We removed the vinyl rub rail and began hunting for something similar to replace it with. Internet searches turned up nothing even close and a long call to Kevin at Jamestown Distributors netted only that flexible rub rail that would be suitable for the 1-1/8" edge on our swim platform isn't made any more.
Kevin knew exactly what we were looking for but had to end our call with, "Today, most swim platforms are made from fiberglass and they don't bother with rub rails like yours.
We also posted the question on one of our favorite boating websites where we were roundly criticized for even considering vinyl rub rail on a swim platform. "Just finish off the edge of the teak," we were told by a number of posters. "It will look great."
Frances concurred with a "natural edge" on our old swim platform so we began by replacing the missing bungs along the outside edge of the platform, now that it would be visible. A length of 3/8-inch dowel from Lowes cut into 1/4-inch pieces worked great and we glued them in place. The 28 small screw holes that used to hold the vinyl rub rail in place were filled with glue-tipped wooden match sticks. That should give you a clue that we owned wood boats for a long time.
Saturday morning was marginally warm enough to put the swim platform on our back yard picnic table (on which only birds, squirrels and raccoons ever dine). We fired up our belt sander and went to work.
Six 50-grit belts on our 3"x21" sander (and about four hours) and the swim platform was almost ready to go. The underside of the platform was particularly nasty to sand because of the mold and accumulated crap that had built up there over the years.
The plan is to apply five coats of Sikkens Marine Light to each side. That worked great on our bridge ladder so we'll do the same thing here.
Just a thought about teak, if you are old enough to remember. When I (Bill) was a kid hanging around the docks in Brielle, New Jersey watching the boats come in from a day of fishing, there would be big billfish to be weighed. The teak decks on those boats often were stained with fish blood. Before the crew could leave, the teak decks were cleaned with a big stone that looked like a brick. Someone would polish out out the fish blood stains using water and that abrasive stone. Once dry, the teak decks were almost white.
Just a memory. Sikkens will work just fine for us.
On Sunday we tackled the detail on the top of the swim platform. The boards aren't flush at the surface but have grooves milled into them to make the platform more attractive. We'd sanded the surface adequately but the grooves between the individual teak strips needed extra care. We folded pieces of sandpaper over a small section of 1/4-inch plywood and went at each groove. An hour and a lot of energy later, the grooves were free of mold and old varnish, or whatever the PO had put on the the swim platform.
Now we were ready to apply at coat of Sikkens, the first of five. We set the swim platform up in the basement on two milk crates, applying the Sikkens to the underside of the swim platform first. It takes a lot longer that we thought to do one side of a 9-1/2 ft. swim platform!
Later in the afternoon, we mounted the plywood pieces needed the reinforce the boarding ladder and the Weaver Davids that hold our inflatable. We coated each piece with System 3 Epoxy and left them to adhere to the swim platform. They will be bolted in place so this was just an extra step.
Here's the swim platform at the end of our weekend.
Two comments;
ReplyDelete1:"natural" rub rails will look great but will be susceptible to "dock rash".
2: when they were't using the rock to scrub fish blood off the teak decks, they used it as a striker to make fire!
Glad to see your list is growing shorter, time's ticking down to summer docking.