Almost ready for launch

[ctenidae]

Nearly there. This weekend should finish it off. We slap a couple coats of paint on the dinghy, secure a mooring spot, wait for the dock to be towed out, and let the games begin.

Full shot, just about everything on


Detail of the new thwarts/cupholders. The block in the middle is left over from the PO- nice piece, recycle, reduce, reuse, etc


Full blown interior:

[kokko]

A great job! What paint did you use on the interior?

[ctenidae]

A great job! What paint did you use on the interior?

Thanks- it's been fun.
We used Rustoleum throughout. The interior was done with their Topside marine paint, the exterior with the regular bucket paint. I don't think there's actually any difference.

[navahoIII]

Very nice job! I've always felt that a boat MUST look its best, after all it is such a relatively small environment that keeping it in "bristol fashion" does much to ensure that necessary feeling of well-being on the vast and unpredictable waters we sail. Well done!

I see you have not cut down your coamings. Good for you --- neither have I!

[GreenLake]

Wow! Nice. +1 on the coamings.

[seandwyer]

Plus 2 on the coamings!

[MrPlywood]

Well done.

[K.C. Walker]

Beautiful job! Believe me, you will be getting all kinds of comments about how nice your boat looks and not just from us.

As to those beautiful but uncomfortable coamings; this thread's got me inspired to buy a plug cutter. I think I'll try moving my coamings down.

KC

[ctenidae]

Thanks everyone- it's been fun (backbreaking, messy, and aggrevating at times, but fun). I just can't wait to get her back on the water.

More pics of the whole process are HERE

[navahoIII]

Wow! I just looked at all the pictures -- impressive work!

On the coamings. Does yours still have those long vinyl strips (our DSI is a 1961, so it's pretty much identical to yours) between the coaming and the side decks? I'm not happy with them and am wondering if there's a better way to 'seal' that narrow gap. Would caulking do?

[ctenidae]

Wow! I just looked at all the pictures -- impressive work!

On the coamings. Does yours still have those long vinyl strips (our DSI is a 1961, so it's pretty much identical to yours) between the coaming and the side decks? I'm not happy with them and am wondering if there's a better way to 'seal' that narrow gap. Would caulking do?

I'm not sure what the vinyl strips you're talking about are, so I'm going to guess "No." The PO had used latex caulk along that seam, but I fail to see the point- any water that gets up to there is going to come on over, anyway, so what's the point of sealing it? Unless we get out on the water and it suddenly makes sense, I'm going minimalist there.

[seandwyer]

Hey NavahoIII, I have the strips behind my coamings as well. To me, they are supposed to keep water out that crashes onto the bow and then runs back along the rails. for the most part mine still work, but I haven't removed the coamings either. My guess is - if i do remove them the strips would fall apart. If you don't want to caulk, a replacement material that comes to mind is something like Sill Seal - a material placed over the sills on top of foundations to act as an air gasket between lumber and concrete. It's made of something similar to what the pool noodles are made of. It's about 1/8" thick and will compress as you tighten the coamings down against it when reinstalling.

ctenidae - beautiful job! I love the color scheme too. So, how slippery is that deck? Looks like from the pictures you have a beautiful place to sail too!

[K.C. Walker]

In a previous thread about coaming gaskets GreenLake pointed out this thread that might be useful http://forum.daysailer.org/forum/viewtopi ... postdays=0 .

KC

[navahoIII]

Guys,

Thanks for the advice on the seal. I think you have a good idea Sean, in that a compressible substance makes sense in order to get a tight fit, as there is variance in how the wood meets the glass, some areas nice and tight, others letting light through. If the gasket doesn't show once in place, that would be all the better. Somehow those vinyl strips cheapen the aesthetics (and are very 1960's!), besides doing an unsatisfactory job of keeping water out. They are just too flimsy.

[ctenidae]

So, how slippery is that deck? Looks like from the pictures you have a beautiful place to sail too!

We'll see how slippery it is. With a wet hand, you actually get pretty good adhesion. Not sure toe prints are as grippy as finger prints, but we'll see. I say, if it's too slippery up there, sit back down and hand me a beer.

I'm really looking forward to this summer- Norwalk harbor is pretty nice, adn all the islanda are intriguing. We'll do a cross-Sound excursion to Long Island eventually, too.