Now that the coaming extensions are installed, it’s time to get some more wood out of the way so I can do some filling and fairing on the glass.
Back when we were pulling up all the teak decking early this year, we briefly entertained the idea of keeping and restoring the teak in cockpit. After weighing the cost/hassle/beauty factors, it was an easy decision to just get rid of it entirely and go with the KiwiGrip non-skid that we’re planning for the rest of the decks. Several months ago the lid to the propane locker crumbled into little pieces, and the larger lid to the lazarette isn’t far behind. It scares me to even stand on it, because one of us is ultimately going to end up falling into the engine room in the near future. I pulled up some of the cockpit teak back when I installed the new fiberglass scupper drains so that I could set them flush with the side decks. We’re in the middle of a drought here in California, and truth be told, with all the topside projects i have left to finish it wouldn’t break my heart if it didn’t rain for another couple years. But winter is just around the corner, and I need to get the last of the “leaky teaky” sealed up just in case it does happen to rain this year.
As with the rest of the deck stories we’ve told you in the past, it was just more of the same old prying, unscrewing, scraping, and sanding. Mundane and repetitive, to say the least. But now it’s all gone, and it’s time to start mixing up thickened epoxy and squirting it into the hundred of screw holes that need to be filled. Then I can spend some time building the new fiberglass lids for the propane and cockpit lockers.
Don’t get me wrong; I like the looks of a sailboat with teak decks. Just as long as I’m not the one that has to pay for it, install it, or maintain it. Honestly, I’m not missing it, and I think the cockpit looks quite a bit better without it.
