Weekend Report 4/23: Bowsprit Renewal

Another weekend, another coat of paint (and the last one). Not much to talk about here. It still is shiny white.

But I started refurbishing the anchor windlass this weekend. Since this mounts on top of the bowsprit and had to be removed to remove the bowsprit, it counts as part of the bowsprit project.

First, there has been considerable corrosion on the bottom flange, where the cast aluminum windlass body sat on the stainless steel mounting plate. I cut an isolating gasket/pad out of spare plastic sheeting I had used to line the refrigerator with when I rebuilt it (that will have to be the subject of another posting, I guess). The material is 1/8 fiber-reinforced ABS, so it is perfect for the service. This will go under the windlass when it is bolted down, to provide a bottom seal which is electrically isolated from the stainless.

Next, I painted the groady looking interior with some Interlux polyurethane. I used grey, because I had some left over.

Finally, I have applied one coat of white Interlux polyurethane to the exterior. It will take another to get a good finish.

I plan to redo the Previous Owner's wire entry plan: He just goobered up the entrance with a lot of silicone rubber, It looked like crap, and didn't seal well. You can see the two holes in the last picture, above, just to the right of the rope drum. I will bore the holes out to 3/4" and tap them with threads suitable for waterproof wire glands... next weekend.

Weekend Report 4/23: Bowsprit Renewal