December 5, 2011 First Gelcoat on Pec, Small Repairs and Fairing Richard the welder was an early riser and he delivered the second hard top frame just after sunrise, reminding us that we had yet to fabricate tops for these … [Read more...]
Rebuilding Whale Watching Tenders Part 15
November 27, 2011 Minor Fiberglass Repairs All the grinding in recent days finally came to fruition today as we went around and applied fiberglass to several minor repairs. To reinforce and smooth the gunwale edge where swimmers will … [Read more...]
Rebuilding Whale Watching Tenders Part 14
November 16, 2011 Fiberglassing Decks on Both Boats We got an early start and were out on the boats doing final preparations for fiberglassing the decks over the new fuel tanks before our young helpers were really alert. After doing a … [Read more...]
Rebuilding Whale Watching Tenders Part 13
November 11, 2011 The day started like many others: with someone running a grinder. This time it was Adam preparing the pieces of marine plywood deck for installation. The undersides were previously coated with resin but drips and areas that would … [Read more...]
Rebuilding Whale Watching Tenders Part 12
November 7, 2011 Another leap forward in time has occurred and I am returning to writing about this project on September 22, 2012, almost a year after the events unfolded. The pictures will have to tell the parts of the story I have … [Read more...]
Rebuilding Whale Watching Tenders Part 11
Ready to Repair October 16, 2011 Repairing Port Side of Pec We started the day disassembling the repair that we dry fit the night before, then Gene went to work vacuuming the pieces of wood and solvent wiping the repair area while I gathered … [Read more...]
Rebuilding Whale Watching Tenders Part 10
Gusset Deck Underside October 7, 2011 More Lamination and Sanding on Pec To take the picture at right, I stuck my camera up underneath the deck pointing aft toward the new gusset. You can see the different layers of fiberglass underneath the core … [Read more...]
Rebuilding Whale Watching Tenders Part 9
Crack Evaluation September 29, 2011 Removing Side Deck on Pec Today began a series of days on which honest evaluations of different parts of the boats resulted in their removal. Gene is looking at a little crack in the deck, but it is really not a … [Read more...]
Rebuilding Whale Watching Tenders Part 8
Chopped Glass Filling September 25, 2011 Rebuilding Side Deck of Fluke The morning began with final preparations to install the scab board underneath the side deck and replace the deck core and gusset that we removed earlier. In the picture at … [Read more...]
Rebuilding Whale Watching Tenders Part 6
Peeling Wax Paper August 31, 2011 More Test Laminations, Removing Gussets, More Deck Skin Removal We decided today was the day to find out more about using wax paper as a release layer under fiberglass laminations. As noted back on page 4, the … [Read more...]