C27 foredeck re-core

Sep 3, 2012
31
Catalina 30 Tampa
Very impressive. Say, you need to trade your blue sail cover for the red one on the boat next to yours. :)
 
Oct 10, 2014
34
Catalina 27 Tall Rig Norfolk
Very impressive. Say, you need to trade your blue sail cover for the red one on the boat next to yours. :)
Thanks! Of course my wife has already approached the owner of the other boat and asked that question!

I was able to get the seams taped with fiberglass and the deck coated with a thin layer of resin. I'm letting it cool down a bit and will go back this evening and put on the 1708. I also rigged a canopy earlier today to keep the temps down on deck. It's about 90 here today!
 

Attachments

Oct 10, 2014
34
Catalina 27 Tall Rig Norfolk
Okay. Got the 1708 cut with my deck template. It's all ready to go on. I was waiting for it to cool down but it's still 95 deg at 7p. I may have to wait til morning and do a quick sand and wipe down with mineral spirits then put the last layer of glass down.
 

Attachments

Oct 10, 2014
34
Catalina 27 Tall Rig Norfolk
I reluctantly got up at 0555 this morning. After feeding the cats and getting my wife and me some coffee (not in that order), I was off to the boat. I can't tell you how nice it is to have our slip less than 1/4 mile from the house. It makes all this so much more tolerable.

After a quick sand with 120 grit to smooth off the rough spots and a quick wipe down with brushing thinner, it was off to the races with mixing the epoxy. I was able to use my 205 fast hardener this morning as the temp was down to 79 (and I store it in the fridge).

I've got the first of 2 pieces down right now and am taking a break before finishing up the last small piece toward the aft section of the foredeck. It's looking pretty good!

Here is a pic of progress so far today.
 

Attachments

Last edited:
Oct 10, 2014
34
Catalina 27 Tall Rig Norfolk
Another day at the boat. Started off by scotch brite and water removal of amine blush. Followed by wet sand for good measure. Also sanded and trimmed the edges of the fiberglass. Then came layer after layer after layer of rolled on resin. Four or five I think. Honestly I lost count! :).

I think the extra layers of resin stiffened the top of the deck quite a bit. We will see tomorrow.

Lastly, I did my first go around of 410 microlight filler. Tomorrow morning I'll come out and sand for a bit. Then probably do another layer of filler at the transition areas. Gotta go to work for about 4 days so that should be just right to get a full cure on the resin. Then a final sand, prime and paint. :). I'm still debating about what topside paint to use. I've been thinking about interlux or inter deck. Anyone have good or bad experiences out there that the would like to share?

In the meantime here's a picture of current progress
 

Attachments

Oct 10, 2014
34
Catalina 27 Tall Rig Norfolk
Kind of a late start today. (Bit of as sunburn from yesterday was slowing me down.)

Washed down the deck this morning and sanded with 120 grit. It's looking pretty good. I decided to go ahead and do one more coat of resin with filler over the top of the deck. I used a combo of 406/410 filler over the middle part of the deck and just 410 over the front and back parts. The idea being to give the middle just a bit more strength and rigidity.

Now to let it fully cure over the next few days. I will be back on Monday to do another wash down and do the final sanding.

Right now I am planning to prime then will do a border of interlux Brightsides white, followed by two coats of interlux Interdeck white for the non-skid areas.
 

Attachments

Oct 10, 2014
34
Catalina 27 Tall Rig Norfolk
Thanks!

Well, no paint today. But I was able to tape out my lines for the non-skid. Inside the three patch areas will be non-skid. Outside those areas will be 2 fresh cots of Brightsides white.
 

Attachments

Oct 10, 2014
34
Catalina 27 Tall Rig Norfolk
Two coats of non skid (interlux interdeck white) and one coat of Brightsides (so far). I'm waiting for the sun to get a little lower on the horizon and cool down. I have my shade rigged over the foredeck but it's still a big hot to put the last coat of Brightsides on. But it's looking good so far! I will just have to go back and touch up/add some non skid paint when I pull my tape off.

In the mean time, I did a little more epoxy/wood work under the deck and added some stiffeners with filleting.

This really made the deck nice and solid! I can jump up and down and feels solid like the ground. :)
 

Attachments

Sep 8, 2014
2,551
Catalina 22 Swing Keel San Diego
You Sir, are a War Hero!

I don't envy the sanding/paint job you will have to do on the interior, but damn fine job overall.
 
Oct 10, 2014
34
Catalina 27 Tall Rig Norfolk
Thanks. But, believe it or not, no sanding will be required on the underside of the deck. The purpose of the lateral stiffeners is two-fold: to the provide additional support/prevent deck flex AND give me something on which to screw my overhead paneling.

I will be ripping some 2x4's on my table saw at about 3/16" thick. This should give me a nice finished look to the overhead. But that will be a few months down the road. I'm missing some prime sailing right now!
 
Oct 10, 2014
34
Catalina 27 Tall Rig Norfolk
Paint done!

Tape off!

Gotta go back to work for a few days but will mount stanchions and lifelines when I return. Also need to go back and touch up the paint lines with non-skid. I am pretty pleased with the result!
 

Attachments

Jul 21, 2013
333
Searching for 1st sailing boat 27-28, 34-36 Channel Islands, Marina Del Rey
Looks like new, why choose to paint rather than gelcoat over the repair?
 
Oct 10, 2014
34
Catalina 27 Tall Rig Norfolk
Looks like new, why choose to paint rather than gelcoat over the repair?

Far easier to roll-tip than to go through the pain of getting a sprayer and hauling the boat to do it. I've been doing all this work at my slip, not on the hard. Plus I don't think my dock-mates would be too pleased with me spraying next to their boats! (Besides, I didn't want to mask everything off either! Lazy I guess.) :)
 
Oct 10, 2014
34
Catalina 27 Tall Rig Norfolk
Forward stanchions in. Also mounted lower lifelines to the deck. I still need to run the terminator fitting for the upper lifelines into the deck. Might need to shorten or replace the upper lifeline. We will see.
 

Attachments

Oct 10, 2014
34
Catalina 27 Tall Rig Norfolk
Doing this entry from the water. After I got the lifelines in today and the stanchions secured with the new fittings, I decided to go out for sail. So good to be back on the water
 

Attachments

Last edited: