The Ballad Exchange

Hi Mark: Thanks for the kind words. In strong sunlight she looks really good. When it's overcast, one notices some flaws ;). I never liked the original translucent hatch so I painted it. When I installed heating on board, I decided to add a small hatch (it's Lewmar's smallest). The tricky part was t...

Hi Mark: You don't have to sand down the anti-slip totally flat. As long as the surface is really clean, epoxy primers--and paint, for that matter--will stick to it. You may use a very stiff (or wire) brush to slightly abrade the surface for extra peace of mind. The remaining ridge heights augment t...

Hi Peter: I've mounted my Nasa depth transducer in the location you're indicating, slightly offset. Mind you, I've mounted it on the inside of the hull, not through the hull. Previously, the transducer was suspended in an oil bath (castor oil, I think), within a special tube, but I didn't like that ...

Hi Frans:

I've replaced all four chrome-bronze fairleads with ss ones. If I can remember where I've stored the originals, I'd more than happy to send you one.

Nicholas

The mast tang was fitted by the rigger when I'd taken the mast down 15 years ago. The rest I did myself, including the support that's under the deck eye-bolt and the tension adjuster (fashioned by inserting a turnbuckle in an industrial wheel). I'm certain that I've posted something on this in the p...

Hi Mark:

I'd use the matting agent only for the anti-slip parts. The rest looks nice in gloss--and is much easier to keep clean.
Don't worry, even the best paint loses its gloss eventually, especially in the Med's punishing climate.

N.

Following the construction of the dinette a few years ago, it was only a matter of time to also attempt to squeeze a double berth out of it. Most manufacturers address that issue by simply dropping the table to bunk level and filling the void with cushions. I couldn't do that because the table I had...

Many years back, I had to deal with some parts of the deck that had become mushy (delaminated) by injecting low-viscosity epoxy resin. It worked a treat but it also left me with an unsightly deck. So I sanded off the anti-slip (on the sidedecks, not the superstructure) and, following careful masking...

Hi Mark: I can't locate any photos of the old 2-part PU anti-slip but I was actually on board when I received your message and I took some photos of the more recent job I did with KiwiGrip. However, if you don't mind, I'll post them under the existing "Deck colour" topic since other people...

Oh, man! I do not envy you AT ALL. I went through the same process about a decade ago. I used Awlgrip, which is a very demanding paint but incredibly tough. (The great thing about Perfection is that it's formulated for brush/roller application and far easier for us amateurs) For the anti-slip, I use...