After 8 weeks of hard labor, the decks are DONE! And we’re really happy with the results.
Recap
We started this project in the spring of 2014 when we ripped off all the old teak. We filled in all the screw holes for the winter. In 2015 we cut off the top skin to replace the wet core underneath. We put the old skin back on and sealed it up with fiberglass and epoxy for another winter. After scraping several layers of paint off the coachroof we painted it in 2016. In between all of that we completely overhauled the cockpit and completed some other projects.
The Chainplates
The big hangup for us in getting the decks finished was the chainplates. We bought new bronze chainplates a couple of years ago. Once we got those installed we filled in the holes where they came through the deck.
Fairing
In May of this year we faired the decks with layers and layers of epoxy. In between all those layers we sanded and sanded and sanded. Luckily, Rich is a perfectionist about some things and he worked really hard until the decks were completely smooth.
Painting the Decks
A little over four weeks ago we primed the decks with Interlux Primkote. A week or so later we sprayed on the first coat of Interlux Perfection snow-white. The weather was against us with high winds for about a week so we couldn’t spray the second coat of Interlux Perfection snow-white until the first weekend of July.
Last weekend we masked off the deck for the non-skid and rolled on Interlux Perfection platinum and sprinkled Intergrip into the wet paint. The excess Intergrip powder was vacuumed up then we over-coated it with another coat of Interlux Perfection platinum. We had enough paint to put a third coat on the foredeck before we ran out.
What’s Next?
We have a few things to finish, like rebedding the stanchion bases and cleats, reinstalling the life lines, and refinishing the teak. Those all seem like such small projects compared to the decks. After those are done, we’re not sure what we’re going to start next. We certainly do not have a shortage of projects to finish (installing the water tanks, building a new battery box, installing a new battery charger/inverter, removing the old electrical panel and patching the hole in the wall, solar panels, and on and on.) We’re pretty burned out on boat work so we might just take a little break.