Topsides Paint, Rigging Work and Misc.

June 9, 2018

With plenty of items on the to-do list for the day, I started early on the Dhows with the final coat of topsides paint for the blue Dhow, and the second coat of topsides paint for the white Dhow.  Yes, the color monikers are not necessarily making it easy to follow along here.  The Dhows are named, but divulging those now would be a definite spoiler!

With the paint curing, I turned my attention to the floatation foam.  The white Dhow had its original closed-cell foam, and I couldn't justify throwing it away and beginning anew.  What I did do with the floatation foam is use it as a template to fabricate foam for the blue Dhow.  I began by taking a measure of the maximum height in order to understand how many pieces of new foam to glue up.

Using the shape of the port side foam pieces (taped together), I ended up cutting out four pieces of foam; and repeated for the starboard side.

I gently cleaned off the surfaces of the foam pieces, and then sprayed 3M glue liberally across all mating surfaces.   I then weighted the pieces as they cured.  I have not attempted this technique heretofore, but am optimistic for the outcome.  I will be removing portions of the glued-up blocks with a Japanese saw, until I achieve a snug fit beneath the aft seating of the blue Dhow.

With the foam blocks curing, I decided to apply a few coats of TotalBoat TotalBilge to the "false bulkheads" that are screwed to cleats below the aft seats, and that help to secure the floatation foam. 

Finally, I sanded and cleaned the surfaces of the blue Dhow's rig in order to apply a third coat to the mast and first coats to the boom and yard arm.  

With the owner of an upcoming project headed to the shop, I decided to close work for the day.  Tomorrow's work may involve dry-fitting the gunwales to the blue Dhow...hopefully! 

Total Time Today: 5.25 hrs