One of our big projects this summer is catching up with the never ending exterior brightwork on our 1966 Alberg 35, Mystic. We've been cruising for the last four years, slowly making our way around America's Great Loop. Teak time has been limited. Although we've tried to keep up, we've mostly failed at it. This year we are determined to get a nice 10 coat shine going.
There's a lot involved in bright work. It takes patience and determination, as well as lots of time for hours of sanding and prep work. We use the orbital sander when we can. It makes your hands go numb and your fingers tingle, even after you stop. Most of our exterior teak required detailed hand sanding which takes longer. It's overwhelming and tedious to make progress six inches at a time but there is no shortcut to brightwork. We started with 80 grit sandpaper then worked through 120 and 220 grit; that makes three passes over all surfaces. Each day, our upper arms, wrists and hands ache and stiffen. "Pipes" are replacing the Covid flab that we brought with us on our upper bodies. The dust never quite comes out of our pores, even after long hot showers. I just hate every moment of it; except the finish!
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| Bow sanded, ready for varnish |
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| Stern sanded, ready for varnish |
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| Dave taping before coating |
Today we applied our first coat of varnish after sanding out every inch of the toe rail and cockpit combing. It took us four hours to soak the newly refreshed wood. Exhausted, we looked around us and slapped on the biggest grins we've worn in weeks. Mystic is looking beautiful again!
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| Bow with coat #1 |
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| Dave smiling at our progress |
The results are more than worth the labor required to uncover the beauty of finished teak. If the past repeats itself I know it won't go unnoticed. When mystic is dressed in her Sunday finest coat, we get a whole lot of attention. For an old girl, she sure cleans up nice!
2 comments:
Are you staying on the boat while getting it in shape? How’s the inside?
@Here We Are, we are staying with family in CT. Boat was uninhabitable when we arrived. We've been cleaning and sanding out interior teak for weeks. She's looking much better. The teak and holly floors, as well as the mahogany doors, need to be replaced but we were able to save all the teak cabinet doors and drawers. It's been work, non stop since we arrived but it's so worth it. Mystic will be a good old boat again!
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