Almost ready to fiberglass!!!

August 1

My wonderfully "impatient to get to work on the YellowBird" husband used some time on Monday (July 31) to paint the bulkhead that we (he mostly) repaired on Sunday. It looks really good. I love the crisp, clean white. One of the "fun" tasks we did weeks ago was sanding and oiling the teak trim from various areas of the boat.  So today FIRST THING we located the bulkhead trim, touched it up a bit and then installed it. What a difference! The bulkhead looks clean, bright and shiny-new!
It made us smile all day as we worked!

One of the "benefits" of the YellowBird being in the boatyard is that we have attracted every wasp in a tri-State area to build a nest in the crevices. So while we work, the wasps fly back and forth building their nests and rebuilding them as we find their location and dismantle them.

Our immediate task for today was to prepare the deck core for fiberglass. We have to level it out as best we can and ensure that all the connections between pieces are smooth. Shawn used the grinder and I used the belt sander to begin to level the different sections uniformly.

"Now be careful when you use the belt sander, Liz.  KEEP the cord AWAY from the belt. DO NOT let the belt TOUCH the cord."


Shawn...why why why do you put those things out in the universe???!!!!

"Liz, what are you doing?"

"Nothing, Shawn."

"Um, Shawn? I got the cord in the belt sander."

So after laughing hysterically at me an and my sometimes ineptitude, we untangled the cord and managed to sand the entire flybridge coring.

The channel cut is designed for the new wiring which Shawn will complete. We are happy with the crown of the new deck coring. I cannot wait until the fiberglass is on and I can DANCE on it!

Shawn had a present for me when we arrived home! He got me a propeller for the boat!!! YAY!!! I love the way it looks!

So now we ONLY have to prep the flybridge deck for fiberglassing. I think we have to sand it again? Maybe two more times? And paint (roll and tip) the flybridge.  (I have been watching youtube videos). Then fiberglass the new coring and then paint the new fiberglass deck.

So we are ALMOST ready to fiberglass?

Does the prep work never end?

July 31, 2017

I will admit to being frustrated. More than a tad frustrated. This weekend was a rainy weekend on Friday and Saturday. Monsoon rains. Saturday late afternoon there was a tiny break, so we jumped in the truck to go check on our YellowBird (mainly to ensure the tarps kept the flybridge deck dry). We could not get to her because the road was blocked due to a tree and power line being down.

We subsequently learned of a back way to get to the boatyard which we will know for the future! So no work done at all on Saturday. (Although we did make a trip to Home Depot to get a belt sander and some random supplies).

Sunday we headed back to Jennings prepared for a day of work. It was nice and cool, so we determined we would NOT pack a cooler of snacks and drinks. We do keep some snacks on the YB. For some reason, everytime we do not pack a lunch, we want one! Note to self: ALWAYS pack a cooler.

So armed with energy and good intentions, we uncovered her and found the some of the flybridge decking had gotten wet (mainly section #2) so we left her open to dry out. 

Then we turned our attention to the cockpit bulkhead. Shawn cut pieces of wood to replace the rotten wood we had taken out when we redid the door way.  He then left to work for a bit leaving me to sand and prep the cockpit bulkhead for painting. I also sealed the wood he cut with epoxy to ensure it would not rot. 

When Shawn returned, he installed the wood while I prepped the flybridge for painting. I filled holes with some sort of marine filler and then wet sanded the entire flybridge with 220 grit wet/dry paper. I then "roughed" the flybridge with a red scruffy thing Shawn gave me. It worked better than the wet/dry because I could get it into all the nooks and crannies.

And that took from 9 until 4! Unbelievable! Soon frustrating because when you look at her, she looks no different even though we spent a whole day on her. *sigh* 

As August approaches and the school year resumes, I am just so disheartened. We have worked steadily on her TOGETHER, BOTH OF US all summer long. I do not mind the work and I have learned so much and there is this wonderful sense of accomplishment when I look at what we did that day...and yet.... she is not ready. 

Heat Wave

July 23

We are having a heat wave!!! Love love this song from There's No Business Like Show Business (https://youtu.be/Krl_pXXfKEI) and it has been running through my head all weekend!

The heat wave continues and with high humidity, sometimes I think we are completely insane. We are just SO very determined to complete this overhaul of our YellowBird and be able to ENJOY her. Shawn continually reminds me of how thankful he is that I work alongside and with him on this project…and it is that which keeps me going! 💛

Thursday July 20

Another early morning boat ride to rejuvenate us. I love looking at this man!

Hot hot afternoon afterwork .  It rained yesterday evening.

Shawn uncovered the YB to let her dry out some and set one section of coring down without me!!! (the aft section or section #8). Working in the heat alone was exhausting (this is why he needs and appreciates me so much!).

I hurried to the boat after work JUST in time to admire his work and help cover her again! J

Friday July 21

We met at the boatyard at 11 and decided to work on the coring. The sections around the hatch look good, so we decided to adhere the two forward pieces (section #1) which is nidacore. We found the cinderblocks leave quite a bit of debris, so we hauled our wet/dry vac to the flybridge and I cleaned the flybridge AGAIN (this is an ongoing repetitive task!) while Shawn mixed up the magic concoction. We adhered the forward pieces (section #1) and then adhered the section aft of the hatch (section #7), another nidacore piece. 

Shawn was determined to insert the freshly painted door frame and door even though I was more than ready to call it a day! So we spent an hour (maybe 2!) getting the doors put back in. Love love love how the white paint looks! (and it will need some touching up from where we scratched it putting it in).

Saturday July 22

I am tired of saying beastly hot! But it truly was beastly hot! 100 in the shade and who knows what the temperature was on the flybridge!

We tackled the remaining coring! The reason we labeled the sections when cutting the pieces was to be able to place them in the correct spot. It was also helpful for us to be able to "name" them as we determined the order in which we adhered them. As I mentioned, we did the hatch section first because  those were the most difficult as they had to go UNDER the lip around the hatch. Then we did the two extremity sections (aft and forward). Then the large section to the side of the hatch. 

Now we determined to begin with the section directly forward of the hatch (section #5) which is comprised of 2 plywood and 1 nidacore. We got a bit carried away and placed all three of them down at the same time and promptly realized we did not have enough weight to ensure they adhered with the proper crown. So...we hoisted the 5 gallon buckets of chemicals up (to sit in the brutal sunshine) and Shawn and I added our weight to the corners and we sat and sat and sat while we waited for the compound to "kick".  Not the best method!

Then we determined that we would adhere section #2 (the plywood directly behind the two nidacore that we adhered on Friday). We had a discussion and determined that we would complete section 2, then section 4  (both plywood) and leave section 3 (which is nidacore) for last. Our (My) reasoning was that the goop fills gaps and if we needed to trim the last section for a perfect fit, it is easier to trim the nidacore (Shawn can use a pocketknife) than the plywood. As it turns out, it was great reasoning because we did indeed have to trim the last section! We also got smarter and to help the sections conform to the crown, Shawn used screws to anchor the coring.

So our process was this:  Shawn would grind any rough edges or spots, I would then vacuum the debris. Shawn would mix the resin with the catalyst and then we would both apply a thin layer of goop as fast as we could and then adhere the core section.

And Calamity Jane strikes again! I try so hard and SOMEHOW...I ended up with the goop mixture all over the back of my shorts on the fringes. So it got all of the back of my legs and let me tell you, it burns like crazy! Like a million fire ants and I had little welts. So I descended the ladder quickly and stripped off my shorts to get it OFF of me! Shawn had no clue what I was doing, but he sure did get a good laugh out of me walking around with no shorts on!

So we ended the day hot, tired and drenched with sweat and missing a pair of shorts!

Sunday July 23

We headed to the boatyard excited to take off the tarp and see our progress. We had no sooner uncovered her than it started to rain so we promptly recovered her and decided to put our name on her. Remember we had removed the name way way back in May!

I had to take a pair of Shawn's jeans and make new cut-offs, so I made "pirate pants". Shawn is not a fan!

She is looking good!! Fiberglassing, painting, and probably a WHOLE lot more stuff I know nothing about is all that is left to do!!! Anchors away? Maybe?