Due to a plumbing emergency on Sunset Island my time for boat projects was reduced yesterday. I resolved the plumbing leak late in the afternoon and decided the countdown to bug hour here on the island would not provide me with the window necessary to continue fairing the gallows bases. Thus I choose to focus my energies below decks.
The gallows will require a sizable backing plate below decks. The backing plate will need to sit flush against the underside of the deck. This required me to cut away a section of the existing headliner below each of the bases. Fortunately these cutouts are in less visible locations - the starboard quaterberth and a port side storage area. Based on my experience cutting away the decking during a project to re-core some of our decks, I chose to use a 4" grinder with the cut off wheel to remove the liner. After marking off the section to be removed, I sealed off my work space using masking tape and plastic sheeting. The image is of the starboard side quaterberth. My goal is to reduce the amount of dust circulating below decks - cutting fiberglass is a dusty job.
Once the area was cut away I used the orbital sander, lower center of image, to sand down the exposed surfaces in preparation for filling irregularities and voids with epoxy. Since the area was tapped off and I had a sander in-hand. I could not resist expanding my project to include sanding and repainting the floor of the quaterberth and the engine room wall. No time like the present... right?
Along with concerns over dust in the boat, I certainly do not want to inhale any of the byproducts so appropriate safety equipment is necessary. The images above are post cutting and sanding.
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