Sailing sv Little Bear

Time to get the sampson posts back into the boat.

After all the work in shaping & drilling the bowsprit, it's time to do a test fit.

I have the new chain plates, I have sealant goo, it's time to get busy and put these bad boys back on the boat.

It is time to shape and drill the various bits of wood I need to replace. All went well right up till the end...

Have you ever heard of a Fein Multi-Tool? I had not but I saw this somwhere on the `net and decided to get one. It has been one of the most useful tools I own. It has gotten me out of many a tight spot during the refit

I need to get the boomkin and bowsprit installed but I want to paint the areas they'll cover before installing them.

After pain, the stands need to be moved so I can paint the spots where they hold the boat. It's a bit of a scary job. Little Bear weighs in the region of 20K lbs. That's 10 ton. If I don't do the stands right & she comes down... She'd be difficult to put back up. That is if she didn't squish me first. Trying to put the boat back up post-squish would be problematic. For me at least.

I am using glazing putty to fill all the imperfections on the hull in preparation for painting.

I'm working on fairing in the seacocks. I also take a look at another chap's boat woes.

More glorious sanding. If you want a DIY boat project, be prepared for unending sanding.

This is the last day of my intensive work spree on the boat. I manage to get one coat of Interlux Interprotect on the bottom. It makes the boat look awesome.

It's hard to get anything done when it's raining on the boat. But we do what we can to ameliorate the rain.

Getting the hull ready for paint below the water-line.

After months and months of work I'm about to paint the upper hull with primer. That is, if I can get the tape to stick... grrrr...

I've installed teak on the top of the sampson posts to cover the end-grain and provide a nice finish to the posts. Rain and indolence prevent any further work.

Holes in boats need to be repaired. So in this vid, we look at the work progressing on various boat holes.

The G10 has to be cut with a water jet because it is so hard that any metal tool used to cut it will be dull within seconds. This is IMPRESSIVE tech.

The backing plates are in and the epoxy has set. So now it's time to install the seacock flanges.

3 backing plates get epoxied in place

Time to get the backing plates installed.

With the old wood removed, I need to clean up the fiberglass of the hull in preparation for the install of the new backing plates.

The old seacocks had plywood backing plates under them. Because I recessed the through hulls, the hull is considerably thinner around the through hull. I wanted something more than a bit of wood to support the sea cocks. But first I have to remove the old backing plates

I have inlaid a layer of glass into the Sampson posts where they go through the deck. This was to forestall any abrasion as the boat moves.

The wood work isn't complete. Yet. But work progresses nonetheless. It is gratifying to see the boat coming back together again.

When minor inconveniences interrupt work, ig's good to have a back-up work plan in place. This is the case in today's vid. I didn't finish what I had planned but I was able to move other projects ahead.