Mother's Day Makes for a Short Trip

I had to get back to the east coast to see my mother for Mother's Day so this was a quick 3 day trip.

Paint

During the last trip we applied the second coat of Amerlock 2/400 to the starboard side.  We are using the Amerlock as a primer. This trip we followed with the first coat of PSX700 below the bumper.  Since Fir has nearly no water or fuel on board, we are able to reach what will be underwater when she is fully provisioned.

After some experimentation with barges and painting methods, we settled on a makeshift float, pictured below.  It's narrow profile kept the wind effect at a minimum while giving us access to low points on the hull.  Because the material is relatively soft, we could get very close without scratching our previous work. 

Eric and Chris apply the PSX700 top coat to the lower fantail with brush and rollers.

The first coat of PSX700 on the starboard side.

Access

Access to the boat has been problematic. We have been using a step ladder from the floating dock to the buoy deck.  The combination of a ladder on a dock that hasn't been maintained makes moving heavier supplies punishing to say the least.

Fir originally had a 01 deck door.  At some point, a previous owner welded the door shut.  We need this door to load the provisions that we require -- not the least of which is motor oil whose fill station is just inside the door. 

Joe and Chris by the new entrance. The door is 7/8" of steel weighing in at about 800lbs. Joe lowered it for the first time using a chain fall.

A secondary issue is the vegetation (hyacinth) that has grown between the shore and the floating dock.  Since the marina is no longer maintained where Fir is moored, the hyacinth has become so thick that it has managed to push Fir from shore.  In addition to the excess vegetation, Fir cannot be accessed on the port side, which happens to be where the door is located.

Joe and Chris used a small boat to break up the mass of plants, dragging clumps into the channel by anchor.   With this work done, we ought to be able to move a barge to the door for loading. 

Potable Water

We have drained all of Fir's 6 potable water storage tanks, (with the exception of water in the day tank for cleaning).  This has been important for three reasons:

We need to insure that the boat is not leaking. Fir's water tanks are built into the hull. The bottom and sides of each water tank is the hull. When the tanks are filled, the hydrostatic pressure inside and outside of the tank is nearly equal so it is impossible to tell if the hull portion of the tank is leaking.  Emptying and drying out the tanks is a critical step in checking the condition of the hull. This area had not been tested by our surveyor because the tanks were full during inspection. 

Second, we want to clean the tanks we rely on for potable water. See the previous post for our work on the water tanks. This trip we decided that the tanks required more time to dry out. 

We added a new bronze valve from the outside water supply on the aft seachest. This line will feed our potable water filters and watermaker.

Third, Fir needs to be high in the water when we take her from her current mooring to the main shipping channel, about 1,000 yards away.  The Fir draws 11.5 feet when properly provisioned. She is probably drawing 9 feet today because her tanks are empty.   We have concerns that the area where the channel meets the shipping lane may be too narrow to accommodate Fir.

While we want Fir high in the water as she leaves her current mooring, potable water is a major source of ballast.  We need to fill the potable water tanks as soon as we make it to the shipping lane.  Our water source will be an existing valve off of the aft sea chest. Joe opened the old valve (leaving it in place) and installed a new bronze valve from Groco.  

Joe installed the rack that will hold our new potable water system. The red pumps below the rack are the #2 fire pumps. The blue pump connected with PVC pipe is a temporary pump installed by the previous owner. The temporary pump and PVC pipe will be replaced with marine equipment mounted to the rack. The rack is fairly high in the air so that the strainers for the fire pumps can be maintained. 

First of Spring

The weather is becoming more predictable.  Not predictable enough to order our generators (which have to be craned through the roof of the boat) or complete the mast wiring.  However, we were able to make progress on painting, porthole welding, and repairing scuppers.

Paint

We are using Amerlock 400/2 as a primer and PSX 700 as the top coat.  Both are industrial paints from PPG.  It has taken several applications to get accustomed to the paint, and now it's working very well.  The Amerlock is watertight with three applications by roller.  It cures above 30 degrees, is rain safe in 6 hours (with northern California winds), and hard as steel in 24 hours. The paint takes on a high sheen that is good as a final coat on most work surfaces. 

The PSX 700 also cures above 30 degrees, but is ready to recoat in 4 hours. The coating is high gloss, and can be patched without leaving a trace (critical since we cannot get the entire boat prepped at one time with our limited crew).  PSX 700 can be recoated without sanding which is a major advantage, and the coverage is excellent. It takes about 6 gallons to coat one side of the boat with Amerlock, and a little more than 2 gallons to cover the same area with PSX 700.  

The prep has been minimal.  We have numerous rust spots about the size of a quarter, and about a dozen rust problems where two plates meet. Paint used by the previous owner simply washed off, and below this coat of cheap paint was the last coat applied by the Coast Guard.  It is tough. No need to scrap or chip this base.  

Fir as she sat when we found her in the winter of 2016.

A few months later in the Spring of 2017. At this point we are color testing the white on the A Frame and the red and blue on the stack.

Late fall 2017.  Note the tenders have been removed from the aft deck. Solar panels added. A first coat of PSX700 has been applied to the superstructure. A final coat of PSX700 red and blue has been applied to the stack.

Early spring 2018.  Amerlock primer is applied to the freeboard. Note that the "phone booth" above the wheelhouse has been removed.

Two coats of Amerlock primer later, we applied the blue PSX700 below the bumper.

The first coats of PSC700 white, red, and blue are applied to the forward freeboard. Amerlock black applied to the anchor and anchor box.

Portholes

For whatever reason, the starboard side of the boat took the brunt of the weather over the last couple of years.  This trip, Joe completed welding the last of the portholes. We painted the hull under the portholes with Amerlock to create a barrier. And, when Joe re-installed the portholes, he coated the internal lip with PPG chalk.  

During the porthole restoration process, we cut 43 brass slotted screws. They have to be custom made at a cost of $13 each -- ouch.    

Water Tanks

We took another pass at the aft water tanks.  The water tanks are tough  because they dry slowly due to poor air circulation.  We pressure washed the tank on the last trip. Then we spot blasted in the beginning of this trip.  Once dry, Amerlock 400/2 was applied to bare metal spots.  Amerlock is rated for underwater service but the coating has to be thick. We coated the bare spots with black Amerlock.  We will come back with a more general coating in white. 

Wardroom

The old wardroom ceiling had been covered with a variety of paints. This was not a big deal because the last restoration included the installation of a drop ceiling. We want to go back to the original tin ceiling.  Between rain storms, we used a cheap needle gun from Harbor Freight to remove the old paint.