Day 9 - A bit more repair to deck and adding toe-rails

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As of the previous set of steps, I had thought I would be successful with my method for securing a couple of loose deck strips - I was not. So I used CA (cyanoacrylate) or SuperGlue. It worked perfectly:


The next step was actually part of the reason I took a break from the project. I couldn't figure out how I was going to do a toe-rail around the edge of the deck and get it to look good in the transition from my painted hull to my varnished plank deck. I worked it out and ordered some mahogany strips that are about ¼" wide and ⅛" thick:


Once my repair was set on my few loose deck planks, I proceeded with attaching the toe rail pieces. I started in the middle of the deck edge, applying a few drops of glue in a short line about ½" long from the edge of the piece toward the transom. The reason I started here is that the deck is curved along the length of the boat but is relatively straight amidships. Securing the end will enable me to bend the piece slightly as I work my way toward the back of the boat, conforming to the curve of the boat and glueing every couple of inches or so:


I only applied SuperGlue every couple of inches because there is a slight gap at the edge of the toe rail where it meets the side of the hull, due to the deck plank thickness. I will be filling this gap in with epoxy to make the toe rail and the hull sides a seamless single piece that will be painted. The epoxy will give me the extra holding power I need:


At the bow, the two toe rails are cut to come together - perfection not required here if you are painting the toe rails, as I am:


At the transom, I have decided to stop the toe rails where the deck planks stop. I will add some epoxy to the transition and later taper these ends to smoothly fade into the transom. The transom itself will be painted:


Unfortunately, I did not get photos of the next step, adding pre thickened epoxy with phenolic to the gap all the way around the toe rail where it meets the hull. I used a fairly thick mixture and a flat edge to smooth the epoxy flush. I let the whole thing rest overnight. You can get a feel for what I did with the epoxy in the photos that follow on the next day.

Comments

  1. RobSeptember 7, 2015 at 4:11 PM

    I'm really liking your deck / trasome layout with toerail. Your curved transome is a nice touch. I nay consider this.

    I'm thinking about a vertical gunwale along the sides to match ip with an overlapping toerail.

    ReplyDelete

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