We applied more coats of TotalBoat WetEdge BlueGlo White and Interlux Brightside Medium Blue, First coat for the frames and interior, second coat for the seats and gunwale. Also cut a rub strip for the gunwal out of cypress and attached it with #6 x 3/4 inch Frearson Head silicone bronze screws.
Released the rails, refastened the toe rail and rub rail with thickened epoxy. Screws to hold them to shape until epoxy dries. The thicker epoxy fills gaps and ensures a better bond between pieces. This product is good for use below the waterline, where ZSA ZSA's rail will spend a lot of time, it can be drilled, shaped, sanded and painted. It is also flexible, not as rigid as straight epoxy, so it will move with the wood a bit. We chose Jamestown Distributors TotalBoat THIXO because it mixes in the mixing tube, no guessing on how much filler to add to straight epoxy. It is also faster to mix up and use, but the cost is more per drop than resin/hardener/filler. Pettit makes FLEXPOXY, we used it a lot and like it, but it runs several dollar more per tube.
Epoxy for the deck edge seam, rub rail and toe rail.
As the pieces were pulled together with screws we looked for epoxy to barely squeeze out, which indicates that the joint is full. That is all the pressure that epoxy needs to bond, it does not need high pressure like glue, in fact too much pressure can squeeze the epoxy out of the joint. After the piece is attached we use a paint stick to remove larger bits of squeeze out, then slide a gloved finger along the perpendicular seam to make a curved fillet. This fillet helps shed water away from the joint. Be careful running rags or paper towels along seams as that can dredge the epoxy out of the seam. Another tip is to check the seam after it dries, sometimes the wood soaks the epoxy into the joint and it might be desired to apply another small bead of product. Here is a seam after we radiused the joint.
Coated the inside of the mast trunk and daggerboard trunk with epoxy.
3 tubes of THIXO for the seam, mast step and daggerboard trunk.
Alcort wooden collection, (L-R) 1950s Super Sailfish, 1965 Sunfish, 1950s Standard Sailfish.
Ripped the trim down to 3/4 inches wide to make the toe rail. It will cover the rub rail and deck seam.
Attached the rub rail first, then fit the toe rail. Left a few drain slots on the stern. Trimmed to length with the Japanese pull saw. Shaped with the Shinto rasp and 220 grit sandpaper. Temp fastened with small screws.
Eased the rails up a bit on the stern and bow per Culler.
Worked on ZSA ZSA's deck, but first a PSA. Here is the remnant of a keeper chain for the $50 horizontal hinge pin of the rudder assembly. They don't keep very well, we suggest attaching the keeper to the rudder vs the deck.
We dredged out the seam a bit with a half moon blade on a DeWALT multi oscillating tool.
There MIGHT have been a leak here, the deck panel was popped loose at the bow. We used our saw to clean out some old adhesive.
New shop stool CARMEN put to work with WALDO.
Busted the mast step loose, someone had attached it with two lag bolts, normally takes 4 #12 bronze screws. It's off now, and we can see that the deck was replaced at one point, probably how the foam blocks got inside back when.
Removed the corroded coaming fasteners.
Used a syringe to inject TotalBoat THIXO thickened epoxy into the deckedge seam. It was easier on my hand to dispense the THIXO and mix it by hand vs using the mixing tip, then trowel it into the syringe. We also filled old fastener holes.
Put a sealer coat of TotalBoat Halcyon Amber Varnish on the mast step.
Made a pattern of the plank with parchment paper.
Sanded and sanded and sanded. 40 grit on the DeWALT random orbit sander and Black and Decker belt sander, lots of old paint to get gone. Smoothed the scarf.
Primary goal was to get the surface smooth and put some tooth on the old paint so it will hold primer.
Started putting some bend in the toe rail. Spoiler Alert! It didn't work.
We interrupt our regularly scheduled program for Trailer Tetris. CYANE's trailer back to the trailer park, SMEDLEY to the driveway.
13 Dec 18:
Dry fit the rub rail, trimmed the lower edge up a bit per Culler style. The toe rail will be trimmed at the bow to make room for the bow handle.
Cut the toe rail down to 3/4 inches wide so it would take a bend. It will cover the top of the rub rail and overlap the deck. Both the rub rail and toe rail be permanently fastened with THIXO and will protect the deck seam. Drilled countersink and pilot hole with combination Fuller bit, dry fit with #6 silicone bronze wood screws. To make the toe rail curve we placed screws every 3 inches, otherwise a screw was used every 12 inches to hold the trim in position. We could have used deck screws for this, we recommend using a screw with a star drive or square drive and to always drill pilot holes, otherwise the narrow trim will split.
The current plan is to remove the screws after the THIXO cures, fill the screw holes with epoxy based TotalFair. Once the trim is on we will slightly round the cut edge so it is not sharp, if we remember we will put it on the outside edge or work it over before it is installed with a thumb plane.
Bought some pine window trim at Lowes to be used as toe rails and rub rails. I was going to drive way out to the mill for a piece of cypress and then spend the rest of the day trying to rip a really long piece, Skipper suggested checking the pre made trim at Lowes. We found pieces that are very close to what came off, our adaptation will have the toe rail lap over the rub rail, all sealed up with epoxy. These rails will cover the deck edge seam and protect it, an improvement on the previous design that left the seam exposed.
The toe rails will need to take some edge bend up at the bow, so we are using the trailer and 2 days of rain to pre bend them.
We did a leak test on ZSA ZSA last week and were happy to see that the new bottom and keel did not leak. The leak test was conducted by spraying the hull with a Dawn liquid soap and water mix, then blowing air into the hull with low pressure, low volume air from our Porter Cable into the stern drain plug opening. We were not surprised to see some leaks around the deck seam, daggerboard trunk and mast step.
Daggerboard trunk leaks are primarily where the trunk is attached to the deck and keel longerons, most likely the adhesive has dried out over the last 60 years.
Deck seam leaked, pretty much all the way around.
Mast step bubblerama.
We removed the rub rail and toe rail so we could get to the seam and seal it up, along with other fastener holes. We tried to take the fasteners out with a screwdriver and save the rails for reuse, but the heads were too corroded. We next tried to pry the trim off gently and pull the fasteners through the trim, but the trim was too brittle and snapped. We also discovered several areas of rot in the trim, so it will be used to size new trim and we will cut that from cypress.
In other news, we received the half oval stainless steel trim to be used on the stem and forward keel strip, purchased from Jamestown Distributors. We bought a 6 foot piece, we will need 18 inches for ZSA ZSA. Guess we'll need to build more boats!
And we attached the rudder keeper chain to the rudder. We prefer it staying with the rudder versus being attached to the hull, especially for long road trips.
