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On 19/05/2022 at 6:03 PM, Bigmac said:

Love the finishing Cam, HL looks great 👍 

Most people seem to think the boat has been raced hard and trashed... but they have never been onboard

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Removing the teak is a great move (HL used to have it on the tops of the coamings). The only places to leave it are the handrails on the cabin top and foot chocks on the seats...

Foot chocks are a fantastic addition.

IMG_3719.thumb.jpeg.b5c6425ba874ae3f309e29930382ebf7.jpegIMG_1708.thumb.jpeg.9be0eca6a18653ca07a5e32fc3290169.jpeg

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Well, it's been a pretty full on 8 weeks since posting here last. After a full strip back of Cheap Transport, I found a few surprises including a delaminated cockpit floor and duck board. A majority of this appears to be from the teak being fastened through the glass with screws, allowing water to penetrate into the foam core. There's also evidence that some of the resin never bonded to the foam from the day she was built. The floor and duck board were cut/ ground out where required and have been re-glassed with several layers of 600gm double bias. I also built a frame and fitted this between the hull and duck board so there is zero movement/flex now when standing on the back. 

I went through all fittings and decided what was to be kept, moved or deleted or replaced. I also routed the exhaust thru the hull instead of thru the transom as I was constantly filling the dinghy with water behind the boat. 

I also made the decision to remove the molded gelcoat deck tread. The previous owner had painted (I use this term loosely and should apologise to painters as it was more like spilled/ poured all over) up to 7 coats of various single and 2 pot products over most of the tread. It was ugly, oddly coloured,  and even without the paint, was seriously keeping the boat back in the 80s era. 

There has been weeks of filling, fairing, refilling, sanding, filling, sanding to far, filling again etc etc. In sure most of you have been there. I'm somewhat ashamed to say it nearly broke me. Several times I suggested burning the boat, knocking it off its cradle, drilling several holes in the hull and pushing her into the tide... but we're still here😅

The finally 3 weeks ago I applied the first coat of undercoat - what a relief! I decided to go with a pretty full on system to try and achieve the best I could. Two coats of epoxy undercoat, followed by polyurethane undercoat, and the polyurethane to coats, all Altex. I'm pretty happy with the results given the cold temperatures and high humidity. 

Finally yesterday I began putting things back on the boat, a real milestone! New glass windows fitted today, and the painting officially completed (not including anti foul) with the final coat on the boot top. 

This is a pretty quick round up of what has been a pretty trying 8 weeks. Other than the first 2 weeks, I've been working full time (kind of😅) with some late nights, cold and flu, and full on exhaustion, not to mention dodging a divorce🤣 couldn't have got to the point I'm at without the help of a few good mates - you boys know who you are and I truly appreciate your help and knowledge. 

Pics below from the last 8 weeks,  cheers. 

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