Job #12 - Cockpit hatches....

Progress at last...   I've prevaricated long enough over this one!

First cover almost done...  look at the shine on that...

Not without it's worries - the epoxy kit I'm using is a couple of years old (with a use by date on the pack of April 2015 ) and at some point in time or another, even though I've kept it in doors, it must have laid on its side as most of the hardener had disappeared into the bag.... either way, progress, the plan is to do one side at a time, but I do the edges each time, so the board above has one coat on each surface, two on all the edges....   it hardened - success!

I've now run out of hardener and I'm planning to try some stuff I had in the garage left over from a repair on Papillon in 2011 [clicky].. I'll try a test batch on a spare piece of ply first...  but for the record, and in case anyone has a similar job to do and is interested..

1.  I used West System Epoxy - 205 hardener (the quicker one) and 105 resin
2. Mixed 5:1 as recommended, I find it easier to do this by weight than using syringes and the like -  I used 10g of hardener, 50g of resin for a total of about 60g - that was enough for a coat on one side, and the edges..
3. Gloves I already had
4. Brushes I find it easier to use once and chuck - Toolstation sell 2" disposables for 20 or 30p each..  you get a few discarded bristles but they're easy enough to get rid of..

I'll do another coat on each side and move to the next one....

3 weeks to launch and not a lot of action..

I blame the weather, but nonetheless there still hasn't been a lot of action.. 😏

I can tell you that the outboard (job #19) is in for a service, and it should be back a week on Saturday or slightly earlier..

I can tell you that Sparrow's lift in is April 2nd which means I can also tell you that I will have to do antifoul no later than weekend of March 25/26th to allow it to dry before lift in...

I've put in an order (collecting on the way home) for disposable paint brushes - I have the epoxy and gloves already - and tonight I hope to put the first coat on the cut and fitted new hatch covers (#12)..

On the same order as the paintbrushes I also have cable clips for tidying the wiring for the lighting (#4), and I also have a new soldering iron to allow me to finish the wiring... I plan to fit the lighting this weekend, and will do it even if the weather is rubbish as I have run out of time...  battery is holding well over winter (13.7v when I checked last night)

I think I'm going to badger one of the daughters boyfriends to give me a hand with the tender on to the top of the car this weekend so I can bring it home and get on with the jobs I have in mind (#7, #9 and #15), in my own time, and under cover....

Other than that - the other job for this weekend is to bodge, errr, figure out, a fitting to attach the binocular holders (now built - #14) to the shelf...  I can then get on with coating/painting it.

I need warmer weather to do the fixed VHF (#4) as I need to epoxy a batten to the bulkhead to attach it to, I need the same weather to do the external brightwork.. In the same period I also want to attach boarding ladder and new Windex..  though in the case of the later Heaven only knows why, as they never last longer than a week!

If we get some decent weather I may take a day off work...

Bargain... (job #18 - antifoul)

Thanks for the heads up, Mark.. same brand I used last year (given I was quite pleased with the results at the end of year on lift out), and a bargain from Marine Superstore, Port Solent..  £35 for 2.5 ltrs...  👍