Pictures of Albin 25 Hull Work Coming Along

[DaveP]

I visited my Albin 25 today to see how work was going on restoring the hull and getting the bottom ready to paint.

As stated before the boat is at Arizona Fiberglass in Phoenix and they seem to run a first class operation, as you can see in the pictures. If you see two boats in a picture it isn't hard to figure out which one is the Albin 25.

I was amazed that I could see my face in the shine they have put on the hull. They were correct in their assessment they could make the hull look like new with no gelcoat needed. The color sanding job was done starting with 1000 grit, then 1500, etc. then buffed out, no wax yet.

The bottom has been stripped of 38 years of paint, remember this a 1970 model and they plan to put a barrier coat on early next week and then the antifouling job later in the week. Hope you enjoy the pictures, I put in one of the before pictures at the end so you can compare how the boat looks now.

Keep an eye out for the next stage of the restoration which will be repowering the boat with a Yanmar 3YM30 29 HP engine this winter.

If some of the pictures aren't sharp or colorful click on each picture to see them correctly on a full screen.

[jcollins]

That looks fantastic. Help me understand what color sanding is? I'm not familiar with that term.

[DaveP]

Color sanding is very painstaking, time consuming, detailed work. You will see from the explanation below why I'm having this work done professionally.

The term color sanding is used when you are sanding the color layer (top gelcoat) on a boat, car, or other fiberglass product. Color sanding is very similar to wet sanding but you have to be much more careful because the color layer is very thin. In color sanding some professionals will soak the various grits on sandpaper for up to 24 hrs., in soapy water, before sanding is started.

The grades of sandpaper seem to range from 1,000 grit to 3,000 grit. After soaking the sandpaper it is placed on a foam block for sanding. A dual-action sander can be used but "let it and the sandpaper do the work" and don't press down on the sander. Really good work is done by hand the old fashioned way with elbow grease. You also have a spray bottle of soapy water handy, to spray on the hull to help lubricate the sanding process. Of course you start with the 1,000 grit and progressively work to the finest 3,000 grit paper but your just getting started.

Following the sanding you then use a dedicated compounding system. This means that various "rubbing" compounds are used of different abrasion but all come from the same manufacturers product line. You don't want to use compounds from different product lines because each company uses different definitions for fine, medium and course compounds. Again you put on the course compound first and work to the finest. A warning is given in some of the reading I've done that you must not contaminate the applicators surface with more than one grade of compound. You must use a different applicator for each grade of compound. Buff out each compound application as you go. After each buffing process use a microfiber towel to check the gloss of the finish. The final compound application and buffing should be done by hand to eliminate any swirl marks.

Now you're finally ready for the wax! I'm getting very tired just writing this. I have a lot of admiration for the hard working men who do this kind of meticulious, detailed, work. Just the hull from the deck joint down to the boot strap on my Albin 25 will take one and sometimes two men working two weeks to complete the job. Next winter I'll have the deck joint up done if I can afford it. Above the deck joint is more difficult work as all fittings, woodwork, etc. has to be removed prior to work beginning. The engine is more important to me, so it will be done this winter, so the boat is usable next spring. It won't be cosmetically attractive from the deck up but it will float and hopefully run.

By the way if anyone in the northern part of the U.S. wants to adopt me next summer I'm available (wife too), I've told her I'm not spending another summer in Phoenix. Temps. in the 110 to 120 degree range for months on end are OUT for me. The Great Lakes look so good on those hot days. A little more salty place like Seattle wouldn't be bad either. The San Juan Islands have been a dream cruising area for me for years. Hope the above information is helpful to some of you.

[Dave]

Looks great, a lot of work but you'll be so proud when you get her back in the water.

Dave
Albin 27 convertible

[rt11002003]

Your boat looks great! I was fortunate with my 1987 Albin 27 Aft Cabin hull. All it required for a good shine was a light buffing and wax, of course she was a much younger lady.

You can sand those wooden steps on the stern and then treat them with varnish, oil or other treatment.

Gene

[Mariner]

The hull is coming along very nicely. I've restored a few 30+ year old Boston Whaler hulls, so I know the amount of work that is going into it. You are correct, the sanding is very time consuming and painstaking, though it all depends on the degree of oxidation and the desired outcome. I've found that in most cases, a good high RPM angle grinder with a buffing wheel and some 3M Restorer Wax does the job good enough for me. If there is significant oxidation, a quick pass with 1k grit wet/dry sandpaper prior to this does the trick. Obviously, all work should be followed up by an application of a good hard wax (I like 3M), just as if you were doing your regular annual wax using a low-speed random orbital buffer.

[Fortunate]

Wow,

It is really coming along nicely. How did you remove all of the bottom paint? I had some issues with my A27 bottom paint peeling off in sheets after haulout this year and am thinking it is time to strip it and start from scratch.

Thanks for the pics.