Putting the Deck Hardware to Bed

Damn, there was more hardware than I remembered taking off. PLUS, I really wanted to add more to the boat. The picture above shows some, not all, of the job ahead. Two areas I really wanted to spend some extra time thinking about and doing a good job on were: the mast step hardware and the chain plates. 

The bow pulpit and the anchor roller are also key areas that I wanted to beef up.

WAIT!! I need to glue the boat back together!

Oh my, that really sucked. Now what is that that I glued the boat back together with?

Jamestown Distributers Thixlo premixed epoxy. I know - bold move. I assure you that I have read extensively on the pros and cons of premenently glueing the hull and deck together. It was a very informed decision to bond this joint for once and for all.

Enough on that. Now time to focus on mast hardware.

When I bought the boat the compression post had been cut out and I didn't know it. Luckily someone from the Com-Pac users group pointed this out to me. This would of been a painful thing to learn the hard way. UUHH, I don't even want to think about it.

I modified the mast step and made it stronger. I also added a SS plate to attach some pulleys and what have you. I used a piece of maple for the compression post.

A few more screws, some more 4000, and some cleaning. It almost looks like I can go sailing!

Yes, I did not paint the cockpit till the bitter end of the project. I learned this trick the hard way. When I refinished my Pearson 26 I painted the cockpit before finishing the job and basically destroyed all off my hard work by mostly working out of the cockpit...which is what you do on a sailboat. It never looked the same after dropping tools on the fresh paint, spilling various chemicals, and of course grinding dirt into the paint. Yes I could of been more careful or I could just paint the cockpit after everything was done. :)