Alberg 30 refit: Wet Hull

Now that all the paint bottom paint has been removed, (well about 90%, I still have a small section left on the starboard side) I can begin to formulate a plan to repair the blisters. But that repair is going to have to wait a bit...

...because after getting down to the gelcoat and letting the boat sit for a few days these dark spots started to appear on the hull.

I smeared them with my finger to make them go away thinking it might have been dew or something. 

Well that wasn't it either; the dark spots returned. So I believe there is water in the gelcoat and the fiberglass laminate. The paint must have been holding the moisture in. I do not believe it is a lot of moisture but I will have to let it dry out before beginning repairs. Epoxy will not adhere to the hull unless it is completely dry. I am ok with this since I am in no rush. The boat is covered and has been out of the water for a year now. Actually, having said that..I really do need to get moving!

That big white spot is the previous owner's attempt at filling an old hole in the boat where there used to be a saltwater intake to the galley sink. The patch worked but it was not done properly. I believe all he did was fill the hole with an epoxy putty and some of it was still wet when I sanded over it. I was always a bit leery of the repair because of other things the previous owner had done in a similar slap-dash manner.  I will have to grind all that out and repair it correctly. 

So on to the next big job: Removing all the deck fittings, hand rails, stanchions and teak from the topside decks.

Alberg 30 Refit: Happy 4th of July 2015

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day, America!

This picture was taken May 22nd while on the ferry. I have actually seen a few fireworks shows this year while running the ball park ferry. I hope everyone has a safe a fun 4th. I wish we could be with friends and family but I have been called in to run an extra ferry to handle tonight's fireworks show in Norfolk.

On to boat work update:

This what I started with yesterday, a scraped starboard side

 And this is how the boat looked after about 4 hrs of sanding! 

I have question all you Good Old Boat guys, there appears to be a red gelcoat  stripe all the way around the boat at the original waterline? The boot stripe on the boat appears to be 3-4 inches higher than the original waterline. I heard that some Alberg 30 sterns appeared to sit low in the water. Our Sal did not. She sat quite nicely; I wonder if this is because someone altered the waterline. 

Because I did not want to get too dirty working on the bottom I decided to take more stuff off the boat in preparation for work inside. Salacia has a small volume interior compared to some 30ft boats and I am still amazed at how much stuff can be stored! I feel like we've already offloaded so much and there's still more to be done, 

Work continues, and I am hoping that the nastiest part of the job is just about over, as I finish up the bottom paint removal process. I will then begin repairs on the bottom in preparation for her barrier coat.

Have a safe and relaxing holiday weekend!