Priming the Foredeck and Cockpit

November  27, 2015

My primary focus today was to get primer on the cockpit, and while I was at it to paint another coat on the foredeck and cabin top/sides.  Before I mixed up a pot of the Interlux Primekote epoxy primer, I first sanded the fairing work that I prepped the day previous.  Using 150 grit paper I sanded the several areas down to fair with the adjacent gelcoat surface.

Below, a 6" to 7"-long crack in the cockpit at the base of the companionway step.  The fairing compound that I mixed up and applied the previous day is West System's Microlight - a low-density filler that offers exceptional sanding and fairing characteristics.  All cracks were opened up with a spiral saw to create more surface area which allows for a better epoxy bond.

Below, small cracks in the cockpit at the base of the starboard seating.

Below, a fairly lengthy crack on the port side at the base of the molded backrest - coaming board is mounted here with two fastener holes visible.

I repositioned the port side coaming return, moving it aft by roughly an inch. This required filling the original fastener holes, which was done with the microlight product.

Below, a few cracks on the forward portion of the coach roof, as well as at the mast step base.

Below, the foredeck cleat required a bit of fairing as well; however, for the fact that this cleat will often be under load, I used a combination of colloidal-silica and microballoons for added strength.

After the sanding and fairing work was finished, I moved on to vacuuming the decks and cockpit thoroughly and followed that with a wipe down with a solvent to remove any residual sanding dust / contaminates.  

The epoxy Primekote was mixed in a 3:1 ratio and allowed to spend 20 minutes in the pot for its induction period.  After the twenty minutes had elapsed, I thinned the primer by roughly 20% with Interlux 2333N.  I applied the the primer with a 4" foam roller, moving from bow to stern.  

With the paint on I moved over to the shop to do a bit of work on the coaming boards.  Using a block plane I took the bottom edge down to the finished dimension and generally prepared the board for sanding work.

I purposely avoided putting another coat of primer on the poop deck due to some fairing work that I was in the process of completing for the outboard bracket.  So, mixing up another small batch of epoxy mixed with Microlight, I finished the day by applying the fairing compound to the four over-drilled fastener holes. These fastener holes were over-drilled to protect the core in the poop deck.  Prior to installation of the outboard bracket base, I will drill and tap for the silicon-bronze screws. 

Total Time: 5 Hrs.