First welding day

As planned, we started the hatch boxes installation as well as various welding projects.  For that purpose, Jean-Pierre came and spent all day at the boat.  The first part went smoothly:  The installation of the salon windows patches.  

First we removed the bad metal with  jigsaw and grinder, then Jean-Pierre welded the patch in with his sweet portable MIG welder. 

About the size of a suitcase, this is one nice piece of equipment.

Then, we turned to the hatch boxes.  Not as easy:  The old ones refuse to be pulled out.  Even though we pull ou the big gun, the 7in. grinder, the first one takes more than an hour to let go of the deck.  Consequently, JF gets started on the central hatch box while Jean-Pierre welds the first hatch box in.  

That 7in. grinder is an impressive tool;  It sends sparks flying and although it is rated at 13A, it trips the 15A breaker of Jean-Pierre’s generator repeatedly.  Once you go back to the 4-1/2 grinder, it really feels like a Dremel.  Nonetheless, it takes JF most of the afternoon to remove the old metal, we’ll only have time to tack the new one in place today.