The mystery gets curiouser and curiouser! Why in God’s name would anyone choose to slather up to an inch-and-a-half thick layer of Bondo over what presents as perfectly sound planking and equally sound stem?
I sanded and sanded yesterday, and the progress I made working in from the perimeter is apparent in yesterday’s clip.
However, if you review it, look for the part where I discover that it the Bondo appears to be floating above, not adhering to the wood beneath it.
Early this morning, Rick went back at it using 80 grit and an inline sander. He was making good progress, but then he noticed an open crack in the Bondo’s surface, so he reached for a wood chisel.
Inserting it in the crack and then prying produced the chunk you see in my hand early in this clip, as well as a growing pile on the ground as chunks (platelets?) of Bondo fell away as he continued inserting and driving the chisel into the interface between wood and Bondo.
And now? Songbird’s bow is bereft of Bondo. Yes, there is an old gouge on port aft of the bow, but at 1.5” x 2.2” at its largest area, and barely 3/16” deep at its deepest, we can repair the gouge with a Dutchman.
Back to stripping hideous stain varnish off the topsides ….