4 years of working on the decks & cabin house is paying off fast. I’ll be done in a few days and touching/cleaning up for a week or so. I did these three sections of non-skid in under 2 hours.
The non-skid paint is a little darker than I had thought when I picked out the color but I’m really pleased with it. I never thought teak decks were too hot under foot, nor in the cabin, this will be much cooler. The non-skid is really easy on the eyes on a bright day and it masks dirt well.
I also thought the grain of sand was a bit too fine but in the end I think its perfect.
Splendid is such a big fat girl I love her. Soon I’ll be getting into maintenance mode…, well…, not really, but the important stuff will be done. She is SOLID & DRY! I still have the hull to contend with and interior work but its all on the “want to” list, and not the “must do” one.
I really need a new stove, and I found a really nice $80.00 washing machine for the aft head. Every time I go to do laundry it costs over $20.00 and the washing machine will be a wonderful luxury, not to mention a valuable investment. I also want to get my big refrigeration project done and get the water-maker going. I will most likely do these things before I paint the hull.
I’m always prioritizing projects in my head, but the BEAST (RASSEN FRAKEN $#!@ *&^%#*@) of all projects is coming to a screeching halt fast! I will be able to sleep sounder knowing 
that the cabin house and toe rail are all glassed up, and everything has been pulled & re-bedded, and I have pulled and thoroughly inspected the chain plates.
WHAT A F’N PROJECT IT HAS BEEN! And it’s been worth every drop of blood, sweat, and tears. Splendid is the boat I wish to retire on and travel the world upon. She is solid, quick, & nimble. And most importantly she is home!
Carla returns on Friday and she is going to help me with the great task of cleaning up before my friend comes on the 11th. I’m getting my flyer printed and dropping it off at a few places this week. I need to make a few bucks for Splendid things and a computer for editing HD video.
I’m really, REALLY, looking forward to my time in the San Blas. With all the work lately I’ve become disconnected from the reef & hunting and its not good for my soul. Carla is really into surfing even though she is just learning, and I’m looking for a used long board. I haven’t surfed since university in Santa Barbara. I’m also hoping to come across a kayak. Now that the decks are done and I will be making a few bucks I want to find a few dollars & time for myself. I also want to focus time & energy on Carla and show her the wonders of the sea and life aboard. There is something innately rewarding to hunting for a woman. I’m a bit of a cave man and want to get back to the basics “me kill fish”!
Anyway, its 8:25am, the sun is out, and I have a lot of non-skid to attend to.
Peace from paradise.
– alex
Alex,
That looks great! Is it good for years months or what?
Im hoping to get 3 years out of it. I live aboard and use the boAt 24/7. Most people with weekend boats I’n marinas might get 5-8 years? The good news is all I have to do is repaint & sprinkle sand to redo it,’just a few days work :)
Man, I really like the color of the non-skid; it contrasts well and has a nice warmth.
Do onboard washing machines use sea water for the wash cycle or does it have to be fresh water?
Ya know, you should post a wish list somewhere with an estimated budget. Someone might come across something you need and not know you need it.
peace,
I posted a comment on an earlier post. Glidden Porch and Floor is cheap works very well and can be tinted in any colour you like. I have had it on my decks for going on six years and couldn’t be happier……….martin
Well you’ve got my juices flowing. I’ve got some down time coming next week and I’m going to do my non-skid in that time. When I got Panacea, I put on 2 part epoxy paint on her decks and it’s holding well. It did make the deck slicker than I wanted and the built in non-skid is still there, but needs more.
So next weeks the week. Thanks for lighting the candle under me and we’ll be dancin’ on the deck with the dew…
Later Bro.
Capt. Paul
s/v Panacea
We don’t have gliddens floor & porch paint here but it is good. Get it at home depot $20 bucks a gallon. I’ve had some on splendid and it still looked great 2 years later. Good luck amigo. Off to fetch Carla from the plane 2morrow so I’ll be gone for a few days.
I finished the starboard side non skid yesterday so port, starboard, and aft decks done. The fordeck & cabinhouse have some nonskid I did In Bahamas. I’ll redo it I’n the comming week so it all matches :)
Peace, love, and non-skid !!!!
Hi Alex
Thats a nice job man ! I am based in Barbados, I own and operate a SCUBA Center and Watersports operation here in Barbados.
Come and visit if you are sailing down this way at any time, I will take you out to hunt some fish and lobster. We could even go hunt some Lionfish, we have started to see them on occasions.
Happy days
Gavin
Gavin, sounds good, i’m eating every lion fish i come across :)
Alex!……Alex?…..Alex, are you here? ….Alex?…….OMG…Alex, that is not a lionfish.
Boat looks great. I had a quick question about moving chain plates. I know you have said that you would like to move the chain plates to the hull. I would like to do the same on my boat and have been doing some research about it. Some people say it would be foolish to do this unless you have an “engineering degree.” Others have done this with great success. Just wondering your opinion and other readers of the blog. I have also started a thread in the forums. Thanks.
I don’t know what to tell you Curt. My first rule I’n cruising is not to listen to anyone. I’ve known a lot of people who have done it, I’n my opinion chain plates through the deck are purely form cosmotic reasons, out of sight out of mind, I don’t get it. Chain plates are a pivotal part of the rig and I want to
Be able to easily inspect them often. Is your hull solid’or cored?
The hull is solid and I would re-enforce it at the chain plates. It is a 1971 Islander 30. Some people say that its a change for the better to move the chain plates to the hull. It would give me more room on deck, fix leaking issues, make it easier to inspect them, and strengthen them. The boat is out of the water and the mast is down so I figure this would be a good time to do it.
Sounds like a plan to me. You can add some glass on the inside and make radial strips that come out if you want. I like to uber-over engineer things :)
Those decks are looking beauuuutiful!
And speaking of chainplates, check out Darrin’s new blog on sailboattrash. Now them’s some chainplates!
Being an “enginerd”, although and environmental engineer and not a structural or marine engineer, I did take a couple of physics classes.
I believe the issue with moving chain plates is that the forces were originally calculated from the designed position of the plates and the standing rigging was designed based on those calculations. Ideally, one would want to calculate the forces based on the new position of the plates. Having said that, there probably wouldn’t bee too much of a difference in the active forces when moving the chain plates from the interior of the hull to the exterior (say two inches?) and probably wouldn’t pose too much of a concern as there is always some factor of safety used in calculations of that nature. If you’re “uber-over engineering things” and replacing your rigging with the next size up would also probably be sufficient to account for moving the plates.
And as a CYA (Cover Your Ass) statement, this is just a gut feeling and I haven’t actually done any trial calculations so take it for what’s it’s worth – free advice.
i am not an engineer either, but moving your standing rigging outboard would increase the angle of the shroud from the tang to the chain plate and thereby increase the strength. imagine if the chain plate was 2′ from the base of the mast, it would not stabilize the mast as much as having the chain plate 10′ from the mast. if you oversize your rigging, do not forget to oversize your tangs at the top of the mast. i broke a tang in panama and it damaged the roller furling.
Fantastic Read! Looking forward to more! Bookmarked the site and will be back again!
Arg, I’ve been trying to get a blog up for three days, wish they g
Had windows live for Mac, my acer went to computer heaven.
We are off to the big smoke (city) 2morrow to retrieve our guest.
Hope everyone has a gr8 weekend and gets a chance to sail!