The Nordkap 476 – {part16}

We were on the verge of a seven day rain…   I had the garage cleaned out…..all the stuff that was to go in the cellar,  was brought down and piled  neatly on pallets that Gary, our landlord supplied.  I still need to build a bench,  but it’s not a necessity….for what I intend to do with the Nordkap.  the hull needed to be sanded down and re-done to eliminate the tiny crack lines that occurred because I didn’t cement between the planks when I planked the hull.

First thing I needed to do was to make a jig that would hold the hull steady as I sanded it down.  upon setting up two stacks of milk crates,  waist high,  I started with a flat board,  longer than the hull.  I measured the gap between the bow cabin and the aft upper deck support and fastened two pieces of two X four’s to the board.  it was then covered with torn strips of an old towel,  that my wife gave me for rags.   I brought out the hull to check the fit.

     

      

The fit was good!   the hope now is that I can sand the hull without having to remove any of the rub rails.   it was quite a job to get them the way they are……..I would hate to take such a big step backwards.

     

I am ready!   tomorrow,  I sand……..and sand………and sand……..anddd……………………………………..

The Sanding

the next day brought on it’s own problems.   I had to do some morning errands,  so I didn’t get to start until later in the afternoon.   as I thought……it was a devil to sand…….the paint was so stubborn to remove.  some spots were easier than others,  and where the paint had ran,  it had come off leaving unsightly pits.

     

     

     

It started to get dark….I had to get supper ready.    where there is a grill…….I am there!   after supper,  I got back to work on ‘ole Nordie.   I was almost finished.   I had gone through quite a bit of sandpaper…..the paint clogged it up.   I was using drywall screen,  medium grit……I wanted the rough finish.

     

Once I was finished with the sanding,  I cleaned it up and wiped it down.   it was then brought into the house……the rain was  scheduled to start tomorrow,  and I have to work.

The First Sealing

During the major part of the rainy days,  I occupied myself with the Gothenborg.   the weatherman lied……we had at least ten days of off and on rain……dreary,  wet,  and cool.  when I felt that I had made good progress on the Goth,  and the rain was soon to end with better skies to follow,  I decided to switch gears towards the Nordkap.  I had started some of the sub-assemblies before suspending the build.   I wanted to seal the hull,  before picking up where I left off.   I sanded the hull a bit more on the table,  before sealing it.  I decided to use diluted white glue to seal the hull.   some folks suggested using resin to accomplish this,  but the smell…..not to mention the mess,  deterred me from going that route.  it got the first coat of the white glue dilution…..a word to the wise……don’t use those foam brushes to apply it.  until it is totally saturated, you will get nothing but bubbles…….not something I wanted on the hull,  I assure you!

     

It did {sort of} change the color of the hull……not to the degree that the second picture shows.   this was set aside to dry…….once it was dry,  it got a second coat.   I did not cover the solution……just as well,  because the evaporation made it a little thicker the second time around.

     

now it is set aside to totally dry…….and has been for a couple of days now.   when it is time to get it back on the table,  it will get a good sanding with an even finer grit.   I want it smooth for the final solution paint job.   then, yet another sanding,  and then comes the primer.    if everything goes the way I’m thinking,  I should see no more problems.   I’ll let you know when I do.   AHOY!!!