Taipan 28 - New deck questions

[inprin]

I have a 1969 Taipan 28 from Hong Kong that I have just finished recoring all the decks. I do not plan on replacing with teak decking and re-introducing 2,000 more little holes for water to penetrate my new balsa core decks so I have some detail/finish questions. What is the proper method to seal the joints from the deck to the toe rail and from the deck to the cockpit combing? An epoxy fillet? Paint and caulk? Leave it? I am leaning towards the fillet. Assuming I apply fillet, paint the deck then redo teak toe rail and cockpit combing. See first two photos for the two joints in question.

Second since my deck is now 3/8" lower than originally constructed the toe rail scuppers are too high. They have about a half inch on wood left before you get to the deck/hull joint. Do I lower it to that joint and then fair the deck out the hole? See next two photos.

Any input much appreciated.

[Hirilondë]

Teak decking can be installed with no fasteners at all, but that is a different subject all together.

I think the best way to seal the toe rail is to remove it and reinstall it using an adhesive bedding. I bet no one here can guess what my favorite goop for this application is :-)

This process allows you to refinish them off the boat, but most of all allows you to inspect underneath and repair if needed as well as do a high quality installation. Making a filet between figerglass and wood will be subject to expansion and contractions that you have no control over and likely lead to a crack or separation. The problem with scuppers in a toe rail is that they weaken the toe rail and thus make them much more prone to breaking when bent into place. I have cursed more than once installing toe rails with scuppers. Fairing the deck up to the holes again creates a resin to wood joint that is subject to cracking. Cutting the holes down to the deck will almost assuredly cause the toe rail to crack/kink at the scupper. I would either leave them alone and live with a little water in the waterway. Or fair to the holes but not epoxy to the wood such that the toe rail could be removed after the fairing and be reinstalled with an adhesive bedding. Wax paper or something similar could be applied to the toe rail such that is becomes the mold for the fairing without bonding to the to rail Regardless of how you address the scuppers, I would remove and reinstall the toe rails.

There are a couple trains of thought for installing combings. Some like removable combings that aren't bedded at all. I chose to bed mine semi-permanently with Sikaflex 291-LOT.

[Tony]

How about cutting the toe-rail out at the scuppers so your toe-rail installs in several pieces, sloping down to the deck at the scupper locations. I'm not sure I described this well, but I've seen it done well on other boats.

[Hirilondë]

Toe rails are sprung into place as they are installed. So if you try to install it as more than one piece the joints will not be fair. By not fair I don't mean the joint will not be tight, but the toe rail will look like it has a kink in it at the joint instead of a nice smooth curve. I have seen boats that leave a gap between sections of toe rail instead of scuppers. But personally, I don't like how it looks. To facilitate bending I usually make toe rails a couple feet longer than needed and cut the extra off after it is installed. This gives me a lever arm for the final bending aft. But if you can remove, refinish and then reinstall your existing ones then there is no reason to make new ones.

[inprin]

On the scuppers it may be a bit of a compromise. I don't think I will take off the toe rail and refinish and re-bed. If I take one more thing off the boat and bring into the house I may be told to go live on the boat in the back yard for a while. However, Dave's idea of fairing up to the scupper (without bonding to the toe rail) has merit. Since there is a 1/2" of wood on the bottom I may split the difference and reduce to 1/4" and fair up a 1/4". It won't drain the rain when sitting still but will certainly drain when heeled over under sail. I will have a closer look this weekend to see if the "cutting out" at scuppers is possible. That may end up being the simplest way if the remaining rail can be fastened well enough in sections. Maybe rounding off the edges vs angling down will leave more material to attach through closer to the opening. Worth a look. Good thoughts.

[Hirilondë]

. Since there is a 1/2" of wood on the bottom I may split the difference and reduce to 1/4" and fair up a 1/4".

There is no way to gauge ahead of time really, but bear in mind that any enlarging of the scuppers weakens the toe rail and could lead to a stress crack and kink.

Good luck with the rest of the project. It is easy to tell someone the top shelf way to do things, but there is a lot of merit in the concept of getting the boat in the water in a timely manner and actually going sailing too.

[radicalcy]

I'm no expert by any means, but why would you want to build up your decks an additional 1/4 or 1/2 inch? Instead, why not install deck drains at the lowest point in the deck and have them drain midway between the rail and the water line? Unless the design is unusually wet,and you're shipping massive amounts of green water, that should give you plenty of drainage while sailing, and also keep the decks from puddling in a rainstorm while the boat is moored.
Larry Wilson

[inprin]

Larry you are correct. In another deck fairing round this weekend before it got over 90, I looked down again at the toe rail and the thought of removing the lower material to get to the low point on the deck. I realized that the 12' sail track is mounted along the top of the toe rail every 6 inches on center. Removing the bottom 1/2 inch of toe rail will admittedly weaken the rail and give it the opportunity to buckle at that point, but seeing as there will be less than 1" of the 3" rail removed and the top is all secured and aligned by the toe rail, I have confidence this will hold it's form.

[radicalcy]

inprin,
you may have missed my point. I'm not suggesting that you make any change to the toe rail. A flush mount drain, mounted in the deck, with an exit on the hull topsides would accomplish your goal of keeping the deck dry. I can't find a photographic example of what I mean,but think cockpit scuppers on the deck.
Larry