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Surprise!

It's been a couple of weeks. I could write about replacing the missing spindle sleeve in one of the mainsheet winches, or replacing the inoperative engine room light, or getting a bunch of meter readings so Blue Sea could replace the panel display, or more about the cabin sole project. But I won't do that. I'll just post a photo from last weekend, taken by Howard Elfant from the Olson 911 Sea Ya, of Surprise! sailing on a stunning, mostly-empty Bay:

From SeaYa 3.jpeg
 
BobJ said:
It's been a couple of weeks. I could write about replacing the missing spindle sleeve in one of the mainsheet winches, or replacing the inoperative engine room light, or getting a bunch of meter readings so Blue Sea could replace the panel display, or more about the cabin sole project. But I won't do that. I'll just post a photo from last weekend, taken by Howard Elfant from the Olson 911 Sea Ya, of Surprise! sailing on a stunning, mostly-empty Bay:

View attachment 5405
Click to expand...

That IS why we do this....

wonderful
 
I'm making progress with the cabin sole. Fits and starts - the first board took as long to sand as all the others (in the photo) combined.

The dark finish is all removed and I'm looking at clean, raw teak. It's a thin veneer but it looks great. The next step is to get some bleach (oxalic acid) and lighten up a few dark spots. I don't know what to do about the light blotch on the one board. It seems to be a softer area of wood that acted differently from all the rest. It's not sanded any deeper, it is just softer and a lighter color. Because of the softer wood, I burned through the holly stripe a bit and I doubt there's a way to fix that. Suggestions welcome.

Dave Pressley (another E-dock e-regular) has been a big help. We've discussed the coating options and I'm currently leaning towards West System with their 207 clear hardener. Again, suggestions welcome. I really don't want to do this project again for awhile. The boards in the photo are less than a quarter of the cabin sole.

It's a lot of work but I just couldn't bring myself to put that vinyl stuff in Surprise!

Cabin Sole Boards.JPG
 
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I have teak slats on the cockpit seats. Sanding and bleaching are yearly jobs at the very least. I used to mix the powder and water to create the oxalic acid, but have switched to using FSR from Davis (the blue goo), because it hangs better on my cockpit grate, and there is no mixing involved.
If you bleach around the light spot, it may lessen in contrast?
 
Nice work!

Likely that spot was bleached from something spilling on it.

Might try a bit of oil based stain to darken the teak area.

Tedious work with a small brush.

Not sure what do do with the holly strip. Maybe paint.
 
BobJ said:
I'm making progress with the cabin sole. Fits and starts - the first board took as long to sand as all the others (in the photo) combined.

The dark finish is all removed and I'm looking at clean, raw teak. It's a thin veneer but it looks great. The next step is to get some bleach (oxalic acid) and lighten up a few dark spots. I don't know what to do about the light botch on the one board. It seems to be a softer area of wood that acted differently from all the rest. It's not sanded any deeper, it is just softer and a lighter color. Because of the softer wood, I burned through the holly stripe a bit and I doubt there's a way to fix that. Suggestions welcome.

Dave Pressley (another E-dock e-regular) has been a big help. We've discussed the coating options and I'm currently leaning towards West System with their 207 clear hardener. Again, suggestions welcome. I really don't want to do this project again for awhile. The boards in the photo are less than a quarter of the cabin sole.

It's a lot of work but I just couldn't bring myself to put that vinyl stuff in Surprise!

View attachment 5419
Click to expand...

One option would be to stain the light spot to match the surrounding area. Staining takes some mixing and experiments to get the right color. If that seems like a good option, I can send you a half dozen 1-inch squares of teak holly plywood to experiment on.

Ants
 
On WILDFLOWER I sanded and taped off the floorboards, then painted on cream holly strips. Finally a coat of semi-gloss clear polyurethane flavored with non-skid, and Bob's your Uncle.
 
Philpott said:
Last summer I scrubbed Dura Mater’s sole but then it got dirty again so quickly!
Click to expand...

A small, inexpensive, throw rug, remnant, or runner, for cruising, can catch a lot of stuff, and then can be shaken out to leeward. Very nice on the feet during chilly mornings.
You can leave it on the dock for racing.
 
Yes, get a rug. Cover it all up before this project happens to you:

Whole Sole.JPG
 
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Intermission said:
I have teak slats on the cockpit seats. Sanding and bleaching are yearly jobs at the very least. I used to mix the powder and water to create the oxalic acid, but have switched to using FSR from Davis (the blue goo), because it hangs better on my cockpit grate, and there is no mixing involved.
If you bleach around the light spot, it may lessen in contrast?
Click to expand...

A little bit of wallpaper adhesive in your oxalic acid solution will give a nice cling for a lot less $$$!
 
UNCLE!

After botching up one piece and seeing bad wood and delam in a couple others, today I turned the project over to a pro.
 
Thanks. She's a really nice boat but she has no sole.

At least not at the moment.

Two words: Stimulus check.
 
BobJ said:
UNCLE! After botching up one piece and seeing bad wood and delam in a couple others, today I turned the project over to a pro.
Click to expand...

Oh, that's too bad! Ouch, indeed! And since you are briefly distracted by your own misfortune here's where I brag shamelessly about Dura Mater's upgrades, installed by the same electrician-magician who added what his sweetheart referred to as "bespoke electronics" to your boat:

battery.JPG

compass.JPG

to a man of your elevated expectations, mere trinkets. But to DM and me? Luxuries long desired.
 
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