E25cb Backstay Chainplate Access

[Joe]

I'm now stripping the boat of all deck hardware for rebedding and repaint. I've been struggling all morning to remove the backstay chainplates (as well as the rear lifeline and navigation light) through the lazarettes. I really don't want to go through this struggle when I reattach them, so I'm thinking of installing a port and starboard deck inspection plate in the aft coamings (see here).

Is there any disadvantage to doing this?

(I've already foregone removing the the toerails as it just seems to be impossibly complex with 76 bolts to be ground out and rebedded on each side -- so I'll just have to mask and paint around them -- it's a shame, but there you are)

I'd appreciate any comments.

 

[davisr]

Joe,

I'm also in the process of removing the deck hardware on my 1975 E25, cb, for the purpose of rebedding. Not quite sure yet whether I want to go the repainting route. Accordingly, I have not removed the hardware around the cockpit, since I am not that worried about a little leakage in the cockpit lockers. So . . . I can't speak to your current issue. I do, though, follow what you're thinking. I know that must be a pain trying to reach all the way through the locker while trying to hold everything precisely in place.

Does your deck have a lot of alligatoring on it? Are you painting for that reason? I ask because I have not yet tried to buff the gelcoat on mine. The deck is in pretty good condition. There are, though, some areas, especially around the cockpit where there is alligatoring. From what I have read in Don Casey's repair books, painting seems to be the only cure for alligatoring, since gel-coat repair would be difficult for such a great number of inter-laced cracks. So . . . to get to my point . . . I'm thinking that I might in fact have to paint the deck, in which case I would be removing the very hardware with which you are currently wrestling.

Best,
Roscoe

E25, cb, Hull 226

 

[Joe]

Roscoe:

My boat project proceeds in fits and starts: I've been at it, on and off, for a long time. I have alligatoring, chalking, and cracking. But mostly, the deck is soft in places and I'll have to remove the top skin in those areas.

At the moment, I'm drilling 3/8" holes on a 4"x4" grid where the deck is soft and inserting vinyl tubing connected to a 1.5" PVC manifold. This, in turn, I'll connect to a wet-dry vacuum in a last ditch effort to assist the wet core in drying before I cut the skin. I can't tell you how many times I've had the circular saw out, set the depth to 1/8", placed it on deck, ready for the first cut, and then chickened out.

Also, there certainly is balsa where the guardrails were attached to the deck. I've reamed those old holes and they've dried nicely: ready for epoxy plugs. In other places, such as the area under the attachment brackets for the traveler, it looks as If the core material is plywood. I'm not certain about this but I did read somewhere that Ericson used plywood in high stress areas. This is the area where the moisture meter signals a wet core, even though it doesn't feel soft at all.

There is a a wonderful site that explains "Sealing Deck Penetrations to Prevent Core Rot", "Re-Bedding Hardware", "Understanding the Moisture Meter" and other useful topics over here. The author is a member here.

Another member of this forum is restoring an Ericson 27 and his pictorial log is recorded here.

My main concern (and the reason for this thread) is that I don't inadvertently introduce structural weakness into the boat by installing the inspection plates.

Regards,
Joe

 

[davisr]

Joe,

Thanks for the references. Will follow up on these. I hear what you're saying about cutting into the deck with the circular saw. That's what I'd call going "all-in." Fortunately, my boat is not in need of that type of surgery. Your idea for the aft running light access hole in the portside cockpit locker sounds like a good idea. I would only worry about the possibility of water entering that hole - but, then again, that should not be a problem if the deckplate is well sealed and dogged-down. I've read the accounts, on this forum, about boats going down as a result of water entering the cockpit lockers.

Would really be interested in knowing what other work you have done on your E25 over the past few years. Currently, aside from removing deck hardware and refurbishing my centerboard, I am attempting to come up with a strategy for the various upgrades that are needed, e.g. electrical and plumbing. Maybe one of us could start a couple of new threads that address these issues for the E25. I haven't seen any threads that specifically speak to these subjects for this particular boat.

It looks like our boats were very close to each other in the production line - yours at the end of 1974 (Hull 218, right?), mine at the beginning of 1975 (Hull 226).

Take care,
Roscoe