Chapter 2>Small, Messy Details

Step 2-The Recesses, Cutting Boards, and Teak Steps:

While working the hatches I removed the cutting boards that are mounted on the gunnel and found a mess. It was expected. Five years ago I removed them and found recesses that were used to hold bait, flies, hooks, weights, etc. Unfortunately by the time I removed them there were worms growing under the mess. Thankfully the worms never attacked the Gelcoat. I went ahead and cut pieces of starboard to fill up the void then applied 5200 on top. However for some reason the port side position “bled” a gunky looking fluid that dried up and seemed to have stained the boat. As I was doing the hatches I got the idea to go ahead and clean that mess. When I removed the cutting boards it was a mess but not as bad as the first time I removed them….

 

 

I went ahead and cleaned the gunk off the gunwale and was amazed at how well acetone cleans up. I went ahead and sanded down and varnished the teak footboards.

And here is a picture of how I sealed that piece of starboard. Sandra said that it was a chemical reaction to the black starboard as to why the gunk oozed out of it. The other recesses were filled with 2” white starboard. So I went ahead applied the 5200 it to cure. I also noticed that it seems as if the 5200 does not adhere to the starboard but still it makes a seal/filler around it and then the cutting board I place over them should keep everything in place. The teak steps also had recesses under them and I did the same procedure.

A few days later I bought down my bandsaw. I had ordered new blades for it and it was ready. I took off the forward rod holders and rounded the “gaskets'' they are held in. See in the picture below how they looked.

In the past I had tried to make gaskets for the midship rod holders using a jigsaw and the results were horrible. I believe I tossed them. Note the midship rod holder on top of the teak step and note the square gasket on the rod holder in the front of the picture? I can’t believe it took me over five years to fix this but on Sunday I finally did it. All because I’ve been injected with making the Causeaican more than just a “fishing machine”. And it seems the more I do, the more I am getting into it. Tonight I ordered a new trailer winch….but that is another chapter…..