JERRY SURE WAS RIGHT!! ! ! !! ! !!

SHIP'S LOG:

I contacted Jerry Schmitt, my instructor from the Chapman School of Seamanship, about sealing the main hatch. I asked him what was the best marine sealant to use in sealing the plexiglass into the aluminum hatch. Jerry's suggestion and recommendation was "Windshield Weld" from 3-M! So much for "marine" marked stuff.

Jerry did say that it is messy stuff "that gets everywhere" when you use it and boy!, was he right!. It is black in color and all it takes is one little dab in the wrong spot and an attempt to clean it up and it starts to get everywhere! I got to the point where I stopped trying and just sealed the hatch. It will be a lot simpler to removed it after it sets than while it is still workable.

Before I could do the sealing I had to remove "all" of the old sealant. It was a tedious process as the sealant didn't want to go away. It took razor blades, an exacto knife, tweezers, hemostats, dental picks of various styles, and a lot of time! If old sealant remained, the new stuff really wouldn't seal completely and the leaks would remain . . . that is if I had spotted their location correctly. Once I got all the old stuff out, I had to force the new stuff in place. More that just laying in a new bead, it had to be forced into every little crevice and crack. I also made sure that there was enough sealant to insure that any shrinkage and settling would still leave the sealant covering the seam between the plexiglass and hatch frame. I will trim the excess off after it is completely set and easy to cut.

I get to do the interior side of the hatch today. Again there ill be the removal of the old sealant and the laying in a bead of the new. This should be a lot easier as it doesn't seem that the old sealant was forced into the seam between the plexiglass and the hatch frame. Saying that means just the opposite of course and more of the sealant getting where it doesn't belong.

I will also try sealing the mainmast backstay chainplate on the port side. It appears that this is where the leak in the aft cabin stems from and if it is, it will allow me to put the ceiling panels back in place. If it's not, then the hunt for the leak continues. It was be helped by the fact that it is supposed to rain for the next couple of days and it will reveal the leak of not the location. It will help in the search but I am of the mind that it is the chainplate. I hope. I hope. I hope.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

The wind is still cold and honking down at the boat. It makes it easier not to be moving as it would be not all that comfortable out in the Sound. the list of things to do still grows at one end while it shrinks at the other, but aside from the oil change, everything that "needs" to be done, is completed. Allof the rest to the things can be done at a later time, so things are a little itchy. And as the weather warms, it will be come more so. I can't wait!!!!!!