Since I have been roundly accused of making too many excuses I thought I should defend my position with a few more.
1.) Hot, humid, random thunderstorms popping up every day.
2.) A family member who continues to play the "I'm injured" sympathy card.
3.) Taking care of my girfriend who has been taking better care of me than I have her of late.
4.) A long lost friend living in China is back and I have been trying to catch up.
5.) A day of sailing on another Triton. This was extremely instructive. Knowing that this Triton faced similar daunting issues with a hull and deck paint job, I took a few discreet opportunities to inspect the finish job. With my intimate familiarity with all the tough curves and crevices I knew just where to look. I have been on this boat several times now and have always admired the finish cosmetics. With my new found knowledge of what the job actually entails I was able to compare the current state of my boat with a boat of known good finish. Happily, I can report that my boat is on par and well on its way to an acceptable finish. When you stare closely at any boat you will find minor defects and my boat is no exception. The fact that this other Triton turned out so well was very gratifying to see. The sailing was great too. Even the company I found amusing.
I did get something accomplished this week. The rain highlighted a problem I had with simply draping a new large tarp over the whole boat. The cockpit was filling up creating a large bathtub with several hundred pounds of water inside threatening the tarp. I built a short 'A' frame and ridgepole that just covers the cockpit and keeps the rain flowing off instead of in.
I grabbed a chance betwen rain showers to cut out and fit plywood panels that will close off the rear of the cabin. I was working too quick between the rain to take pictures but I will show before and after shots before I am done. I took the small panels home and, as is my usual process for hidden panels, gave them a liberal dose of boiled linseed oil and a coat of bilgekote on the exposed surfaces. I will probably put a second coat of bilgekote paint on the panels but these are simple fir plywood panels and are nearly impossible to keep the grain from showing through the paint. Not really an issue since they will only be seen if you stick your head under the cockpit through the access hatches. I am more conerned with protecting the surfaces from water and other contact with non-friendly chemicals. The white also tends to make the whole area brighter by reflecting the light around better. White always looks a little cleaner too.
A brief chat with the painter suggested sooner was better than later so I am going to sort out the boat transport soon. With my current rate of progress I am worried about setting a deadline but I need to get this project moving and done. All I really need is one day of decent painting weather. Hopefully, I won't have to wait until the fall to get it.
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