Removed latch plate so we could sand the repair area and the rest of the bottom, prep for paint.
Flipped ZIP with Skipper's hoist so we can replace a bad patch on the deck. She looks kind of like a flying saucer.
Removed the deck hardware, which included the bow handle, mast collar, daggerboard retainer eyestrap, bridle syestraps, horizontal hinge plate and spring plate. The deck will get a fresh coat of West System 105 Epoxy with 207 Special Clear Hardener. Our Marine Carpenter friend Keith recommended that system to protect the wood, and since ZIP is stored out of the sun we did not need to add varnish on top of that. The finish has held up well for 7 years and looks great.
A common area for rot is under the coaming, the boats got stored on theri side a lot outdoors and rainwater and leaves collected there. The old patch did not look great and on closer inspection we found that it is failing. Not sure what the blond colored wood is but it was very hard.
We removed the coaming, which is screwed to a long cleat, which is screwed to the deck with #8 bronze x 1 inch wood screws about every twelve inches.
We traced around the area to be removed with Sharpie and gave it a nice smooth curve that will accept the letterbox patch easier. I say we, Skipper has to approve all of the cut lines, I am on probation after cutting a sculling notch in BARBASHELA back in 2016 without her permission. There is support structure under the deck, so we marked the locations of the 1/4 inch wide frame and the 3/4 inch wide stringer with tape so we would not cut through them. Next we drilled a 3/8th inch pilot hole for the jigsaw blade and cut the unsupported sections. When we got close to the frame and stringer we used DeWALT oscillating multi tool to carefully trim the old deck section away.
The deck thickness is 17/64th inches. Spoiler Alert, that truns out to be 1/4 inch A/B Marine Grade plywood. A/B means the face is A grade, vey few plugs and the back is B grade. The maximum core-gap size permitted is 1/8 inch. Its exposure durability rating is EXTERIOR and the glue used is a water resistant structural adhesive
ZIP telling tall tales to WINNIE and MARGARET ROSE after a day at the Boat Works.
Look close for the deck scarf. 8:1 scarf, the scarf is 8 times the thickness of the panel. So the scarf for a 1/4 inch panel runs 2 inches. The forward deck panel overlays the aft deck panel.
Since the deck was cleared off we made patterns from pattern plywood for the wooden Sunfish build. There are two panels that join just forward of the daggerboard trunk. We laid the pattern ply on the deck and traced around the edge of the deck with a Sharpie, then cut out the panels with a DeWalt jigsaw. We left about 1/8th of an inch around the perimeter so that the panels can be trimmed to fit on the new Sunfish. We also marked for the mid deck 2 inch scarf, so the panels overlap 2 inches amidships.
Aft deck pattern.
Log of ZIP.
