Typhoon coaming

[Tstec]

I am replacing the coaming on my Typhoon. After removing it I saw that there are two drilled holes on the bottom of each board (starboard and port). The holes are at the ends of the boards. The holes may be as deep as 7" . The remains of a dowel (about 1/4") are in each hole. It looks like the dowels were used to reinforce the coaming to prevent splitting of the wood at the level of the deck. My questions are: is this the way the coaming was originally made and does this need to be duplicated when replacing the coaming?
Thanks, T Stec

[Jeff D]

I have replaced the coamings on 2 CDs. On my 1982 CD 22 there were dowels installed as you describe about 6" from the aft end - the coamings still split. On my 1985 Ty DS there were no dowels and the coamings did not split. My guess is that the dowels were factory installed - it would be hard to believe that a boat owner could drill a hole with a diameter that close to the thickness of the plank without having it break out.

[Tstec]

Jeff, thanks for the response. It's good to know that the dowels were part of the original design. Also good to know that you successfully replaced your coaming without replacing the dowels. I'm not sure what I will do. I think I can make a jig to drill a smaller diameter hole and use a bronze or g10 dowel. Maybe I should leave well enough alone.
TStec

[Jeff D]

Unless I had a drill press, I would be inclined to leave well enough alone. I replaced the coamings on my Ty DS 10 years ago and they still have not split. I don't sit/lean on the top of the coamings and I don't sand the teak very often. If I were really concerned about it I would apply a small piece of teak vertically toward the after end. Done right I think it would look like part of the original design. Some where on the board are pictures of someone's coaming repair that included such a brace - I thought it looked good.

[Tstec]

Thanks again. I'm going to leave it alone. The boat has already been out of the water too long
TStec