We borrowed a design from Laser Performance for a finishing dolly that they used back when they built Sunfish in Rhode Island. FOlks have asked for measurements, they are mentioned in the video.
We did an air leak test on ANNA to find leaks. For that we blow low pressure air into the hull through the deck drain and spray the entire hull with soapy water. Look for bubbles. We like using a cordless shop vac for the air supply, in today's adventure a DeWALT 20V wet/dry vac. The vac is also handy to suck water out of the cockpit bilge after the test. We found one obvious leak area on the port chine and another tiny spot on the starboard bow, just under the deck/hull seam.
We also scrubbed the ANNA with Comet and water, to get rid of as much dirt as possible and to act as the first fine grit towards bringing the gelcoat back to life.
After the washdown and air leak test, ANNA did an aileron roll to reposition on the finishing dolly.
We'd like to thank whoever designed this articulating bunk system at Laser Performance, we got the finishing dolly idea from them about a decade ago. The bunks position to fit either the hull V shape or the sligh camber on the deck.
The bunks have bungees to pull the bunk horizontal when not in use. Those bungees are overdue for replacement!
Our 1963 Alcort Sunfish CHIP is ready for Sea Trials, so she needed to get off the finishing dolly and onto a Dynamic Dolly. I asked Skipper how to organize Sunfish TETRIS and she said she wanted her 1965 Alcort Sunfish WAVE to take a turn on he finishing dolly, get her purtied up like the other boats, fix the amateur patches I put on 20+ years ago. So first we dollied WAVE up to the Carriage House and dropped her in the grass. Next we used Skipper's field expedient Sunfish hoist to get CHIP off of the finishing dolly.
Lowered CHIP onto the Dynamic Dolly and rolled her out next to WAVE.
WAVE loaned CHIP her spars on deck Sunbrella cover, a fine cover that we got fro SLO Sail and Canvas. It has nice straps!
Rolled the finishing dolly out into the yard and walked each end of WAVE up onto the dolly. Rolled dolly into the Carriage House. WAVE telling fish stories to ZIP and WINNIE.
While we were in the Carriage House we shaved some yaks. "Yak shaving" is what we call it when we find other jobs to do while avoiding the primary job, which in this case was getting CHIP out back to the Sunfish Shack and finishing cleaning some air vents inside the house. Today's yaks to shave were cutting some 1/8th inch nylon line to make daggerboard retaining lines for WAVE and PHOENIX and whipping the ends of a couple of vintage Sunfish/Sailfish sheets.
We cut the nylon line to length and seared the ends. Line is long enough so that daggerboard can easily be removed, but not much longer than that. The retaining line is there to keep the daggerboard from floating away after a capsize.
Tied the line with a bowline. Make the little loop, the run the rabbit (end of the line) up through the hole...
...around the tree (long end of the line) and back down into the hole.
Snug down the bowline. Cut another line for PHOENIX. Yak 1 shaved.
Old School. Simple.
Yak Shaving Take 2. Wrapped the end of the sheet with a piece of gaff tape and seared the end. Then whipped the end with waxed line. Yak 2 shaved.
How to whip a line.
Back to our original unscheduled program, CHIP taking up WAVE's slip in the Sunfish Shack, ready for Sea Trials!
Rolled ZSA ZSA outside on the finishing dolly for some sanding.
Sanded fairing compound with 40 grit then 120 grit on a DeWALT random orbital sander, then lightly sanded the first coat of primer with 120 grit. This photo is before sanding.
Applied second coat of TotalBoat Topside Primer with a Mighty Mini roller.
Need to work on the deck of the Super Sailfish so that generated a round of boat TETRIS. The first move was to get CHIP off of the Sunfish finishing dolly using Skipper's boat hoist.
The dolly is modeled after the finishing dolly used by LASER Performance, when they used to be in Portsmouth, RI. It has articulating bunks so the boats can be supported hull down or deck down.
(Image credit: LASER Performance)
We moved CHIP onto the sawhorse dolly that ZSA ZSA had vacated.
Next we hoisted ZSA ZSA off of the Dynamic Dolly.
Then she went onto the finishing dolly.
And back onto the Alcort Working Museum. ZIP resumed duties holding down the Dynamic Dolly. WINNIE slept through the whole evolution.
