Teak Decks Are Done!

We'll bet you never thought it would happen, but yes, the teak decks have been completely refurbished now.  There are people who have told us that we're crazy (like many of our marina neighbors!), but we like the teak decks.  After we've been out cruising a while, we may feel differently.  But for now, we really like them and are proud of the refurbishment results.

The last few parts of the decking involved the scupper grates and the decking under the windlass.  You can see the boards that have been refurbished (they're lighter in color) up to the decking under the windlass.  With the windlass disassembled and removed, the remaining boards were finished.

Windlass Disassembled For Removal

Removing the windlass was not as easy as we had hoped.  But then, it's a boat.  So "easy" is a relative term.  "Easy" to us is still land-easy, not boat-easy.  We found that the windlass had been installed using 3M 5200.  For those of you not familiar with 5200, it is a permanent adhesive.  But, perseverance prevails and we removed the windlass by drilling out two of the six bronze bolts.  (This "we" really means "Mike".)

The inner forestay (which is used with the staysail) also had to be removed, so the last triangle of decking could be refinished.  You can see the two pieces furthest forward that form a triangle.  The inner forestay is bolted onto these decking pieces.  Then below the deck, the original installation used fender washers on the bolts.  Mike reinforced this by installing a backing plate (using 3M 5200, a good application here) on the underside of the deck.

Without forestay (topside)

Reinforcement for inner forestay (underside)

And finally, the finished product was something we are proud of.  Whether or not you are a fan of teak decking, you have to admit that it looks pretty good.

The last little pieces that were refurbished were the grates over the drains to the scuppers.  They just didn't look right as they were.  So the boards and screws were replaced and new plugs over the screws.  Now everything looks like (and almost all of it is) new.

Before and After Scupper Grates

Our Sadness

We haven't blogged in a while, and for that we apologize.  This Fall has been packed with many family activities.  If you're wondering where we are, we are still in the house, on land.  We have decided to postpone our Southern journey for this winter (2013-2014) due to family matters.  That said, we are still in Maryland for this winter, making the best of the weather. 

We also want to tell you how sad we are that Zander, our mackerel tabby, became ill and took us on an emotional 3-week ride in September and October which ended with an obvious, yet painful decision.  We miss him so much and really loved our short trips with him and looked forward to having him on board with us full time.  RIP Zander.  You left us way too soon.

 

We will attempt to catch up on our blog with the work that was finished in the Fall and what we are planning for the winter.  Mike is back at work for a while, so we're also re-building the cruising kitty after having gone a little over budget.  But hey, it's a boat, so it's what is expected.