I had carefully applied another layer of fiberglass to the existing patch in place, and let it dry over the course of the week. Anthony had also taken the time to pressure wash the entire port side of the boat, leaving a layer of grime and old growth on the starboard side.
As you can see from the photo above, this layer was most likely going to be too much trouble to attempt sanding through. We performed a couple of tests of sanding off the old ablative bottom paint on the port side to see what type of progress could be made with our current tool set.
Though the results seemed fairly impressive, we noted that the use of a sanding pad attachment for the electric drill seemed to leave behind too many curved divets that would have to be sanded and faired out later. After much discussion, Anthony took it upon himself to purchase a Dewalt random orbital sander and some 60 grit hook and sand pads.
The results of sanding with this particular tool were far more impressive than the sanding attachment for the drill. In the photo below, you can see Anthony initially using the attachment for the electric drill:
I must admit that the drill attachment was much faster; especially with the course sander. But, we found the smooth surface left from using the Dewalt random orbital sander far outweighed any time that we might save by using the drill attachment. Also, we were able to sand over the boot stripes without damaging them at all. The photo below shows the smooth white surface left behind from the orbital sander.
Apparently we seemed to enjoy sanding so much with this tool that Anthony's son; Gabriel, lent a hand to help smooth out any areas that we might have missed
The only thing left for us to sand would be under the trailer bunks; if we could just figure out exactly how we plan on lifting the boat off the trailer to sand and paint. Also in retrospect I would advise not only to use safety goggles and a respirator mask while sanding hazardous chemicals such as copper-based paint, but do wear long sleeves or an environment suit. The paint particles that fall from the surface tend to temporarily stain one's skin and cannot be good for you.
As you can see by the photo, we had a tendency to end our days resembling something akin to characters from Tolkien novels.
While waiting for ideas on how to lift the boat from the trailer, I decided to proceed with applying some of the colloidal silica I had purchased to the repair are of the keel trunk, now that the final later of fiberglass and epoxy resin had dried.
I sanded the area once again, creating a smooth surface on which to apply the silica. I then mixed two parts harder to five parts epoxy resin, and then added the silica filler until I reached a consistency similar to that of mayonnaise or cake frosting.
Once the mix looked correct, I then liberally applied the compound around the entire keel trunk area; inside and out.
As you can see in the photo, I noticed a few chips in the fiberglass and epoxy from the previous repair and decided to fill in those small craters as well. Later after it has dried I will sand again to smooth out my work.
While I waited for the silica compound to dry overnight, I decided it was time to go ahead and finish up oiling and varnishing the teak wood I had removed from the boat.
In the photo above, you can see the dramatic difference in the teak wood during the course of re-finishing it. On the left is an example of the old and greyed teak untouched. The center is a piece of teak that has been sanded. On the right is a piece of teak that has just been oiled and wiped down.
Soon, they will all receive the same treatment, and finished off with a few coats of spar varnish.
I will keep you posted...
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