Reinstallation of the Foredeck Cleat & Patching / Fairing Work

July 13, 2015

Working for an hour and a half in the evening, I was able to begin work on the foredeck cleat.  The process here would be to overdrive the old fastener holes, fill with thickened epoxy(cabosil / colloidal silica), pre-drill a pilot hole, and then tap for new silicon bronze machine screws.  It was happy that I decided to remove the foredeck cleat and properly install this deck fitting.  Using a 3/4" forstner bit I drilled through the top skin, through the coring, and then into some sort of thickened polyester fill.  Once I made it through the top skin, I immediately noticed a discoloration in the coring and some deterioration of the core in the port-forward hole.

I thoroughly inspected the new oversized holes, and made one additional "inquiry" behind the port-forward hole due to the condition of the core.  I was happy to see that the moisture damage was isolated to a roughly 1/2" to 3/4" diameter around the old fastener holes.  Wetting out the core with epoxy and then filling with the structural mixture will take care of the slight deterioration in the port-forward hole as well as the others.

I finished by sanding around the work area to prepare for filling and fairing.

 Next on the to-do list was to water wash the previous day's patching and fairing work, sand the work surfaces, clean the surfaces with solvent and generally prepare for more filling.  I was happy to have finally completed fairing the surfaces around where the old motor bracket was installed.  What was left to work on was the old stern light and the haws pipe deck fitting.  I mixed up some epoxy and thickened it with micro balloons.  Using a 6" knife, I spread a thin layer over the recent patch on the deck surface where the haws pipe was installed.  The last application of fairing compound nearly brought the surface to fair, so this should be the last application. 

I applied a piece of plastic over the stern light patch and traced for a couple patterns for the 1708 biaxial - this dished out area went a little deeper than I had intended, and I was creeping up to just beneath the gelcoat surface with additional patches so that I could complete the work with an application or two of fairing compound. 

Running my hand across recent work, I did notice an area that needed a bit more fairing compound - the starboard quarter of the transom where a small stainless steel bracket was fitted.

Total Time: 1.5 Hrs.