Jobs you regret starting

Blueboatman said:
If a job needs doing, well, it needs er finishing!

I am varnish free on the exterior, ha! But Jeeze, redoing the headlinings, ports and lockerlinings/adding insulation did seem to go on for ever. Hang on, still four lockers ( i think) to do, bugger..
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+1

The improvement is probably worth the effort, but the grief / filth involved in removing the old stuff is huge. The best thing I did among it was to line the hull under the new covering with closed cell foam. Quiet and warmer. A reduction in cold surfaces for condensation to form on. Needless to say, not finished yet ;)

Graeme
 
ahabdonal said:
Decided the 36 year old heavy PVC rubbing strip was showing a few battle scars with harbour walls and having corners at the stern these were also a bit tatty so decided to replace it. Took it all off and then found lots of the hull/deck securing scres were rotted away even though stainless (only 6mm screws but with enormaous slot heads!). Spent a few days filling, fairing and fitting new screws and then found that the new rubbing strip was far too stiff to fit in the winter, in fact it took me 2 days with a blower fan just to get out the tight bend in it from where it had been coiled up. Going to have round 2 this next week when I am hoping to fit the strip on both sides and front of the boat-only about 120 small holes to drill and countersink in the fixing strip, 120 holes in the hull and D section, fitting the stanless screws apart from the heating, stretching and pre-drilling positioning of the strip bedfore screwing it on. Not looking forward to it at all in the cold weather predicted and I can see an unhappy week ahead with perhaps a divorce or boat sale thrown in. Think of me chaps!
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I did almost exactly the same process, but didn't find any rotten screws, and we had a mild spell just before christmas where it was warm enough to work the new rubbing strip and get it fixed on.

You really do have to pick your moments when small weather windows open up during winter.
 
Digging out the basement and dumping the spoil on what was the errr lawn.Interestingly the mound looks just like the mountain in "eNCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND"
 
Fitting a hand pump on the fore deck of a sea hawk kayak.

Took a deep breath and cut a hole in the deck. Made an insert out of GRP that would fit the hole and pump (Mould to suit, gel and GRP.)

Very tight squeeze head first one handed in to the boat. No room for both shoulders. Eventually got the thing glassed in bombproof.

Fumes were bad enough . I ruined a pair of clippers trying to tidy up resin from hair and beard.

Resorted to letting it set and then scissors job.
 
Deciding to fix the relatively 'soft' area in the cockpit floor just forward of the helm pedestal - the floor was flexing, so I knew that water must have got in (perhaps via the bolts securing the pedestal?) and rotted the core.
Initial investigation (cutting out a section of the fibreglass with a grinder) disclosed a plywood core that was was very rotten in the spongy area, with isolated areas of rot elsewhere. Decided to explore further.....
Ended up cutting out the whole cockpit floor, chiselling out all of the old plywood core (lots of small areas of rot), replacing it with foam, and then gluing back down the old sections of floor with epoxy and aerosil.
I was going to then lay synthetic teak strips, but I think I will keep these for the interior, and just fill, fair and paint it now.
 
Ha. I am about to remove my teak decks. It is maintenance time and rather than faff about recaulking and resetting several tens of plugs, I shall denude, epoxy and paying with non slip. Everyone says save em but it was always my intention when I bought the boat to enjoy em and then enjoy ' not' enjoying them....
Found a delightful wee boatyard close to me with characters and characterful boats, so this job will of course take eons..
Be interesting to see the weight noise and insulation changes though upon removal...
 
nigelmercier said:
Hmm, I've been thinking about glassing over an unused through-hull fitting, but I wonder if it would be easier if there was some kind of stopper I could fit.
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I have just fitted an Airmar blanking fitting in my now redundant hole in the hull.......
 
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