Well you just don't know what you have until you unscrew the screws and look under the stuff. That's the case with this hatch. Alex has everything well in hand.
From what he told me once the screws were taken out, the hatch came off pretty easy.
Most hatches that I've seen pop off, takes some wood off or have to be banged off. This one gave it up pretty easy and everything seems to be in pretty good shape for the cleaning part.
Tomorrow Alex will sand, scrape and clean the wood. He is also going to grind down the hatch itself to make it smooth and get all the old gook off to make the best connection he can make.
As you can see in the photo below, the wood is in good condition. It will sand down well and the screws are not stripped and were bedded in well. We don't anticipate any problem with the re assembly.
You can see, on the corner that there is a space between the frame and the wood interior. Alex has decided to put a gasket material in between so when he puts the caulking on that it will not run down between the two parts of wood and and have to fill up the entire cavity.
Alex also did some research on the type of caulking that should be used in this application. There are a bunch of them out there and from what we see the best one is ___________. Now I you are looking for a product to fill in that blank, but I can't remember which one he decided to use. I'll fill in that blank on the next blog entry. I'll be talking with him tomorrow. Some of the runner ups were LifeCaulk and 4200, but this one that we are using should give several years of protection and keep us dry inside.
Flexible and being able to make a bond between wood and metal was the deciding factor.
Once things are cleaned up and the gasket is in place, he'll goop her up and put it all back together again.
Before sealing it up, he's going to tape a painters plastic to the headliner, on the inside, and sand down the wood, that's on the inside of the hatch and get it ready for a few coats of varnish to protect the wood.
The plastic will keep all the dust out of the saloon and make clean up pretty easy.
He'll have her buttoned up tomorrow and then move on to the next project. She is a boat you know.
Panacea is sure enjoying all the attention. We are also enjoying the benefits that we get from having a vessel that is strong, healthy and seaworthy.
We look forward to a great sailing season. here in SW Florida.
Sailing in Fort Myers Beach is picking up. People are calling, the emails are coming in and we are pitching some pretty nice packages, so call early to reserve your dates.
That reminds me, there is a Availability Calendar on the front page of the website. Just go to FantaSeaSailing.com and look for the link at the bottom. It will help you see what's going on down here.
So come sail on the Gulf of Mexico. Choose to get out on the water this year. We'll take you up to Cabbage Key, maybe to Naples or Marco Island, Venice or St. Petersburg. Don't forget we really love to sail down to Key West too.
So thanks for your continued support over the years and I'll see you soon. Call now for your sailing dates. 888-582-9046
I'll see you on the dock...
Capt. Paul
FantaSea Sailing
"Sailing the Sun Coast of Florida to the Keys"
623-203-2698 Nationwide Direct
888-582-9046 Toll Free
CaptPaul@FantaSeaSailing.com
http://www.FantaSeaSailing.com
Member:
Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce
N.A.C.O. National Association of Charterboat Operators
Sailing in Fort Myers Beach • Sailing on the Gulf of Mexico • Sailing in Florida
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