With the initial hardware placement sorted, it's time to get down to the business of establishing waterways and taping around the hardware. Placement of every piece of deck hardware was considered, careful attention paid to insure no sheets chafe, and each lead is fair.
The decision was made to have a three inch waterway along the toerail, expanding to 4-1/2 inches at the transom. The radius at the bow was carefully taped to 3/4" matching the line on the aft side of the bow chalks.
With the deck hardware going down it seemed a good time to get the copper tubes for the dorade boxes sorted.
The decision was made to have a three inch waterway along the toerail, expanding to 4-1/2 inches at the transom. The radius at the bow was carefully taped to 3/4" matching the line on the aft side of the bow chalks.
With the deck hardware going down it seemed a good time to get the copper tubes for the dorade boxes sorted.
The hand made copper vent tube for the forward dorade ventilator was fit after silver soldering a traditional sweat joint with the bronze deck fitting. Proportions for the tube height are detailed in Olin Stephens' original type plan which is available from Sparkman & Stephens.
The completed fitting is screwed in place and bedded in butyl rubber tape.
The cabin top dorade boxes were also installed with their requisite copper tubing in place. Like the originals, the cabin top boxes fully encapsulate the vent tubing, insuring there is no chance of water ingress into the cabintop. The boxes themselves are bedded in a healthy quantity of butyl to insure no moisture can ever make it under the boxes.
The forward bases for the bow pulpit are bolted through the deck and screwed into the toerail using bronze tapped inserts. These allow for easy removal when varnishing. As the pulpit is wired for navigation lights, a small tube protrudes from the base to allow for wiring to enter the pulpit cleanly from under deck. The wires are never exposed. Typical Nevins, elegant and clean.
Small cover plates screw into the deck for each shroud tang. Like all the deck hardware, these are original.
Remaining hardware was all taped 3/4 inch once the waterways were established along the toerail.
For the deck we chose Awlgrip. The color is a custom mixture of Grand Banks Beige and Stark White. They were blended by eye until we achieved the hue of bleached & silvered teak, carefully matching the hue of the paint on the hull as no white is truly white. This was applied to a chip which was sent to Awlgrip who then created a custom color for their catalogue called Bonne Amie Beige.
The original decks were made by Nevins from plywood covered in No. 10 Cotton Duck cloth, bedded in white lead. For obvious reasons this is no longer a viable way to cover a deck. Beyond the obvious long term toxic consequences of bedding cloth in white lead, cotton covered decks fail with frightening frequency once the cloth is compromised.
Both Olin & Mitch raised the issue more than once during my visits back to Maine & Newport. Both strongly encouraged this concession to authenticity in the restoration which is why the deck remains the only place in the boat where we've used epoxy and glass.
Once all the the deck was taped a full coat of Awlgrip was rolled onto the deck, one person on port working in tandem with other to starboard.
A coating of Awlgrip Griptex texture beads were sprayed directly onto the wet paint using a simple, low cost, wall texture gun. After curing over night, excess beads were carefully vacuumed off the deck prior to top coating.
Paint & Griptex Application
For the deck we chose Awlgrip. The color is a custom mixture of Grand Banks Beige and Stark White. They were blended by eye until we achieved the hue of bleached & silvered teak, carefully matching the hue of the paint on the hull as no white is truly white. This was applied to a chip which was sent to Awlgrip who then created a custom color for their catalogue called Bonne Amie Beige.
The original decks were made by Nevins from plywood covered in No. 10 Cotton Duck cloth, bedded in white lead. For obvious reasons this is no longer a viable way to cover a deck. Beyond the obvious long term toxic consequences of bedding cloth in white lead, cotton covered decks fail with frightening frequency once the cloth is compromised.
Both Olin & Mitch raised the issue more than once during my visits back to Maine & Newport. Both strongly encouraged this concession to authenticity in the restoration which is why the deck remains the only place in the boat where we've used epoxy and glass.
Once all the the deck was taped a full coat of Awlgrip was rolled onto the deck, one person on port working in tandem with other to starboard.
A coating of Awlgrip Griptex texture beads were sprayed directly onto the wet paint using a simple, low cost, wall texture gun. After curing over night, excess beads were carefully vacuumed off the deck prior to top coating.
Over each of the two successive days additional coats of matte finish Awlgrip were applied to the non-skid.
Once the deck is fully cured the waterways will be cut in with the same color gloss Awlgrip.
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| Port side deck jewelry |
After curing overnight we pulled 'most' of the tape, and carefully positioned all the deck hardware. Tape was pulled using a 'floatie' to avoid walking on the still curing paint. Any remaining bits of tape will be pulled after a few days. A great deal of tape residue is remains, but it's better to wait a few days. Better safe than sorry.
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| Port side water tank fill. Some glossy patches remain visible as the flattening agent rises to the surface as the Awlgrip cures, a many day long process. |
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| Foredeck with forward dorade box fitted & chromed cleat pad, note holes for windlass |
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| Starboard side deck |
Tom's taping turned out perfect. The hardware all looks stunning on the freshly painted deck.
Thursday afternoon, as the sun emerged on cue for the Fourth of July weekend, Bonne Amie was moved into the sun to help cure the new paint. We may spend part of the day sunning in the cockpit tomorrow :)
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| Nanami approves |
