new owners and deck maintenance

[macwho]

My wife and I purchased hull 6152, Moon Shadow, 30 TRBSWK walk thru last July. We spent most of last year doing maintenance that was let go. We also lost our 150 Geona during a gale while at dock on Lake Erie. Thank the Lord for INS. This year we are overhauling the mast, rerouting all control lines to the cockpit and I want to epoxy and rebed all thru deck fittings. I am retired and planned to spend the Month of April to do this. Am I biting off too much?

 

[Stu Jackson]

Am I biting off too much?

Not at all. This is a GREAT thing to do.

Congratulations on your new boat.

Don't forget the chainplates. They are (should be) part of normal preventative maintenance, but too many skippers seem to forget them. It's NOT tricky, do one at a time. Here's how we do ours:

Chainplate Rebedding 101 - with Bed It with Butyl from Maine Sail

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,7265.msg49430.html#msg49430

Good luck.

 

[ArkadiyS]

Should this be done, even when they do not show any signs of leaks (at least visually)?

 

[Jim 5757]

I think most boat owners would agree that once things show signs of leakage, there will be repairs involved. (And don't ask how I know this!)

 

[Calif. Ted]

Should this be done, even when they do not show any signs of leaks (at least visually)?

When asked how often the CP's needed to be re-bedded I once heard Gerry Douglas answer "every couple years". If there are rust or water stains on the interior plates they are leaking, only some of mine showed signs but they were all leaking. In some the white "whatever" originally used was almost liquid and appeared to have been diluted by water trapped between inner and outer plates. For this reason I believe only the deck plates should be sealed, if water gets past them I want it to leak out the plates in the cabin so I can see it.
On my '02 boat I found that the edges of the deck holes cut for chainplates and hatches had been coated with resin to prevent water intrusion into the deck. This is not always the case however and water here can saturate the deck.