Back from a family vacation, a few days in the Magic Kingdom, I was able to squeeze a few hours at the shop working on Biscuit. The day's task would be interior related, as I work to knock out the bulk of the interior items in the coming two weeks. I grabbed the necessary kit, PPE, and set out to sand and bring fair the cabin sole directly beneath the companion way - the location of the cockpit scupper seacocks. I had done quite a bit of grinding here, taking cracked portions of the interior liner back to good glass and applied a few layers of 1708 biaxial cloth, and then finished with a layer of fairing compound. This was the state of surface today....fairing compound in need of sanding and fairing.

I used the palm sander and Makita 1" belt sander in the brief areas that would allow the tools access, but most of this work was done by hand, in the tight accommodations. The sanding work dominated most of my short time at the boat today, but I was happy to see that most of the surface was relatively fair. There were locations in need of another round, but that second coat would be thinner. I also sanded the low transverse bulkhead which had apparently received some type of fairing compound previously. This small transverse bulkhead, or stringer, would be faired prior to painting as well.

With the sanding out of the way, I turned my attention to locating the install areas for the new Groco thru-hull fittings and Groco FBV seacocks. I decided to mark the locations with an 1/8" drill bit, drilling from the interior. With a compass, I made a simple 4" diameter template - a proxy for the backing plate - and set them on the interior surface. I then used a pencil to mark through the counterpoint of the template and onto the interior surface. I then drilled through the interior liner and hull to the outside of the boat. I'll look to order the new seacocks and fittings in the coming day. The plan will be to use the pilot hole, install a 1" hole saw on the drill, and remove a portion of the hull for the new thru-hull fittings.

I finished the time on Biscuit by vacuuming and solvent-washing the interior surface, mixing and applying "neat" epoxy to the surfaces, and then mixing and applying the final application of fairing compound. In the coming week, I will work towards sanding this area and installing the new Groco seacocks.

Total Hrs: 3