sailing casita

So when you get to the boat after a week or two, open the companionway and climb down, . . . .  you notice a “boat smell” . . .?  It goes away fast.  You don’t notice anything smelly during your cruise.  The next time you leave your boat closed, then return, you notice that same “boat smell”.  The smell is not bad, but what the heck?

We left our boat for a about 10 days, when we came back we noticed the smell.  Then we noticed some damp wood around the port lights.

Well there was no wind so we looked further.

We had leaks around the deck hand rail mount bolts.  The moisture dripped through the deck onto the headliner then ran to the cabin sides  and into the wood.  This happening over the last 30 or so years really ruined the teak veneer.

The culprit hand rail bolt leak!

This means we have to rebed the rest of the deck hardware and replace the headliner.  This is a really big project.

Getting serious.

Drilled holes for drying the core.

Another dry void to repair by drilling and injecting epoxy.  We had three wet voids and one dry void to repair.  It was about two quarts of epoxy in all.

Drying the wet core.

Removing the bad veneer.

New paint!

New composite laminate head liner and trim.

V berth trimmed in white.  ( the blue is masking tape, waiting for the paint to dry.)

Very yachty!

We also washed and oiled the interior woodwork, an all day task.

This is a big job.  Rebedding deck hardware, repairing deck voids, and replacing the headliner.  Plan well and take your time to do this one.