Jobs on the list this weekend included
- Remove the anti-drip moulds from the wheel house roof.
- Scrub the deck and bathing platform
- Wash and polish the hull.
So Saturday started with scrubbing the bathing platform and boarding ladder steps. To be fair, I could do this once afloat, but it is a slightly precarious operation and I do not fancy an unscheduled dip in the Orwell in November.
Whilst this was drying, I turned my attention to the anti- drip rails which are designed to stop rain running off the wheel house roof and in to the open wheel house doors. The current rails are strips of hardwood, screwed into the roof. Water was leaking around the screws and the wood was damaged. The plan is to dry the holes out, fill with epoxy and then fit low profile stainless steel rails, to divert the water.
the holes were deep and sodden so were left exposed over-night. Heat from a hair dryer was applied today, to speed up the drying process, but in the end I decided to leave them to dry further and covered them with waterproof tape and will fill the holes in a few weeks.
As anyone who has scrubbed a really filthy deck before, will know, that a dark green sludge is produced when you really to get down to business. The green gunge then runs out of the scuppers and down the side of the hull. So, deck scrubbing had to come before hull cleaning. Starbrite’s deck cleaner, applied with a sponge, had little impact on what I think is at least 18 months worth of grime and algae. So good old fashioned scrubbing was necessary. After 3 hours, the deck looked pretty good, though there are some stains that are going to need further treatment.
With the deck rinsed off, it was time to wash the hull, which is painted in Awlgrip. The best product to use of course, is Awlwash, which is hugely expensive for shampoo, but it does work. Once dry, I polished with Awl Care polymer sealant, to give a good shine and protection to the paint. The results speak for themselves. Money well spent, I think.
The starboard side is done. I will tackle the portside next week, with some help from the old man.
There are still alot of jobs to do, to finish Sindur to a high standard, but once the hull polish is done, then she can be launched and the remaining jobs tackled whilst afloat.
SINDUR IV 