Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Cockpit

We hope to get her in the water before the big freeze hits and have been plugging away getting as much done as we can.
We masked off the cockpit and applied Pettit Easy Poxy semigloss "buff" paint. This is the same paint we used on the window frames. We decided it would not look as dirty as quickly as the white would in the cockpit.
We unmasked the area and let it cure up for a few days then re-masked it and applied KiwiGrip to the nonskid areas. When we unmasked the area we were surprised by how dark the semigloss looks next to the much lighter  nonskid, if it didn't come out of the same can as the paint we used on the window frames I'd swear it was an entirely different color!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Outright Beautiful!!!

Don said...

Thanks! :-D

Anonymous said...

Hi Don, a question: The hatch forward of the rudder shaft. I assume it's to address the poor access to the stern gland there? (sorry I haven't been reading for a while so may have missed your explanation). What are your thoughts about hatches in cockpits? I have thought about a larger one on my boat but never enjoyed the thought of such a big hole to fill..

Cheers,
David Fisher
Kalitsah #440

Don said...

Hi David, good to hear from you again.
Yup, the hatch is there for access to the stern gland.
I'm not a big fan of hatches in the cockpit if they can leak into a large area and compromise the vessel if they fail and flood.
I partitioned off the cockpit lockers and lazz into three separate and watertight compartments. That made it very difficult to access the gland and if it failed and developed a serious leak at sea we would have a real problem.
So I decided to install the hatch, BUT....I also installed a water-tight bulkhead at the forward edge of the hatch. This made for a very small space that would not compromise the boat if flooded and the little bulkhead really stiffened and supported the cockpit sole in that area.

Cheers, Don

Anonymous said...

Good one! It's something I have considered, as I too like the idea of partitioning and making watertight all the lockers. How then do you access the stern gland for the prop shaft?

Cheers,
David

Don said...

The prop shaft is accessed by going aft under the companionway. I expect it will be very tight and hard to get at once the motor mount is installed. The motor is a 35 pound electric motor that I can remove to access the drip-less coupler when required. I have thought about partitioning that space off as well but it is not feasible as the electric components require good airflow for cooling.

Cheers, Don