March 7, 2010

With the sun shining, I would be able to touch up the paint on the mast and do the epoxy/glass work needed to bond the new windlass platform to the deck. My good luck continued as I test fit the platform to the deck and old platform using a cardboard tube to ensure alignment of the new chain pipe hole with the existing chain pipe. The tube fit perfectly inside the holes...by chance. It turned out that one edge of the new platform lined up perfectly with the edge of the old one...again purely by chance. Moreover, I needed to fill a gap of about only 1/4 of an inch between the new platform and the deck in the area beyond the old platform, greatly simplifying the operation because I wouldn't need to construct a form to contain the epoxy/glass. I could get away with using high density filler and simply doing a fillet to finish the edge.

I carefully masked off the area around the new platform and covered the surrounding deck with plastic to protect it from the inevitable drips and spills. I covered the cardboard tube with wax paper so it could be easily removed after the epoxy cured, and then inserted it into the existing chain pipe hole in the deck. The plan was to the slather the deck, old windlass platform and the bottom of the new platform with a mixture of epoxy and high density/high strength filler that had the consistency of peanut butter, then slide the new platform down the cardboard tube, align everything, and press it into position. After everything cured, I would need to drill out the new bolt holes and motor shaft hole, and sand, fill, and fair the new platform and surrounding deck area.

Before I did that all that, however, I had to fill the bolt holes from the old windlass and lay out a chalk line from the bow roller to the chain pipe hole to make sure the new windlass aligned with the chain's path correctly. I went below to seal off the bottom of the old bolt holes with tape, mixed up a small batch of epoxy with chopped glass, and filled the holes. Unfortunately, it turned out that just enough liquid epoxy had seaped through to glue down the access lid to the chain locker under the v-berth. Fortunately, I caught the problem before the epoxy had fully cured and was able to free things up.

I took a guess at how much of the epoxy/filler mix I would need to mount the platform, figuring I'd shoot for more than necessary since throwing away the excess might be economically unpalatable, but wouldn't be the real problem that not having sufficient fill would be. Again, I was lucky and it turned out I had just about the right amount, with minimal waste. I did everything as I had planned, and it went as well as it could. There was the usual gloppy messiness, but I kept everything reasonably under control. The time was right to go to lunch while the mix cured.

When I got back, I found the cure was not complete enough to do any more that day, so I did a bit of minor clean-up on board, and lugged the 20lbs of 2/0 electrical cable for the windlass up the ladder and stowed it on board. A final policing of the area, and I was headed home.