Building up Gelcoat layers and removing the wiring so it is possible to lift the wheelhouse off the superstructure to remove the wheelhouse windows

Having sanded down the last coat of gelcoat it was time to apply more blue gelcoat to replace the gelcoat removed when removing the stargazing from the blue stripe.

When this is hardened it will be sanded back again then the it will come time to colour match the blue to the rest of the stripe.

Sorting out the bird's nest of wiring and remove the wiring so that the wheel house can be removed from the cabin superstructure.

The starboard wiring now removed from the bulkhead connection board and coiled up ready to be sorted when it comes time to remove the wheelhouse off the boat.

The same job done to the port side so that it will be able to come out when the wheelhouse is lifted off the boat.

Coils of wiring ready for the big lift of the wheelhouse off the boat.

 

Making a start on repairing the long stargazing on the Blue Stripe on this Hardy

Having ground back the surface gelcoat to remove the stargazing out of the gelcoat it was time line dermal the stargazing out of the lower level to that rid of any lower level stargazing.

Once that was done then, it was time to start to fill up the dermal-ed lines to level the lines up with new Oxford blue gelcoat 

The stargazing was a very long length

The length was from ahead of the cabin window to as far back as the porthole in the toilet compartment, so it is a long stargaze.

It is going to take a bit of time to fill up the stargazing with gelcoat, however, as we fill the stargazing up, we will then gelcoat the whole area from the forward end of the stargaze to the aft end and from the wooden fender rail to the rudder fendering then sand and compound the whole of the blue stripe to its original colour.

 

Removing the Hardy Bosun windows to have them re-made

Having carefully removed the inner frames from around the windows it was time to clean up the old sealant from around the edge of the windows aperture.

Once the sealant was removed it was time to cover up the apertures until we have the new windows to fit on the boat.

The windows on the work bench ready for a quick clean up and then packed up and send away to be re-made

 

Getting to grips with Hardy Bosun wheelhouse removal

First job to remove the cockpit canopy and make easier to work around the back of the boat  

First of the headlining panels to come down in the heads compartment 

Then the first of the two in the cabin area 

Then the second headlining panel to remove to expose the fixing for the wheelhouse sides 

The first panel out of the way

Then the second panel removed 

finally the head compartment panels down and out of the way, just leaves to remove the wiring for the navigation lights, wipers and the power supply for the instructments before the wheelhouse can be removed 

The navigation lights removed so that the wires can be removed as we lift off the wheelhouse off the cabin sides 

not an area most owners ever see