Recent content by opfrei

The slats from the old hatch were sanded clean, and then glued/screwed onto the top of the base. Once everything was flush, I caulked the slat gaps with black Life-Calk, knocked it down, and then used Cetol Natural to seal the deal. Et voila!

The frame: I probably checked my measurements about 400 times before actually slicing into the teak to form rough frame members, which I modeled after the existing ones. The rail grooves were made using a circular saw at a ~15-degree angle. I then used bar clamps to hold the members together...

Thought I'd share a few photos of my hatch build for posterity's sake... It was a daunting project, which took about 2 weeks to complete, and I would have never attempted to do it myself if it weren't for the info I found on this invaluable forum! My old sliding hatch was weathered...

Sold >>> sold <<<

"Three Sheets" is a little gem that now needs a caring new owner as I go bigger... Most everything has been re-hauled on it, basically a new boat now, and seaworthy as ever! Check out my restoration blog here. Upgrades include: new outboard motor (Tohatsu 6HP), new mainsail (partial battens, 2...

Christian, though it wasn't a walk in the park, I highly recommend using Awlgrip for the topcoat. I did consider giving up and having it sprayed after my first 2 coats cured wrong, but it was worth the headaches and perseverance in the end: the finish now looks like a factory spray job, with a...

tenders, I would say the entire deck core repair and painting (which also included removing most of the fixtures and windows, patching numerous other holes and cracks, and fairing everything) took me the equivalent of one month non-stop. In reality, I spaced it over about 4 months in order to...

After much debate over cost and quality, I bit the bullet and went with Awlgrip topside paint (color: Snow White) and although the learning curve was very steep, I'm immensely satisfied with the result: a strong surface with amazing gloss. I laid on 3 coats plus 1 initial coat of primer using...

Many hours of sanding, fairing, and despair ensued to arrive to this #naked state. Masking the grip pads: take your time, draw your lines with pencil first, and use 3M's ScotchBlue Painter's Tape for Delicate Surfaces with Edge-Lock, NOT the 3M 218 Marine Fine Line Tape I was originally...

Sheets of fiberglass were cut to overlap with the existing lip and then epoxied into place using a laminating roller. I used a combination of fiberglass mat and cloth for the deck sides, and heavy woven roving for the cockpit floor. I also used over 2 gallons of epoxy (including the catalyst) $...

The new core was installed using 3/8" marine-grade plywood, cut to size and then glued to the underlying fiberglass shell using the same epoxy mixed with West System 404 High-Density Adhesive Filler. It was clamped to the adjacent fiberglass lip with wood screws and weighed down with whatever...

Any holes and weak areas in the lower shell were patched with fiberglass cloth or CSM (chopped strand mat) and West System 105 Epoxy & 205 Hardener (I highly recommend using their pump dispensers for mixing accuracy and simplicity).

To start, the overlying layer of fiberglass (top layer of the fiber-core-fiber sandwich) was removed in the areas where the core felt waterlogged using an angle grinder with a masonry cutoff disc. Once the core was exposed, the damage was obvious and significantly more important than imagined...

I present to you my recently acquired 1973 Ericson 27. As a first-time, totally misguided, and overly optimistic boat owner, I figured she just needed a little TLC to get her rollin'. Apart from two frozen winches, a busted portlight, a steady leak at the prop shaft and the termite-ridden...