Been a busy week in the workshop and out in the yard, also on the Hardy 25 refit.

In the workshop there as been a grand unmasking of the Morgan Giles 30 with the cabin side being unmasked for the first time in 2.5 years and showing there is some small areas that need working on. 

The edges of the deck primer need sanding back to they have smooth edges before they are given their final coat of epoxy primer later next week,

The hardy 25 varnishing production line is still well underway with the second batch of bulkheads and panels getting their build up thinned coats of varnish.

They have now had four coats of 50/50 thinned varnish before they get a couple of coats  of 75% varnish

As with all refits there are a few parts that are not going back in.

clearing space for another work station in the temporary workshop in the yard to work on parts from Mai Star II across the yard from the temporary workshop  

The temporary workshop is where the boats waiting to come into the workshop are being stored until there is space in the workshop to work on them.

Mai Star II now as her deck and cabin sides removed so that the work on replacing her rotten top of her frames and broken ribs can be worked on easier without the cabin sides and decks being in the way. Just got to put the framework of the temporary shed back up once the parts are welded back together which got broken in a gale a couple of years ago and not had the chance to weld up. That should be done over the next few weeks so that work can start on her shortly.

This cover is only temporary as We are getting the original cover repaired and once that is done then the shed will be well protected for the winter.

 

First time de-masked in 2 .5 years, now sand down the edges and then mask up the edge for the final coat of epoxy primer on the decks.

The first in over 2.5 years that the Morgan Giles 30 as been unmasked and it shows we have a bit of work to do on the cabin sides where the old fore cabin windows have been filled in , so these area will need a bit of gelcoating and then the cabin sides need repainting. 

Now that the cabin sides have been unmasked the edges where the decks have been painted can be sanded back and then the edges can be masked up and then the deck painted.

The port side before the cabin sides were unmasked a big difference from the starboard side. 

Port side unmasked, now time to get the sandpaper out and sand the edges around the hatches and handrails.

The cockpit going to have the same treatment as the edges of the deck.

 

Stirpping the last major bulkheads and wood staining them ready for their first coat of thinned varnish.

All the last major bulkheads and the main cabin hatch all sanded back to bare wood and then given one coat of wood stain. Here are the before and after photos of the bulkheads and the main cabin hatch. what a change from the condition of the bulkheads and hatch before we started getting them back to their original colour and condition.

Just a few hours ahead varnishing to bring them back up to the condition of the other bulkheads and doors and tables that have already been done.

 

The cockpit looking a lot emptier than for a long time and making a start on the rest of the bulkheads that need stripping back.

Now that the cockpit has been de-cluttered of the old plywood lockers on top of the areas either side of the sliding hatch it makes it easier to plan how to re-design the areas to make them more user friendly for the new owner to use in the future. 

One idea is to leave them clear and put nothing back in the areas, however, the new owner is thinking of re-signing the area above the steering position to place new instruments in a pod on the area just ahead of dashboard for some low lwvel instrucments to be fitted, a job in progress at present. 

Now back to the best job of all. stripping varnish off the old bulkheads and getting back to the original surface which is in reasonable condition given the neglect it has had over the past few years. After the varnish stripped from this bulkhead it showed that it was just badly varnish over the years without going back to the bare wood and doing a good re-varnishing job on it years ago. However, it can be seen as blessing in some ways.

 

The strip out of the Hardy 25 almost complete

Now with the last three bulkheads out of the boat which has many that can come out without dismantling the steering position the interferon is almost completely dismantled. 

The cabin hull linings in the cabin are now completely removed to expose the hull and the fixings for therope fender rails which have to be removed soon.

The last time this boat was stripped down to this point was when she was being build over 30 years ago at Hardy Marine.

The boat now looks very empty, however, there are a few more jobs to do with the interior, such as cutting a hole in the top of the water tank so that it has an inspection hatch so it can be cleaned and the inside of the water tank can be inspected for any damage.

The port side cabin to cockpit bulkhead has also been removed so it to can be stripped and sanded and stained to match the rest of the bulkheads and doors and tables which have already been stained and varnished as part of this major refit.

A large void space which will need a bit of tidying and a further cleaning down before any reconstruction work can begin