11/13/18: Varnishing, Masts
Varnishing the dorade boxes and handrails continues. The interior handrails will see little to no direct sunlight, so they require only 5-6 coats, whereas exterior brightwork requires 8-10 coats, with a one-additional-coat/year maintenance schedule. In the image below I am sanding between coats 4 and 5.
One of the challenges in varnishing loose pieces is supporting the work so that a coat of varnish can be applied in a single application. The dorade boxes require varnish on the outside only, so supporting them on pieces of 1-inch PVC pipe does the trick. Previously, the handrails were hung from the ceiling by strings and hooks. I used a particular pair of stings as a varnishing station, and I rotated all the handrails through the station and into their place hanging above the workbench.
The strings-and-hooks solution was adequate for the initial coats, but finish coats require a more stable support system. I achieved this by building U-shaped holders, and used hot glue and little blocks to hold the rail pads off the U. The sides of the U are long enough so I can flip the work over and get at the other side. Additional stability is required for finish coats because un-thinned varnish requires a more forceful stroke to apply, and the fewer the strokes the better.
I’ve been accumulating worn-out saw blades for years. My table saw uses 10-inch blades, while the mitre saw uses 12-inch blades. I had three of each professionally sharpened at JD Lacourse and Son. The cost of sharpening is about 1/3 of purchasing new blades.
The risers for the sail tracks on the masts have been removed, and have to be replaced. I started with some experimenting. The mast under the original risers was flat, and were bedded with a thin layer of fiberglass. All my sanding has removed most of the glass, and rounded over the flat spot. After a little testing, I decided to round out the bottom of the risers. Here the flat side is against the mast:
Here the rounded side is against the mast, and the difference is clear:
Next, I cut out the pieces from spruce.
The tops had to be 1/2 inch wide and no wider.
The riser on the mainmast is about 3/4″ in height, except for about 4 feet at the bottom end, where it gets thicker to accommodate a smooth transition from the track on the gooseneck assembly to the track on the riser. Here I’ve placed the old riser on the mast to take some measurements.
It’s important that the new riser be installed along the same line as the old riser. I cut off a small piece of the new riser, and screwed through the centerline, so that the screw just protruded from the bottom side. In this way I was able to set the tip of the screw into the old screw holes and make pencil marks that define the position of the sides of the new risers.
I taped off just outside the pencil lines.
The mizzen track needs a riser, too.
There will be more pictures and discussion of the installed risers later.
There was a small bit of rot near the top of the mizzen mast, so I scarfed in a patch.
At the same time, I was working on another bit of rot in the main mast.
Meanwhile, I replaced the bottom of the mizzen mast. You can see below that the bottom had some opening seams and rotted bits filled with thickened epoxy. I’m not worried about the strength, but the appearance is terrible.
I started by cutting off pieces on the starboard and port sides, leaving the middle part.
I planed a bevel on each side.
Before gluing up one side, I injected epoxy where I could.
I did one side at a time.
Here is the other side.
Here the two sides are shaped.
There’s still some ugly stuff on the fore and aft sides…
…so I planed bevels.
Then, I glued in new wood.
Next, I planed and sanded the bottom smooth.
The bottom of the mast has a steel cap that sits in the mast step.
I forgot to mark the cap with “fore” and “aft”, but I know the mizzen mast rakes aft, so it wasn’t hard to figure it out.
I measured and marked a pencil line about 5mm above where the top of the cap will sit.
Next, I planed below the line, removing material gradually.
Finally, the cap fit just right.
I finished by sanding a smooth transition between the two parts.