Ok, I guess I'm known for taking on some tough projects.
So,,, here's my latest.
Everyone out there with a Hunter 49 who loves their boat, put up your hand.
Ok, now.. (Honestly), how many of you like the Flexiteak covering on your seats? I see a few hands went down.
Well, I really didn't like it. In fact it drove me nuts.
Part of the problem was that when my boat was originally commissioned , the dealer (mistakenly), oiled it, turning it into a dark brown blotchy mess. Yuk!
If anyone remembers my post from 4 months ago, i showed how to remove these panels. Mine were stuck down with 37 pounds of 5200. Not a simple thing to undo.
So, with the panels removed, my plan was to put on fresh Flexiteak. It would have looked a lot better.
But,, I decided to go for broke.... Literally
And I put down real teak panels
Here's how it all worked out
This was a big job (in addition to removing the old panels)
I had to sand all of the traces of the 5200 off completely
Then all surfaces had to be prepped "squeaky clean
Mask everything
Apply epoxy to surface & trowel very carefully to minimize squeeze out
Now, the next step is where I made an error in judgement
The panels aren't flat, nor are the seats
The recommended procedure is to drill holes, counterbore, install teak bungs, etc.
The screws will clamp the panels down
Well, I didn't want to (no pun intended) screw around with teak bungs. It's just a whole bunch of work, they end up leaking over time, and they are hard to get perfect.
So,, I thought I'd just put weights on the panels. But what to use???
Oh I know. I'll just go into our marine yard and lug 15 dead 12 volt batteries up into my cockpit. I near killed myself from the effort, plus it didn't do the job. ( not enough pressure to take out localized warping)
I then had a better idea
I simply drilled 1/8" holes into the black caulking areas where I needed the screws.
Installed #6 self-tapping screws, which were more than enough
Then, once the epoxy hardened up. Simply removed the screws and shot the black caulking compound into the 1/8" holes. You'd never find the holes with a magnifying glass. Much easier than teak bungs!!
And then I had to carefully caulk the perimeters of all the teak pieces.
This required a bit of patience, and very good prep with the masking.
I purposely went with teak that was higher than the seat height.
2 reasons:
Teak wears out, so the thicker this is, the better
Secondly, when it rains, water won't be sitting in lower caulking depressions, seeping into the seams. It will be running off the teak to the Fiberglas level
All in, I really like the look of this.
I'd like to thank Teakdecking Systems for such excellent service, and superb quality.
And,,, Eddie Breeden at Hunter for all his help. Thanks Eddie!!!!!
So,,, here's my latest.
Everyone out there with a Hunter 49 who loves their boat, put up your hand.
Ok, now.. (Honestly), how many of you like the Flexiteak covering on your seats? I see a few hands went down.
Well, I really didn't like it. In fact it drove me nuts.
Part of the problem was that when my boat was originally commissioned , the dealer (mistakenly), oiled it, turning it into a dark brown blotchy mess. Yuk!
If anyone remembers my post from 4 months ago, i showed how to remove these panels. Mine were stuck down with 37 pounds of 5200. Not a simple thing to undo.
So, with the panels removed, my plan was to put on fresh Flexiteak. It would have looked a lot better.
But,, I decided to go for broke.... Literally
And I put down real teak panels
Here's how it all worked out
This was a big job (in addition to removing the old panels)
I had to sand all of the traces of the 5200 off completely
Then all surfaces had to be prepped "squeaky clean
Mask everything
Apply epoxy to surface & trowel very carefully to minimize squeeze out
Now, the next step is where I made an error in judgement
The panels aren't flat, nor are the seats
The recommended procedure is to drill holes, counterbore, install teak bungs, etc.
The screws will clamp the panels down
Well, I didn't want to (no pun intended) screw around with teak bungs. It's just a whole bunch of work, they end up leaking over time, and they are hard to get perfect.
So,, I thought I'd just put weights on the panels. But what to use???
Oh I know. I'll just go into our marine yard and lug 15 dead 12 volt batteries up into my cockpit. I near killed myself from the effort, plus it didn't do the job. ( not enough pressure to take out localized warping)
I then had a better idea
I simply drilled 1/8" holes into the black caulking areas where I needed the screws.
Installed #6 self-tapping screws, which were more than enough
Then, once the epoxy hardened up. Simply removed the screws and shot the black caulking compound into the 1/8" holes. You'd never find the holes with a magnifying glass. Much easier than teak bungs!!
And then I had to carefully caulk the perimeters of all the teak pieces.
This required a bit of patience, and very good prep with the masking.
I purposely went with teak that was higher than the seat height.
2 reasons:
Teak wears out, so the thicker this is, the better
Secondly, when it rains, water won't be sitting in lower caulking depressions, seeping into the seams. It will be running off the teak to the Fiberglas level
All in, I really like the look of this.
I'd like to thank Teakdecking Systems for such excellent service, and superb quality.
And,,, Eddie Breeden at Hunter for all his help. Thanks Eddie!!!!!
