October 5-6, 2002 One of the projects for this year is to resurrect the old teak woodwork on deck, starting with the toe rail. One of the reasons we are doing this is because the teak, as it is now, is only a couple of seasons away from literally falling apart. The rail has been left raw for many seasons, and is badly dried out in some areas, and is actually rotting in other areas, due to trapped moisture. We decided to get hold of the situation now, when I should be able to simply sand and make a few minor repairs, rather than waiting till I need to completely replace everything.

Sandpaper reveals clear wood

Last week I spent about 20 minutes one afternoon after work with some 60 grit sandpaper to see how much sanding would be required to bring back the teak. I was pleased to see that under the weathered grey, the teak actually looked pretty good, and I decided to "go for it."

First I removed the t-track for the jib fairleads, which was mounted on the rail. I wanted to move these tracks both forward, and inboard for a better lead anyway, so I would be removing them anyway. This was more of a pain than it should have been, since the machine screws were bent, but after about an hour of swearing, off they came.

I started sanding by hand, but after about an hour or so, I gave up: the 60 grit paper was removing almost as much flesh as wood! I found that my 1/4 sheet palm sander worked great however. The steel rubrail acted as a guide to keep the sander from slipping onto the hull on the outboard side of the rail, and by keeping the sander moving smoothly, I was able to make relatively quick work of the initial sanding, taking only about 5 hours over 2 days.

Areas of rot repaired

There are a few areas of rot, mostly right around the bungs, which I am cutting out, and making new teak patches for. Most of these areas are very small, and are at the bungs, so I have been able to basically just excise a larger rectangular bung, and cut a small patch to fit in.

October 7-11, 2002 Over the next week I spent more time sanding, and replacing bungs, as well as repairing a few of the damaged areas. This was not particularly difficult work, but needed to be spread over several days to allow for glue to dry. Additionally, I had a couple of the shallow bungs pop out when I chiseled them down, so I need to reglue those ones, adding yet another day to the project!

I also cut the aftermost ends of the toerail where they connect to the taffrail. The old arrangement provided only a tiny (1/4 inch) hole drilled through the toerail to drain any water from the poopdeck. This was woefully inadequate, frequently plugging with debris. Now we have about a 1 inch wide opening between the rail and the taffrail, which should allow the water to flow freely overboard. I still need to fair this area, and fill the screwhole left from removing the end of the rail.

Finally, on Friday I was able to lay on the first coat of varnish, thinned 50% with mineral spirits. The forcast was for a chance of showers, but I decided to chance it, since it was only the first coat anyway. As it turned out, it stayed dry until after midnight, by which time the varnish was plenty dry.

I'm hoping to get another 2 or 3 coats on before winter, with the balance of the 10 total coats I'm targeting, coming in the spring.