Round II Restore!Since I cannot replace the blocks I will need to clean them up. There are three blocks on the Sailfish, one at the top of the mast for the halyard and two on the lower spar for the mainsheet. One of them is in real bad shape with some type of grit keeping the sheave from rotating free. Into the CLR you go, I will let them soak overnight:
After some research online I settled on using
3M Marine Restorer & Wax to rehab the fiberglass and add a new protective coating of wax. After flipping the hull again I set to work by first scrubbing the entire lower hull with some 180 grit sandpaper block. I then started hand buffing in the Restore/Wax, working Karate Kid style in square foot sizes until the material was rubbed in. Because of the age the fiberglass greedily soaked this stuff up, but the stuff worked great and I was pleased with the result.
You can see in the background the new sail arrived, I carefully removed the old sail and stored it for a later clean and restore and installed the new one. I picked out a blue and yellow scheme that I think will look pretty nice when all setup. During the rigging I realized that the original out hauls, the cordage that ties the corners of the sails, also will need to be replaced. Also because birds don't like new things one decided to fruit **** on the sail, luckily I was able to scrub it out promptly before it stained much.
Let's check in on them blocks. After taking them out I gave each a brief rub down with steel wool and they actually came out pretty good. More importantly all the sheaves are now rotating freely Huzzah!
Next I turned my attention to the hull hardware, the majority of which is bronze, or at least I think its bronze under all that verdigris. I mixed up a batch of flour, salt and vinegar and began applying it to the bronze hardware:
After letting the mixture sit for a couple minutes I washed it off, and shiny brass was exposed:
Here you can see I installed the new bridle. The mainsheet on the attaches to the bridle, runs through the two blocks on the lower spar while the other end is held to control the angle of the sail.
Because I am overly ambitious, lets add a dash of color to the proceedings. I picked up a can of Rustoleum Topside paint in a nice navy blue to apply to the bow. After sanding down the area with 180 grit and wiping clean I marked out the design with masking tape.
I am going to use the roll and tip method to apply. First rolling on the paint then using the foam brush to even out the surface and remove any bubbles.
I quickly realized that attempting this outside was stupid because stuff was blowing around. I quickly moved the boat indoors and let it sit overnight. The next morning I sanded the first coat with 220 grit then applied a second coat via roll and tip.
Most of the wood work such as the tiller, rudder and daggerboard are physically in good condition but the handrails are rotted through and will need to be replaced. If I can't buy replacement blocks at the Marine Supply store, new handles are flat out. Luckily my research revealed the
Small Boat Restoration Blog, besides having inspirational and informative project logs they also offer new hand rails they make themselves for the Sailfish. I ordered a new set in oak and during subsequent conversations via email they were very receptive to my questions. Great folks!
Anyway that wrapped up my second weekend of work which I felt was pretty productive.