Arts and crafts, part II

Jeff and Anne aboard s/v C'est la Vie continue with Part II of the construction of their chainplate platforms.  If you missed Part I, you really should read it first.

Epoxy cured, chain plate removed, and modeling clay removed; I sand down the new fittings with 80 grit sandpaper and a Dremel tool.

The battery powered Dremel with a rough sanding drum saved a great deal of time and effort when addressing the interior edges of the reservoir.  Initial sanding complete it is time to add the fillets (rounded edges) and remedy any gaps in the initial round of epoxy.

I refilled the reservoirs with model clay and  re-taped the surrounding area before mixing up another round of epoxy.  This time around I used a fairing filler to thicken the epoxy to a consistency similar to petroleum jelly.  The fairing fillers are easier to sand down and this application is more about cosmetics than structure.

No clay molds on this application.  The epoxy was added to the fitting using a stir stick and a 3" spreader.  Before the epoxy fully set, I used a razor blade to cut through the skin across the top of the area filled with modeling clay.  Once cured I removed the clay and tested the height of the new fitting by inserting the chain plate and attaching the turnbuckles.  It is a very important test the fitting before continuing on to painting.  I found that I had  raised both forward fittings too much.  The forward fittings did not allow enough clearance for the shoulders of the turnbuckle.  I removed to excess material from the top of the fitting, approx 3/32", using an orbital sander armed with 80 grit paper.  The aft fittings did not require any material removal.

Another round of sanding with 80 grit paper followed by a round with 120 grit paper preceeded the application of primer.