Capt'n Pauley's Virtual Boat Yard -- Projects Galore!!!

The Sanding Crew: Tools We Use

If you are allergic to dust, don’t even think about restoring an old boat. It seems like we have been sanding on Daydream for years. My daughter has tackled the outside. She recently completed sanding the topside and is now busy on the bottom. For a break, she sands the deck.

 

Project Daydream: Attacking the Mold Demons

As mentioned in a previous report, I found mold as well as mold and mildew stains in Daydream’s interior. The old tarps that had covered Daydream when we first acquired her leaked and the wet environment was perfect for mold and mildew growth. A new tarp has eliminated the source of moisture aboard and Daydream has dried out.

 

Project Daydream – Patching Holes

For a 32 year old boat, Daydream’s hull is in amazing good condition. As we sand the topsides for repainting, we have found on a few small nicks that needed filled. There are, however, some larger holes to be filled. For one thing, we plan on adding a coastal sanitation system, as mentioned in a previous article. There will be no overboard discharge, so we need to close up the old thru-hull hole for that. In addition, there was a custom made fitting for the old outboard motor on the transom. Since we are using a different motor, we chose to fill that hole in too. What follows is as much a primer on patching holes as it is a project report.

 

Project Daydream: Let the Varnishing Begin

With the winter weather holding up progress on the boat in the boatyard, it was time to shift to projects that could be accomplished indoors. As I mentioned in an earlier installment, we were able to salvage many of the drawers and cabinet doors for reuse. Refinishing them was an ideal inside job that would help keep the project moving forward.

Project Daydream: Electrical System, Part 1

Those of you who have been following this series will remember one of the first things my daughter and I did was rip the old electrical system out of boat. I wanted to do this for many reasons:

 

Project Daydream: Designing the Sanitation System

Well, winter has finally arrived and it’s too cold to actually work on the boat. Time to do some planning and design inside where it’s warm.

 

Project Daydream: the Demolition Begins

In the first Daydream article, I discussed the importance of laying out a plan for the project. The first step in that plan was evaluating the current condition of the boat. I inspected the boat in detail, photographing the current condition and location of parts with my digital camera. That way I could check the pictures while laying out the plan at home on my PC. The plan needn’t be elaborate or even on a PC, it’s just  basic road map to define the project and keep it from eating up time and going over budget (assuming the idea is to get a usable boat as soon and as economical as possible).

 

Project Daydream: Restoring a Plastic “Classic”

If there is a fundamental problem with fiberglass boats, it’s that they hang around too long. Unlike wood, they’re not very biodegradable. They gradually age, get used less and less and then passed on to other owners. Eventually, they get shuffled farther back in the boatyard and often abandoned. We all see them there in back, tarps drooping and torn, water and leaves in the cockpits and a faded “For Sale” sign taped to the hull.