Well, I can’t say we have been idle over the past two weeks, but it’s been so hot
that you could fry a catfish on this miserable deck, so painting is taking a
while. Plus, a few days ago I was minding my own
business, sanding away, and bang! I nearly fell down a hole into the
bilge. I exaggerate, but that was rot
hole #1, and forgetting Bruce’s admonition when I first started this 4 years
ago (“Don’t go looking for trouble”), I went and found 2 others before the day
was up.
 | |
| I'd like to say it's not as bad as it looks, but I am afraid it is. Note the horrid hole at the stern--already gooed up at this point. |
So sanding stopped, out came the
epoxy, then the lovely West Marine 2-part resin and red powder goo, then more
sanding, then the gutter caulk (hey, why not), for the new space around the
combing,
 |
| all sanded--you can't even see the hole. One down, who knows how many more to go |
then because caulk is nice and squishy, why not
just stuff it into the big ol rot holes on the inside of the railing/bulwarks
which I thought we’d taken care of back in April in the boathouse.
But noooooo, this is at the stern where we did not look (fear, I
suppose). Actually, I did look, and sort of hoped it would go away, but alas it
did not, and this is why the phrase “new transom” sometimes passes Paul’s lips
in a whisper as if he were invoking a demon.
However, there’s enough resin and red powder mix up there to keep even
the most determined wave from breaking through. And I did not do so bad with
the rail rot.
Meanwhile, the foredeck is not looking too shabby for the
first coat, after the pounding we gave it this spring. Paint hides a host of character defects.
I am getting rather sick of this. It is, after all, September.
I am eager to try “frostbiting,” though. Jeff should be
swelled up by then.
