(Un) Screwed

Back on the boat for another weekend of fun and frolic. On Saturday, we removed another long section of rub rail. There are two more sections that join at the transom but we're going to save those for next winter because we have quite a long list of things to do and we just don't have time to screw around with these last two short sections. Pun intended.

Last weekend when we removed the big section of rub rail that runs around the entire front of the boat, one screw refused to cooperate and we had to drill the head off. The remaining part of that screw had to come out, obviously, and we managed to get our Vice Grips around what was left of it and extracted it nicely.

Next time we take a picture like this, we'll draw an eye on the upper jaw of the vice grips so it looks like a fish.

We took this next section of rub rail out into the sun, scrubbed it with a Brillo pad and then waxed it with Flitz. Flitz requires a lot of rubbing but it is amazing how good these scratched up old rub rails look.

A note about waxing: We use old, white athletic socks to apply the wax and another sock to polish. Of course, we don't wear white athletic socks but we must have, sometime in the past, because we have dozens of them in our sock drawer. We wax with them (hand inside for extra traction) and then take them home, wash them and then let them air dry. They are great for polishing stainless tubing used on bridge enclosure. Full disclosure: we learned this trick from a dock mate several years ago.

The area under that rub rail where the hull and deck meet was filthy so we went around that entire area and scraped out all the loose caulk and wiped it all down with a wet cloth. Next step is to re-caulk that entire joint and then reinstall the rub rail.

On Sunday, we did just that but before we started with the caulking gun, we scratched a few little things off our list. One of the mounting bolts on the starboard raw water pump needed a lock washer. Done. (Glad we keep good notes.) The hose to that same pump needed be be changed for a new one. Done. Then we needed to fasten the passive vent hoses on the starboard side up and out of the way where they pass close to the new exhaust manifold. That was also done with a minimum of effort.

The starboard engine needed to be filled with antifreeze. We poured in 4 gallons through the heat exchanger but once the engine starts, we'll have to add some more. Have to get all the air out of that cooling system.

Then it was time to apply the 3M4000 to the area under the rub rail. What fun that caulk is! We can't think of a gooier or less pleasant stuff to deal with but, we put up the old extension ladder and caulked every hole, crack and joint. (We did let the 3M4000 cartridges warm up on the hood of our car before applying it. It really makes the goop easier to apply.)

The caulk takes 24 hours to set up so we left it to do its thing. We have a other few small spots to do and we'll take care of those one afternoon this week when we can skip out of work for a few hours.

We shot some video of the boat yard before we left. We love the sound of all those sanders, drills and vacuum cleaners in the spring. You may find it boring so be advised.  Hey, we do our best.