Oakland, California is deceptively cold this time of year. Evening temperatures drop into the 30s, and with 30-45 mph winds daytime highs of 60 will barely warm the decks. Working conditions are uncomfortable, but living on Fir without heat is a real challenge.
Painting
Luckily, our primer will cure down to 32 degrees. This trip we set our sights on getting the port hull area primed. Fir will never have a completely flat, smooth surface ( fair hull ) due to rivets, and welding from past renovations. Our main goal in priming the hull is to fill every cavity with protective primer. We are applying 4 coats by roller on the area below the bumper and the leading edge of the bow. Our primer is good for water submersion as long as the coating is __ mils.
Fir profile February 2018
Port hull February 2018. The area above the bumper is ready for final paint. The area below the bumper will get another 2 coats.
February 2018. Bow with two coats of primer. Four additional coats of primer will be added to protect the leading edge of the boat.
The "Blue Water" console February 2018
Wiring
A good portion of this trip was spent wiring the new console in a crawlspace, about 36" high, under the wheelhouse. We have mounted a plastic board with DIN Rails in the crawlspace. This is just a pass through board as all the circuits are fused at other locations.
Welding
Several weeks ago, we moved the aft sea doors back to their original location and welded them in place. Creating a water-tight seal requires welding small pieces of metal to fill the gaps. Joe has finished sealing crevices around both doors before running a bead along the inside of the door jambs. He will then grind the welds flush, and paint the door jambs.
Tender
Work on the tender has been slow. When temperatures fall below 60 degrees fahrenheit the tube is rather stiff, and paint will not cure correctly. However, on this trip we were able to get another coating of paint on top of the tube. In addition, we installed bolts and plates securing the tube to the fiberglass hull. .