The Bottom
Before leaving Herrington Harbor in July 2018 we did some quick touchup work on the bottom. This included repairing a few blisters near the waterline, repairing some voids, and repainting some areas of the bottom paint that had worn bare. It was hot and humid, not the best conditions. Several days approached 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It was quick work, intended only to last through the winter, and to be properly redone in the Spring.
We touched up the bare spots. Replaced the zincs (and checked continuity).
Some voids were found and will filled those with fiberglass mat and the epoxy.
A few blisters were repaired near the waterline. However, when the light was right in the morning, we could see several additional blisters under the starboard side (disturbing!).
Then 2-part epoxy primer was used to cover the repairs and bare patches.
July 19,2018 the primed spots were touched up (Tropicote). Happily, this paint (hard high copper content paint) can be purchased by the quart. Veritas was splashed on the 20th of July and motored to Annapolis on the 21st.
The plan was to stay in the water at Annapolis Landing Marina through the winter and then haul out in the spring to repaint the bottom. However, in the process of preparing for winterizing we found that the raw water intake valve could not be closed completely. So, on October 23rd, Veritas was hauled out at Jabin's Yacht Yard to replace the bad valve, have the bottom painted properly, and, have the Max Prop refurbished. Also, we needed to repair those additional blisters that we noticed in July.
Well, a quick look from Annapolis Boat Service gave some options. It was easy to see that the blister problem was more general than we had thought - possibly 7 to 10 quarter sized blisters per square foot. One option was to ignore it and save up some cash to tackle the problem in a few years. Unfortunately, this is problem that will get worse when the boat is in the water (slowly, but it will only get worse). So, we are now going to remove all the through hulls and have the gelcoat peeled away from the fiberglass so that it can dry out this winter.
Annapolis Gelcoat and Fiberglass was chosen to do the work. The first step was to grind out a sample are to develop a laminate profile.
The builder provided a layup schedule in the owner's manual. According to the owner's manual the hull was built according to the architect’s specifications. It is built as a one piece fiberglass moulding with the strips of material allowed to overlap along the boot top and waterline area for additional strength. Two extra pairs of mat and roving are applied on the bow to reinforce the bow areas. The sheer hull/deck joint area is also specially reinforced. Top quality U.S. made gelcoat is used (of the isophthalic type) which has the best water and chemical resistance.
And, the work starts. It is not a pretty process. The gel-cote and first layers of mat fiberglass are removed from the boat. The tool used is similar to an electric planer. This is a half-day's work by one person.
There is also the fear of opening Pandora's box. Deeper problems and previous repairs can show themselves.
Almost a full year passed allowing Veritas to dry out. The hull was washed several times with ammonia bleach to help it along. Finally at the begining of October two layers of glass were layed up with vinyl ester resin. Then this was faired with coats of vinyl ester mixed with cabosil (fumed silica). Finally a tie-coat of black unipoxy.
After completing the this work several new holes had to be cut. The first was for the refrigeration keel cooler. This was in the bottom of the port cockpit locker (stern quarter). The new outer layers can be seen clearly at the bottom of the photo. Then there were hole cut to drain water from the deadwood cavity, the bilge and the rudder. More about this is found under Garboard Drain.
Finally, after a year had passed doing other work on the boat it was time to paint the bottom. several bare areas, the rudder, and the through hulls required primer.
