Remember: You can click on the photos to enlarge them in a new window.
I got a comment or two that says that that wood looks like it is on it's last legs. Nope, it just needs TLC just like everything on a boat. If you touch her in all the right places and nurture her with love, she responds.
Energy is everything. Love creates and cures. So there you have it. Here are some photos of the continuing project. You can click on them to enlarge them in a new window.
So as you can see once Alex pulled off the hatch and began the sanding process and getting all that old gook off of the wood you can see the resilience of teak. It's an oily wood and holds its strength. Remember this is 30 year old wood and I'm happy to say it's in GREAT shape.
Yep. That's a 5 in 1 tool that saves our asses more times than I can count on all our hands and feet. If you don't have one of these around the boat, or house for that matter, you need to go to the hardware store and get one.
You'll be able to cut, scrape, gouge, clean, twist, dig and a ton of other stuff that will keep you from running down to the bildge storage and look for another tool to help. You'll also see and electric sander and a bunch of single sheets of sand paper. Alex has been busy. Panacea loves to be touched. She responds well to love and kindness as we all do.
This project is taking a couple of days and is now in the drying stage.
You'll also notice that Alex took the same tarp that he is using to cover the project at night and tapes it to the headliner inside the boat to keep all the chips sanding dust and tools from falling in while he's working on top. He is smarter than the average 1st mate, I can tell you that as a fact.
Hey took some old anchor chain and just lays it around the hatch to create enough weight to hold it in place while the small storms thunder through the area moving things around. I hope the steps have a line on them. I've already replace them once while a quick micro burst took them to Davy Jones Locker. I'm sure never to be seen again. He'll put 'em to good use though.
So this is a good way to hold things down. I've used this principle before for a lot of other projects and it continues to be the best way to put weight where you want it.
As you look at these photos you'll notice that my hatch has two sections of wood. The one on the outside is where the screw holes are and the hatch itself is place there and screwed down.
The one you see as the inner square is the inside of the boat. When you look up, from the inside, you see this wood as the trim. From the inside it's about 4 inches thick and will be varnished in this process.
You can see the space between the two structures of wood. Thinking that that's a good place to seal up, Alex found this great stuff to poke in there and he is going to slather that up with goop too and keep it just that much dryer. It fits perfectly and will take care of the job nicely. By the way the stuff we are using is called: Sikaflex 291 - Fast Cure. Seems to be a well used product and comes with Capt. Ron's endorsement. Can't get much better than that huh?
So now looking at that space between the two structures it just seems to me that that is going to be a much better seal than we had before. I mean that pretty obvious because the before we started this project it was leaking.
In any case it's looking good.
So let's take a look at the hatch its self. When Alex took it off it came off pretty easily. I've heard horror stories about how much work getting a hatch off can be and this was a point of the project that could have gone several different ways. In this case it went the way we wanted it to. Now that's a change for the better.
Since it came off easy it means it was time to take it off the way I figure it. Time to clean it up.
It's an old piece of equipment BUT it's in GREAT shape. Alex dug around in the ol' tool box and found a wire wheel that attached to the drill and began the process of getting rid of all the old goo and dried on junk. He told me that it was the tuff part of the job, but it came out great.
Now that all the parts are off and cleaned up it's getting time to put it all together. Alex had to order the Sikaflex 291 from West Marine and it took a few days to get it in, but it's the stuff to use. Don't take short cuts here and get plenty of it you can get the cheap stuff but you'll be doing this again next year if not sooner.
When you take a good look at the bottom side of the hatch, you will see there are two channels to put the Sikaflex 291 in. It's just a guide line. I'm sure Alex gooped it up good so there aren't any air pockets. Where there's air pockets then water will find its way there. That's the way it is.
As I talked to him today, he said he got Capt. Dan from Star of Orion to help him put the hatch back on as the normal afternoon storms loomed in behind him. He worked fast and put in the screws and cleaned off the excess goo that was sealing it all up nice and water tight.
In a previous photo you can see where he put tape on the inside structure to keep the goo from damaging the wood inside the boat. Another smart thing that I may have missed if it were me there. But that's why I have Alex. Did I say he was the best. I think so.
So now it's drying and curing. In a day or two he'll be varnishing and in a week we'll put the hose to it and see how it works. I have no doubt it will be just fine.
Remember: You can click on the photos to enlarge them in a new window.
So this is the continuing project of Panacea. The list gets checked off and the list grows longer at the same time. She's an amazing vessel, but she is a boat. We place these wonders of the world in a caustic solution and then we spend our lives doing the best we can to keep them floating, looking and feeling good.
This is the kind of professional experience that you will enjoy while you are on Panacea. Attention is put into the safety of the passengers, crew and the vessel herself. That's number one with me.
Call me. I want to take you sailing with us. We will enjoy all the comforts of the sea and the joys, excitement, and relaxation that the best cruising vessel in Fort Myers Beach can offer.
We are ready for you. You will be blown away at the package we can put together for you and you will be able to afford it. We work with everyones budget. Sailing in Fort Myers Beach can be your next adventure. Maybe on to Key West, maybe just sail on the Gulf of Mexico. It's you Dream. Let me make it come true. It's what I do best.
Check the Availability Calendar on the front page of the website. Check your calendar. If we both have some time off at the same time, then it's time to call.
REMEMBER: Coming Soon... Half Day Adventures, Sunset Celebration Sails, and Full Moon Voyages. Call now for information. I'm here for you.
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
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Sailing in Fort Myers Beach • Sailing on the Gulf of Mexico • Sailing in Florida
