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Here are photos of the original coamings (fore and aft ends), showing the dowels which were exposed by planing the board to remove eroded grain. Although 2 dowels look 'tapered', I believe this is because they were drilled at a slight angle, which made them look tapered after planing.
It appears to me that the function of these dowels is to prevent 'splitting' of the wood where it enters and exits the cockpit. The wood within the cockpit is under pressure (bending force) while the upper portion outside the cockpit is not. I believe these dowels were intended to prevent cracking from these uneven stresses along the grain. My boat is a later model (#794 out of less than 850), and these dowels may not be present in earlier models. They may have been added later in production to address splitting of the coamings. So, If you are replacing your coamings, it would probably be wise to duplicate these dowels.
The original coamings (shown) have been planed to remove the degraded surface wood. They are now less than 1/2" thick (13/32" actually). Thus replacement is necessary.
I saw the pictures when first posted, and they're still here. Unless they took a brief intermission, perhaps your browser (or something) is blocking images?
Judith
To unpathed waters, undreamed shores.
The Winter’s Tale. Act iv. Sc. 4.
1981 CD27 - Confirmed - I found them also when I was refinishing the boards. The exposed ends were rotted about 1" or more. I dug out rotted pieces then bored to fresh wood. I then filled with an epoxy/wood dust mix to seal the hole. The boards must be thoroughly dry before epoxy sealing.
Several times I have found rot in coamings and other similar places because of people overlooking a common mistake.
Whenever a limber or weep hole is cut in the bottom of a board and it isn't properly sealed or waterproofed, end grain is exposed which allows moisture to enter the wood cells and this eventually promotes wood rot.
Most of the time, the coaming has compound in place between the aft end, where it sits on the aft deck, but that doesn't seal the notch or hole that allows accumulated water to flow off.
Many times it is an honest mistake to not remember to seal all exposed wooden surfaces. Out of sight, out of mind (until it's too late).
