No More Leaky Decks!
At least that’s the idea. Apparently, KJ’s seams have been an issue for a long time, as it was one of the first things ABC asked me about when I put her back in their bareboat fleet. Poor Natalie and I have had both had drips on our heads in the night, especially during a rain after a dry spell. Not my most favorite way to wake up. In fact, it’s one of the few times I curse at my darling boat.
So having Captain B by my side to guide me, we began the process of ripping out the seams, pounding fresh cotton in (they haven’t used oakum in this boat), and recaulking her. Somewhere along the line, I got the idea that it was a terribly difficult and expensive job. Really, it’s not that hard, just laborious and time-consuming. And I still have more time than money, so off we go.
And as always, I leave the precision work to the captain. She’ll be nice and tight again soon!
experience
Fantastic I would love to see them! make sure that the fir ls dry and that the edges are sealed so the sealer really sticks (to the sides):o)) you probably have already noticed that the existing sealer sinks a bit ? that is where the planks have shrunk and stretched the sealer (I am guessing that the existing is Sikaflex or similar?) so it has to “stick” really well to the sides and as you can imagine not the bottom. alternatively Boiling pitch was the traditional method with Hokum, and as the planks shrunk with the heat the pitch spread to “take up” the difference. HTH
Don’t mind a bit, Rob ~ always good to hear alternatives! T, our decks are fir, not teak, and I’ve actually got a sealer picked out that I’m really excited to try. Will post pics as we go.
Now that is something I could stand to learn how to do. We’ve got a grocery bag of Oakum kicking around on the Bowie somewhere too. I’ve no teak decks however.
Great job, you are both doing! I have caulked many a teak and otherwise deck and find that an old file with the tang sharpened to a fine chistle point, heated and bent to 90 degrees is the easiest thing to scrape out the old sealant, as you can make the file (handle) into a comfortable item to work with by the adition of some taped on cloths. When using sikaflex I use wood sealer rather than the expensive sealer to seal the plank edges only and old audio tape placed in the bottom of the grove to stop adherance of the sikaflex to the caulking and it seems to work OK. Im sure you have your own way of doing it? but thought that I would mention it anyway, hope you dont mind. :o))
Seams your up to/down to the task….great photo,nice smile,great pose.No more drip problems I guess.Tony,St.Anthony.