bilge cover rebuild, first post

[mathiasben]

Hello,

I purchased a Cape Dory 27! Hull number 220, and boy do I have plenty of stuff to work on and questions. The boat filled up with water and the cabin sole was destroyed, so I'm in the process of figuring out what to order to replace. the bilge cover is really falling apart, it won't support any weight at all and I'd like to get some guidance on what ought to be done. Can I lay new fiberglass around the edges to rebuild it? Or just use epoxy all around to build it up?

The teak toerail at the bow has come apart, and the toerail around the rest of the boat is damp underneath in places. I figure that it'll have to be removed and resealed, but unsure of what type of adhesive should be used to re-bed it. The boat is dry inside, no funny smells.
\
other than those things the boat is in good shape. What is recommended for bottom paint? I'm going to put it on the hard next month for painting and to service the frozen in place seacocks. How do I know to put in place new thru-hulls? I think I have a good idea that I can use the seacocks that are there once I've taken them apart and gotten them working good again, but I'm less sure about the thruhulls themselves, do those ever need to be replaced?

thanks for any ideas this board may have, I'm sure I'll have many questions as the project progresses.

[jen1722terry]

Most of your projects are beyond my skill set, particularly the woodworking. Others will chime in with sage advice. Teak, even teak plywood, is very expensive, so save and recondition as much as you can. I've re-bedded some deck teak with Butyl-rubber caulk. Some use BoatLife, some use silicone.

I had a frozen seacock that I freed with a bit of heat from a heat gun. Disassembly is pretty easy. Spartan Marine makes a good lapping compound to recondition the seacock and good grease. Check the backing blocks on each thru-hull to ensure they are sound.

For the bottom, many of the owners have stripped their bottoms and rolled on several layers of epoxy barrier coat. Lots of work, but will protect your hull for years, maybe decades, from osmotic blistering. See Jim Walsh's excellent postings and photos on his bottom job.

Bottom paint depends on where you keep the boat, whether you plan on racing, any local restrictions on paint type, and whether you plan to scrub the bottom yourself (or use a diver) a few times each season. Many of us like the ablative paints. I like water-based ablative paints like Petitt Hydrocoat for ease of application and low VOCs, but that's just my personal opinion.

Most of all, don't get discouraged. These old boats are worth the work, and all of us owners deeply appreciate someone bringing one back to safe sailing shape. Ask us questions. Usually one or more of use has done a project you planning, made all the mistakes and is happy to share the wisdom. Enjoy the process.

Jenn and Terry

[mathiasben]

Thanks for that! I have the Spartan seacock grease, as the previous owner was good enough to leave that behind. new backing plates are in order, as they are falling apart.


I do plan to put a barrier coat onto the bottom before painting, hoping I don't find any blisters.

[mathiasben]

really interested in hearing thoughts on how to rebuild the area the bilge cover rests upon.

[mathiasben]

So instead of rebuilding the bilge cover area I did this. Cut a section of king starboard one inch longer and wider than the bilge space and covered the rest of the floor in LonSeal mahogany and teak marine flooring. I think it turned out pretty good. I didn't get the lines exactly straight so the floor looks a little funny, but it's a functional floor that will stand up to abuse.

[Steve Laume]

If a "little funny" is clean and durable sole that is ready to go sailing, then you did a great job. You may have that boat for a long time and you could have spent most of the summer and a lot of money to do any better. It looks great, go sailing, Steve.