The album of Ariel #422

[CapnK]

I've been wanting to try stripping the old original latex paint from the hull and overhead prior to grinding - seeking less noise, less mess, maybe even less effort. Bought a product called "Citristrip" from WalMart, $10.77 for a quart of orange colored paste. It is "Safe for indoor use, no harsh fumes, strips multiple layers", is non-caustic (tho' they do recommend using gloves with it), and is supposedly biodegradable. Sounds safe for a liveaboard, right?

Well, it works - and good. Put a layer on a test area, waited 30-40 minutes, and the paint came off very easily. Further testing has shown that scraping, then using a plastic scrubby brush, finishing with a water-wetted rag removes the old paint pretty darn easily. It's not *all* gone, but now sanding to a good substrate should take a lot less time, with the other benefits of less grinding.

Still working on application. I tried a foam brush, but that melted - not immediately, but fairly quick, surprisingly for what would otherwise seem to be a benign substance. I think a cheap china bristle brush would work well, maybe even a homemade thing plastic squeegy, for quickly covering large areas. 1/8" thickness of wet paste seems to produce the best results. If it gets too dry before scraping, just put a little more paste on and wait a few minutes, it'll soften right back up.

I think as soon as it gets back up into the 60's on a regular basis, I am going to move me, dogs, and most stuff off of the boat for a week or two, during which time I will get down and dirty laying in the new arrangement. I am doing up some computer drawings of what I have been thinking, sort of a visual plan and perspective view. I'll post those when I get them done.

Still trying to figure out what is the best adhesive for bonding the foam to the hull. Based on how well the paint has gripped the glass for 40 years, I may well use a latex adhesive, if I can find one which will grab the foam as well. I could use 42/5200, but am hoping to find something which won't grip *quite* that much. Ideal would be something which expanded just a teensy bit, to fill in gaps where condensation could form. The search continues...

I can't wait to get her sailing again...

[CapnK]

A look at what the WC will be like. Though the opening into it looks tiny, it is 14-16" wide. I'm not sure how I am going to handle a door. Note the 'flare' in the wall at the bottom of the companionway - it'll be 5" wide or so, allows for more shoulder room inside the WC space when seated, and gives an easy-to-reach high step for when a hatchboard is in place in the companionway...

[ebb]

Fantastic Kurt, Brave man!
Getting the head out of the v-berth is downright heroic!
Perfect for the wet gear, too. But, do you NEED a door? How bout just a curtain or an accordian door that folds and hangs from a bar.

What happens if you turn the doorway into the cabin a bit - a little or a lot??? Know what I mean? You might set the galley sink an inch or two further outboard and use vertical space gained to turn the doorway off the 90 degrees? Trying to be helpful, ya know.

[mbd]

Companionway steps on the wall of the head? Nice outside the box thinking. So, no more removable steps? Which way is the head going to be oriented? Excepting the steps on the WC wall, maybe a curtain could be used there as well? Might not be a bad thing to be able to vent out the companionway...

While you're redoing things, maybe you could move the companionway entry off center to make more room for the head? That's semi tongue-in-cheek, but it would make more room... I love following the progress of you guys who actually get things done on your boats.