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Transom, deck edge repair, wood trim replacement and related (updated November 2, 2013))  
   

March 12, 2012. Mike Zint has an ongoing restoration project on his Pacific Dolphin #300, Grand Finale. This is a progress report on a particular segment and deals with replacing rotted plywood core on the edge of the transom deck, replacement of the wood trim, and fiberglass repair made necessary by having to grind off material looking for the 'hin' identification number so Mike could get a title for the boat.

Here are a couple of pictures and his email

Was a very nice weekend for working on the boat here in Arizona, the weather has gotten nice enough to start thinking about re-gelcoating the transom. This was required in order to fix the sanded through area required by the State Game and Fish Department to look for the missing HIN when I had applied for a title to the boat.

Blending the edges fair revealed an undiscovered void in the top center of the transom edge. Removing the cobbled together rear toe rail (or whatever the technical term is for the piece of teak on the transom) revealed a wet and disintegrated core in the aft 4-8" of deck. Looks like it was originally 3/8" plywood. All the defective material has been dug out and after the area dries out a bit, I'll pack it with epoxy and new marine plywood. After the fiberglass and gelcoat repairs are done on the transom, I'll make a new toe rail piece but it won't be out of teak. 8/4 teak is on sale this month for $30 bd/ft, so only $240 for 1 board. Not sure I can sell that at home! African mahogany is on sale for $7 bd/ft, so $55 seems like a much better choice.

The hardest part of this so far was removing all the extra long through bolts on the push pulpit and chocks. Removing the rear hatch completely then having  a tall young helper with long arms stand up though the motor well from underneath is the best way to do this task.

Mike

ouch!!

Ps March 17, 2012. follow up - I've always wondered about the build conditions of Grand Finale as it was the last boat out the door. Did the workers put extra care, or was it "git it done and we're out of here"...So far it looks like the workmanship was ok, but some of the materials were short changed.

The transom rail was cobbled together with 8 pieces of teak, the main arch is a scarfed together piece. Tonight I looked between the layers of the decking with a flashlight and came to the realization that the deck is cored with particle board. All I'm finding is nothing but flakes of wood, even down to the dry part. I'm up under the deck about 10 inches on the starboard side, and 4 inches deep across the center, up the the hatch edge. I think the plan at this time is to pull out as much core as I can reach, even the dry part and replace it with epoxy and plywood. When I pull the toe rails, I'll have to do the same process down each side.

*******************************

October 3, 2013 We got the following update from Mike

Weather finally got nice enough to spray gel coat late yesterday and still had to catalyze at just barely over ½% to keep from setting up too fast. Good color match, dark around the sides is from the tape and will buff out. It’s pretty!

Mike

Ready??
Done! Not Quite...

ps (In response to a webmaster follow up about his fear of 2 part paint systems)

I had a couple of months of avoidance/fear factor too. I kept putting it off just because I’d never sprayed a catalyzed product and sifting through all the instructions in my books, and on line, revealed gaps of information to what I felt were key points in the process.

First attempt Sunday morning at 6am resulted in only ½ of the transom getting coated as I had mixed at 1 ½% and the gel coat started setting up in the sprayer. I used the Preval disposable sprayers ( now available at Home Depot ) which were another new factor in the equation. I’ll sand and de-wax tonight and spray another coat this evening.

Since I purchased the colored gel coat from Jamestown (Distributors) which is a finishing gel coat, I need to let it cure and sand between coats. How many layers of waxed gel coat I could spray in one session was one of the factors I could never deduce, so I’m taking the cautious route. Lazerette vent holes are sealed, the vents repainted inside and re-installed, new yellow tail blower mounted and wired up, new wire run for the stern and mast light.

I got chastised by my brother this week for not “just buying a boat in sailable condition”. How do you explain that once you’re smitten by a particular boat, all the work becomes just a labor of love.

*********************************

November 2, 2013. We got the following update from Mike and some pictures

Weather is great here in Arizona and I’m starting to make really good progress on my projects. Transom is gelcoated and curing before sanding and polishing out, quarter berth areas are cleaned out, raw fiberglass has a fresh coat of paint, wiring is  all run, switch panel is rebuilt, 12volt socket installed and now the mast tabernacle has been cut open to evaluate the large cracks.

I looked at the color match on the first coat (picture Oct 3 above) and decided to tweek the color a bit. 5 drops of brown and 3 drops of yellow per 4 oz to JDI’s Oyster White Gel Coat.

Webmaster Note: Now what we need is a picture of the repaired and varnished wood trim, a back stay plate in place, a pretty name, and this particular project is done....

Standing by

November 5, 2013 - Wood trim update (edited)

As for the transom, after the gel coat is done, I have a 2” x 10” x 72” piece of Philippine Mahogany (on sale at Woodworkers Source for $45 vs $250+ for teak ) to turn into a transom rail. The original one was composed of what I assume to be project remnants from the factory.

 


 

 

 
   
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