We have made some progress lately on our Lochin restoration. The portside hull has now been regelcoated and detailed. We have posted some photos of the process in action as well as the finished product. We have tried to get some reflections on the hull as it is difficult to show the true finish in photos.
In photo one the end caps have not yet been fitted. Some of the original end caps were missing so we selected the best of the remaining and made a mould of it in fibreglass. To look at, you honestly cant tell the difference between the rubber one and the glass one, it came out so well.
We have now started on the starboard side by sanding off the blue paint. Luckily the hull is basically unmarked, so we don't have to do anything in the way of repairs, before regelcoating.
Just this weekend we removed the steel shoe (fitted between the keel and the rudder), it only took us 20mins. Amazingly the 6 bolts came away like they were only fitted last week. Amazing after 22 years and it shows the great workmanship and materials used. As it turned out the shoe could have been left for another at least 25 years as it was, however, didn't want to take the chance of having a problem with it, considering it was a fairly simple job to do. I'll have it sandblasted and treated with epoxy tar.
The whole of the ****pit is almost finished, including the bulkhead (painted white). We will show some photos of this later.
The month of November will be spent on the superstructure and hopefully she will be in the water before xmas 08.
Hi Harold, Wow what a finish, so i presume the re gelcoat is spray finished. Looking at your pictures was your Lochin originally white before painting blue or have you sanded off all the paint and the original blue gelcoat. Anyway gonna be the most shiney one in Australia, keep up the good work. Geoff.............
Just read the blog and seen the photo's - for those that don't know, Harold's profession is GRP repairs and in Aus he is known as the GRP 'guru'. He has an amazing perception of how to work with gel coat which he has leant from many years of experimentation and perfection - he is a perfectionist for sure!!
I inspected his Lochin in March this year and saw progress from the raw image of a well used and DIY inspired Lochin much improved and brought back to look better than her original construction would have been. The finish is truely amazing and is a testimonial to many hours work by both Harold and Kelly!!
Well done both - hopefully this will inspire others who follow the marque!!
Of course we have some good yards in this country also!! no names no pack drill!!
The boat had been painted blue by one of the previous owners, but was originally white. Gelcoating, I;m afraid is not as simple as spraypainting. (I wish). Once gelcoat is sprayed on it drys with a course orange peel texture. Then you have to detail it, by sanding with 240, 600 and 1200 grit sand paper. Then it needs to be buffed and polished. The result is worth while in the end.
Don't forget this is what I do for a living. If there is any questions, don't hesitate to ask me.
I would love to help you on your boat but I only work on Lochins. Sorry!!!
Just kidding. Next year we are planning a trip to the UK and NL and would love to be able to meet as many of you as possible while we are in town. Will keep you posted.
We have noticed you are now a senior member, does that mean you have reached a senior age?
This week will try to get rid of the remaining blue paint on the starboard side and spray up over the weekend (weather permitting). Sitting through a late storm at the moment, so who can tell?
If you want to do spray repairs, I'll tell you what steps to take. It's better to do small repairs and understand the process first. Believe me you don't need to be a brain surgeon, you just have to be well organised.
Guns (spray guns that is) are not expensive here so I assume it wont be too much in UK.
Getting there but there's only one thing worse than getting older - dying!
Do let us all know when you are coming to the UK, it would be good to meet up - especially over a few beers.
Oh, how I also wish gelcoat was like spray paint! I've been working around my toe boards. Grinding out and glassing up the big dings, then re-shaping, then gelcoating, then sanding and polishing. Tedious to say the least. I'm going to start getting the fendering off at the weekend and I want the gelcoat to be finished before each piece goes back on.
I'll definately be picking your brains on the gelcoat spraying but I won't be ready for that for some time yet, so maybe we can talk about that when you are here.
