Day 345

Today I made the decision and sandblasted the flip up coaming doors, and the entry doors for painting. Polished stainless would have been nice, but the area is so large and would reflect the sun so much they would be a problem. Besides, the stippled white look will match the 4 small cockpit seat hatches we purchased. The doors were left polished SS at the edges where gaskets will need to seal. This adds a nice look as well!

Because of the cold, they had to be left inside for several days to let the Ceram-Kote completely dry. We mixed up a very small batch and question whether there is enough hardener in the paint as it really hardened slowly. It seems to be ok now though a week later, so Gena put on the aft top hatches. (Photo at bottom of page) The doors need some more work. The large door has foam trimmed level coated with "blue stuff" for a seal. (photo right)
This will have a piece of white panel glued on to match the interior.

While in the sandblasting mood, I did the inside of some of the hatch lids. These will be painted underneath, but polished on top. ( Except the back hatch, which will be white to match everything else around the cockpit.)

The flip down door below the big door will need to have wood ( or plastic wood, although that stuff is very heavy! ) glued into it. Because of the hazard of the door flipping down on someone's toes, it will have a gas cylinder attached in a way that it will actually hold up the door when closed, and will slow the fall when opened.
In addition to that ( as if it's not already complicated enough!) 2 rubber feet will be attached to stop wear on the cockpit floor. There will be snap latches added to the door frame that will hook into the angle I have welded on. This way the bottom door can be kept water tight, against waves and rain during a storm, while still allowing passage by stepping over it.
Besides, I always wanted an outdoor hot tub!