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Growing up on the coast of Florida, I never really knew how lucky I was. Back in the 1970s, before the internet and cell phones, the southwest coast of Florida was a hidden gem only starting to be polished. My father enjoyed the water. He fully embraced sailing and boating—we even vacationed nearby on the beaches. In his later days, he took to kayaking and, upon his passing, we honored his wish to be returned to the sea.
Over forty years later, the coast of Florida has changed; the “polished gem” shines so brightly that, every year, more folks take residence here. The sleepy little hometown I remember is no longer here. And, I must admit that along my path, although I live by the coast, I’ve drifted away from spending the time on the water as I did with my father.
Here and there, I do look for opportunities to stay in touch with our Mother Ocean. Sailing trips have given way to sunsets and sunrise walks on the beach. A Tartan 37 has given way to a model T37. Whether it's big or small, I keep the traditions alive until we get back out on the sea. To borrow a few lines from Jimmy Buffett once more...
I see a white sail
Skipping cross a blue bay
and I say Someday I will…
This morning I began by applying the wood filler to the back of the veneer strips. Here’s a photo of the strips with the blue tape showing through.
I smeared the wood filler into the groves between the strips with my finger.
Then I smoothed out the excess with a putty knife.
Here’s a progress photo.
Here’s the entire backside coated. I ended up letting it dry and then doing another coat over the first, since I could still feel the grooves between the strips. I then sanded it to make it all smooth.
When I first laid the boat deckside down on the board that I had drilled holes through in my previous step, I noticed that the board was warped, and the deck didn’t sit quite flush. So I decided to cut a piece of corrugated cardboard to match the board for the boat to rest on.
The idea is that the cardboard would give under the weighted boat and provide more of an even pressure to the deck when the epoxy was curing. I also wrapped the cardboard with Saran Wrap to prevent it accidentally becoming epoxied to the boat.
I taped around the mast sleeve and barney post to ensure no epoxy overrun got on those components.
I also taped over the rudder shaft post. Finally, I taped around the perimeter of the hull to help protect against epoxy run over.
With everything ready to receive the boat, I proceeded with mixing a clear coat of epoxy to apply to the wood deck.
Then I mixed pre-thickened epoxy and powder per the instructions, then applied that over the clear coat.
I kept this coat a little more runny than typical to allow it to spread easier.
The hull was now ready to receive the deck.
Using the pins as a guide, I start from the stern laying the deck in place.
Then I slowly worked my way forward. I found I had to remove the tape from the barney post and mast sleeve since the holes I made for them were snug.
You can see how the pins work well as a guide.
Here's another view of how the pins line up in the holes.
After the veneer deck was completely in place, I taped it down to the hull and then flipped it over on the Saran Wrap covered cardboard I had prepared. As I again used pavers for weight, you can see the boat sitting on the cardboard atop the board.
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