7th Heaven

I wanted to send along a quick update on 7th Heaven. In the past year I've completed two major projects: installing shore power and reworking the hull-deck joint. The shore power was nothing out of the ordinary, but I thought other owners might benefit from a story on my hull-deck project.

My boat had a thick, black bead of caulk along the inside of the toe rail when I bought it and water stains inside the lockers. I had no idea what I was in for when I decided to tackle this project. I removed the toe rails by carefully drilling out the teak bungs and backing out the 40 year old screws with a flat head screwdriver. I was extremely careful with the wood as I planned to refinish the rails and reuse them. I'm not sure it was worth the effort to do so, but they turned out quite nice. Roughly 1 in 3 screws shattered on removal and had to be drilled out. The rails came off surprisingly well once the screws were out and I spent a couple afternoons sanding them back into good condition. The 40 year old caulk under the rails and in the joint was garbage. I'd compare it to a mixture of sawdust and chewing gum. If not for the tabbing on the inside of the joint I think this would have failed in any real conditions.

I cleaned out the joint with acetone and then used a belt sander to remove the deck gelcoat immediately under where the rails sit as it was cracked and would not allow a waterproof seal. I laid down a coat of epoxy over this, used nails every 6" to evenly space the hull-deck joint and pumped in 5200. After a week of curing, I removed the nails and temporarily reinstalled the toe rails using 5200 and screws on every 4th location. I left this loose for a week while the caulk cured, then replaced all the screws with stainless through bolts and fender washers and tightened everything down. I did the starboard side in the fall and the port side this spring. It took me approximately 160hrs of work and 14 tubes of 5200, but I haven't had any leaks since and the joint should be much stronger now.

I was so caught up in the project that I didn't take any pictures. I've attached one I took of the finished work though.

The first project was a Mid Boom Sheeting arrangement that moves the mainsheet completely out of the cockpit. My goal was to open up the cockpit so I could install a really big Bimini. In the worst knock down conditions, there does not seem to be any structural issues with the coach roof supporting the mainsheet loading. The only disadvantage to this arrangement is that the mainsheet is out of the reach of the helmsman.

The second project is a hinge arrangement for the lazarette hatch. The boat came with the hatch just sitting over the lazarette. You had to pry it open, and put it aside while you dug around in the lazarette. With this arrangement, the hatch is easy to open, and I always know where the hatch is.

The last project is a Chart Table on the starboard side, replacing the settee and pilot berths. I have installed a swivel captains chair so I can have a comfortable chair to read in.