE YER CAGES ON WEEKENDS, LOL. CHEERS!!! ;)
We interrupt this off-topic chat for insight into the recent passing of a great pitcher: RIP, Phil Niekro.

Comments on his specialty, the knuckleball.

5). "There are two theories on hitting the knuckleball. Unfortunately, neither of them works."

4). Jason Varitek: "You know, catching the knuckleball, it's like trying to catch a fly with a chopstick."

3). Bob Uecker: "The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up."

2). Richie Hebner: "Hitting Niekro's knuckleball is like eating soup with a fork."

1). Willie Stargell: "Throwing a knuckleball for a strike is like throwing a butterfly with hiccups across the street into your neighbor's mailbox."

:)
 
Signal Charlie, I am in awe of your work. Never have I seen a boat (or two boats!) with so much damage be restored so beautifully! Truly impressive and inspirational work! Thanks for documenting all of this. It makes all other repairs look easy!
 
Breeze Bender, thank you, that means a lot coming from a serial restorer. Keep posting your great work please :)

We do a lot of blind Patches, in fact WAVE had a new one on her starboard chine. It survived intact while the rest of the chine around rest was bashed to slivereens.

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I love your boathouse! My garage used to be full of a Hobie Cat and kayaks in the summer, now I rent a storage unit for the Hobie and Sunfish and utility trailer. So the garage is more mundane now.

I bought the house next door to mine, to turn into an air bnb, and also to get my hands on the 12 x 33 garage under the house (it's half the basement) for my boating stuff and general man-cave. Then my son wanted to rent the house, so now his workshop is in there. I'm jealous, but I guess I can't kick out my son.......right?
 
I love your boathouse! My garage used to be full of a Hobie Cat and kayaks in the summer, now I rent a storage unit for the Hobie and Sunfish and utility trailer. So the garage is more mundane now.

I bought the house next door to mine, to turn into an air bnb, and also to get my hands on the 12 x 33 garage under the house (it's half the basement) for my boating stuff and general man-cave. Then my son wanted to rent the house, so now his workshop is in there. I'm jealous, but I guess I can't kick out my son.......right?
You can kick him out of the garage, for sure!
 
Scuffer the first coat with 120 grit on a random orbital sander, light pressure, just enough to give the surface some "tooth" s Capn Jack would say and take off the gloss. The dulled surface helps prevent holidays when applying the second coat. Second and final coat of TotalBoat WetEdge, Skipper painted, she does great with just the brush. She added about 3 caps of TB thinner to 1/3 quart of paint, temp around 68F. Brushed about a 5 feet section then dribbled in a little more thinner to finish up the starboard bow and port side.

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We told the fine folks at SLO Sail and Canvas about WAVE's adventures and the Cat 2 hurricane damage to her cover, and they sent her a new Spars On Deck cover with web loops, gratis! We like the color and are checking to see what that color is called, and which material they used. They have 3 fabric types, we usually buy Sunbrella, best for our needs, but not the best if you want to trailer with a cover. We like that it breathes. FMI: Sunfish Sailboat Top Cover - Boat Deck Cover

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Rachael from SLO Sail and Canvas sent more info on WAVE's cover, it is SunMaster Polyester Charcoal Gray.

From their website link: "Although polyester covers do not have all of the advantages that the Top Gun and Sunbrella covers boast, they are extremely economical. If your boat is not exposed to extreme conditions, then polyester is probably your best bet. Polyester covers will protect your boat from the elements for a number of years (think 3-5 years). These covers should not be trailered or exposed to high UV areas for extended periods of time (closer to the equator), but as long as you treat them right, they will do a fantastic job."

Sunmaster Material

The Sunmaster cover is $130, TopGun bumps the price up $72 and Sunbrella $93. For our applications, hot humid Florida where it never dries out, we found Sunbrella was best for us because it was water repellent and breathes. The polyester cover did not breathe enough and we got some mildew on boats, and on the inside of the cover. But it was indeed waterproof, and we think it would be optimum for cold, dry off season storage. And we also found in Florida that we can't leave the sails on the boat, long term, during the hot and humid season. This time of year might be okay.

One other thought on covers, several websites suggest periodically recoating the coves with 3M 303 Fabric Guard to restore water repellency. I asked Skipper about this, she is a seamstress and costumer, and she asked what was in the 303. I looked up the MSDS and it says petroleum Distillate. Hmmmm, do we want that on our boat, our sails or ourselves? Maybe not. But we do like the other Care Instructions for all of our covers,
-Add 2 ounces of mild soap such as Woolite or Dawn dishwashing liquid to 1 gallon of lukewarm water.
-Clean the fabric with a “soft bristle brush.”
-Rinse thoroughly with cold water and air dry.

SLO Sail and Canvas
 
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WAVE ducked out of the Carriage House while the new LED lights were being installed, and tried out her new cover from SLO Sail and Canvas. The Spars on Deck cover is SunMaster polyester, Charcoal Gray, with web loops and a bow handle cutout. It also has an elastic band around the skirt and web strap at the back to tighten the sides. In the photo we have the mast on the deck to act as a ridgepole, if we wanted to leave the booms and sail on the deck also there is a sleeve on the stern to cover those as well.

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Laid out Capn Jack's double stripes, 2 inch wide with 2 inch space. Used 3M fine line tape, it worked great. Brished on TotalBoat WetEdge BlueGlo White.

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Hawaii registration back on.

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Last bit of trim, salvaged from bow bits. New bow trim was sent by Alan. 1/8th inch rivets with 1/8th inch draw for most rivet holes, some took 1/4 inch.

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Anyone need some mangled trim?

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