Tamarisk Home Page	Progress during 2009 1997 1998 1999 2000/1 2002 2003 2004 2005 This report covers the years 2006, 7 & 8	Tamarisk Home Page
Click on photos for a bigger picture. Click on browser 'back' button to return to main document.	No progress was made from the end of 2005 until the start of 2009. I lost all enthusiam during this time.  All we did was remedial work on the work we'd already completed! I think I may have fitted an electric automatic bilge drain pump. the cockpit seat on the port side is not properly fitted yet and it leaks water into the bilge. 4th January 2009 At last we got the mast down. It was beginning to look worse for wear.  The varnish has disappeared from large areas so it was imperative that we get it down and refurbish it.  Dave Gill, Paul & Michael, Norman and Dave Crowther all helped. Dave used the JCB to lowewr the mast and we walked it round with the JCB to the white container.	Click on photos for a bigger picture. Click on browser 'back' button to return to main document.
Ready for final sanding	Monday 23rd February Started to strip the old varnish off the mast.  Used the heat gun and stripping tool. Wednesday 25th February Carried on stripping varnish. Saturday 28th February Jaja's tenth birthday! Used Nitromors paint and varnish stripper to get the old paint of the metal brackets. Sunday 1st March I've got all the old varnish off and paint of the metal fittings. I've done most of the sanding, just another go with finer grade paper and then I can start to paint and varnish. Sunday 8th March Made a cap for the mast in the garage at home using my router - pleased with my efforts but if I'd known how easy it was going to be I would have taken more care.
Metal primer Metal brackets finished After third coat of varnish	Saturday 14th March Finished sanding the mast, used 120 grade glass paper. Put the special Hammerite undercoat paint on the mast metal bits. Sunday 15th March Put the first coat of Hammerite on to the metal fittings in the morning and the second and fianl coat in the afternoon. According to the instructions that should last five years. Monday 16th March Put the first coat of thinned varnish on the mast.  I used International Gold Spar varnish and ordinary turpentine substitute for thinners. Tuesday 17th March Planned to put the second undiluted coat of varnish on the mast but the first coat hadn't gone off ! Bought a tin of International thinners from Shipsides on the way home.  The thinners cost the same as the petrol I'd wasted going up to Glasson!  In my defence I should point out that I'd given two coats of even thinner varnish to the mast top cap that I'd made and both coats had gone off as normal. John Curlew said leave it, don't do what I did and have to sand it all off and start agan! It was cold overnight and ther was no air flow throught the container.  It's a white insulated former refrigerated container so the sun doesn't warm it up. Wednesday 18th March The mast was still dodgy so I lifted it outside with the help of John Strider. The sun warmed it up a bit and I wiped the wood with the proper thinners. I decided to leave it for a while and constructed a support for the mast that will fit into the mast tabernacle on the deck.  I'm not going to put it back up yet.  The galvanised rigging appears to be old and brittle and I'm sure that when I get the boat surveyed for insurance they'll insist on new standing rigging. I worked out how to support the mast at the stern and at the bow. Eventually, around 1530 hours, I started to varnish the mast. when I was three quarters of he way up it I got John Hornet to help me put it back into the container and I continued varnishing. Thursday 19th March The varnished appeared to have dried ok but to be on the safe side I put a one hundred kilowatt fan heater in the centre of the container so I sanded the wood using wet or dry paper wet, 320 grade, and wiiped it dry.  Then I wiped it all over with thinners and retired for lunch. After lunch, well in the middle of the afternoon I got round to putting the third coat of varnish on. Over the next couple of days I put another three coats of varnish on. John Curlew was impressed
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