Woodwork
24 June 2012
Mike
Our boat is fiberglass, but has some teak trim. It was in real poor shape, sitting neglected outside for several years. I was able to remove the main hatch and the swim platform and bring them home to work on in the shop over the winter. I glued two pieces of 3/4 inch exterior plywood together to replace the hatch while I had it out. I'm sure passers-by must have thought a real hillbilly owned this boat!
We try and plan our work to maximize our time at the boat. We live 3 hours away, and can't get there as often as we want. I also separated the work between must do - nice to do items. Structural and mechanical things are high on the list, but some of the other items slip in as we have time or have a delay on another project. Overhaul of the galley was a major must do - Happy Wife, Happy Life! I decided to go ahead with the wood work early in the schedule as it was so depressing to see the boat looking so shabby. It lifts the spirit to see the clean wood and fresh varnish. Helps to keep us going and a sign of visible progress to the sidewalk superintendents.
The main hatch was the first project. I removed all the hardware and then went to remove the window. It had been installed with screws, OK, but then bedded with 3M 5200 STRUCTURAL ADHESIVE!!!!!! A good bedding compound will seal the piece and prevent water from getting in, and also come apart easily when the time comes to remove it. 5200 sticks to everything with a death grip. The only way to get the window out is to start prying at one end, using shims and putty knives, and working along gradually enlarging the gap. A heat gun helps to break the bond as well, but you have to be careful not to scorch the wood or fiberglass. After that, it was a matter of sanding and scraping the wood, then I used some paint stripper to clean up the finish in the grain. After a wash with TSP, a light sanding, and then 2 coats of thin penetrating epoxy to seal the wood. Another light sanding, and then 3 coats of Sikkens Cetol, Natural Teak color. The results were very satisfying! More photos in the gallery.