1953 Alcort Sunfish ZIP 11 Jun 20 Repair Area Stain Matching

11 Jun 20:

(Editor's Note: Let me start this blog post by recommending that you check with the manufacturer of the different products that you plan to use to verify compatibility. I bought a Minwax oil based stain and later found out on the West Systems website that it would be better to use a water based or gel stain underneath epoxy. And another option is to varnish over the stain vs coat with epoxy. We will need to make sure that the oil based stain is very dry before we epoxy over the top of it, but so far so good on a test piece. Ref West Systems 2013: Epoxy Adhesion Over Stains)

So here is one of the 4 cans of Minwax Premium Oil Wood Finish Penetrating Stain that we bought, the color that worked best on a scrap piece from the same panel as a the patch after about 4 coats was Golden Pecan #245.

I tried some stain on the backside of the patch piece and oh wow, there can be startling differences in color between different plywood veneers.

We put the first few coats on the patch piece.

And then I remember I'll need to sand wayward epoxy after the patch is glued into place, and that might change the finish on the original deck, and we planned to scuff the old finish to apply another coat of epoxy over the entire deck.

Now I recommend skipping ahead to the next blog post because it's about to get real confusing....

Thoughts on what needed to happen next, in random order...
The 7 year old epoxy finish on the deck needed to be sanded and I didn't know if it would refinish back to the same color, depending on how much epoxy was removed, so I didn't want to stain the patch too dark.

So sand the old deck, but not the patch area and reapply 2 coats of epoxy.

Then stain the patch area to match, let it dry and dry and dry, then apply epoxy over the patch area.

Wait, I better build caster bases for 2 storage cabinets first and paint the trim on them, an activity also know as "yak shaving" which are the things you do while avoiding the original task. See our blog on quick and easy storage cabinets.

Time to attach the patch with TotalBoat THIXO Wood thickened epoxy adhesive, wood colored. Remember to use a High Thrust 18:1 caulk gun to make your life easy.

Used clamps to provide light pressure on the joint while it dried.

We cleaned up epoxy squeezeout as best we could but we know a little finish sanding is in our future.

Log of ZIP.

1953 Alcort Sunfish ZIP 04 Jun 20 Letterbox Repair Plug Backer Plate

04 Jun 20:

Removed the clamps from the letterbox repair backer plate. The plug needs some trimming to get a good fit. We don't want it too snug though, we'll leave a small gap for epoxy to bond and fill.

That's all we got done on ZIP today. We "yak shaved" most of the day, shaving a yak is when other project(s) pop up ahead of the project that I got up out of the recliner to work on. I left the house at 0940 to work on ZIP for a bit, and actually got to take clamps off around 1730. On the way out to the Carriage House Skipper mentioned she needed to pot 2 plants, and needed pots. While looking at where the plants were to be dug up we thought some stones under the new pots would look nice, and maybe some river rock. And we need a bag of mulch. So after a trip to Lowes for pots, potting soil, 6 bags of river rock, some pea gravel and pavers, we launched into yak shaving the first test section of a small paver step, 30 feet's worth, around the Wheel Deck next to the Carriage House. v1.0 in 2016 was wooden and rotted right away. We'd like to keep yard goop away from the floating joists so mulch was not an option. v2.0 involved border stones and was overkill, that plan got nixed fast. v3.0 has us putting a low profile 18 inch perimeter of pea gravel and river rock around the deck, to enhance drainage, and adding a step on the West End and plant parking spots on the North Side.

Here is the mock up with a few stones. The lemon tree likes it.

Log of ZIP.

Yak Shaving and Canoe Yawls

04 Apr 20:

Wandering around the Carriage House, worked on the mizzen for our Grumman 17 Scout and took care of a few other items, not all planned or in an expected sequence. When we get distracted by multiple small or large jobs while on the way to do what we first set out to do, for instance today it was to work on the mizzen spars for SCOUT, we call that "yak shaving." As an example, when I pulled out the spars today, I noticed the cork board behind the work bench. That got me to thinking about the catboat that we are designing, and I thought, hey, I can move this cork board real quick to a more accessible area before I start on the spars. So the work bench got rolled out away from the wall, and I saw that the border had fallen off the cork board. Should I fix that or just put the board in the new spot by screwing the frame to the studs? Tried screwing the frame, that didn't work. Take the board back down. Skipper said fix it. I tried putting screws in the corners to hold the frame, which required me to pull out 2 drills, different bits and a hardware box. That didn't work because the particle board frame just crumbled where the screws went in. So I went to find some gaff tape to just tape the corners, that worked.

Next I had to move a couple of tool trolleys to get to the new spot of the cork board and Skipper said, "Hey did you cut yourself?" She said it looked like there was blood on my elbow, I looked around and noticed drips of red on the floor, on my shorts, but it wasn't blood, it was paint. Followed the drips and saw where a bag of red paint had been punctured by a nail when I moved it to a new spot, out of the way of the cork board. So I got the paint wipes, Skipper cleaned up my elbow,and I got rid of the bag and cleaned a little where it dripped, but it added some patina. I have a new set of Shop Shorts now. Finally got the cork board moved to the new spot and hey, an hour and a half later, we're finally working on the mizzen spars.



The issue with the mizzen spars was that the boomkin was too short. The mast was also right close to being too short. So we bought a longer closet rod to become the new mast, and planned to move the old mast to be the new boomkin. The spars are held together by a Sunfish spar interlocking bolt. The old bolt was stripped so I pulled out the Alcort parts box to find a new piece. Here's the bolt, with the boomkin installed upside down. I noticed that later...

Some of the flotsam and jetsam that accumulated during yak shaving.

Hey did we mention that the cork board got moved?

Mizzen bent onto the new mast.

You know I just remembered, I originally went out to the carriage house to shoot a short video about our line whipping kit!

Back to the canoe, I wandered back to the house to find the Grumman Sail Rig Instructions. They're for a Gunter Rig but there are other tidbits in there that are helpful, like where to place the leeboard spreader.

That'll get us started, might need adjusting because we have a mizzen added to the fray. Still looking for the metal rudder adapter, if anyone has one to send our way please post a comment below.

Adjusted the angles of the boomkin, it ties to the stern to keep it fixed, and Skipper will adjust the sheet like she does on the Lugger. Poor Skipper, all she wanted was a gaff sail for running downwind, and she would steer with the paddle. But we knew The Usual Visitors might get a laugh out of all of the extra bits we are adding. Not sure if SCOUT finds it amusing though.

Starting to get a little busy. Rudder control line, mizzen sheet....supposed to be another 8 foot long rudder lifting line back there somewhere as well...

Rudder goes about here.

TLAR

With those yaks shaved, we turned our attention back to the catboat. Laid down a baseline for lofting, marked out 1 foot increments out to 16 feet, actually I first marked out 11 foot 2 inch increments and then realized I goofed that up...too much math...called it a day.

Log of SCOUT.
Log of MARGARET ROSE.