After a couple weeks of travel and holiday festivities, I resumed work on Biscuit with a focus on completing the coaming boards. The coaming boards, in fact, had been completed, along with the return blocks, but they required a dry-fit and attachment to one another. I started by placing the completed coaming board in the cockpit, and then pushed them into place with a small hydraulic jack. I then worked to align the starboard coaming block, taped it off to eliminate the chance for movement, and with a 1/8" bit pre-drilled for fasteners. One at a time, I pre-drilled and then secured the fastener, working my way through three in total. With the starboard return block now secured to the starboard coaming board, I proceeded to fabricate the cap covering the return block. The cap adds a nice finishing touch to the assembly between the coaming return block and coaming board. The cap is also mahogany, and will be varnished through 5 to 7 coats as the balance of the brightwork. Shaping the cap required several measurements, including the angle taken of the cabin side, followed by fine cuts and sanding to the finished dimension. Satisfied with the starboard cap, I then moved on to the port coaming board and return block.

As I had done on the starboard side, I positioned the coaming return block and secured it with tape in order to pre-drill and secure with fasteners. The fabrication of the cap was also done in a similar manner. With both coaming boards now fit to their coaming return blocks, and both caps fabricated, I then removed the boards from Biscuit's cockpit. On a shop bench, I removed the coaming return blocks and drilled out bung holes with a 3/8" forstner bit and then reattached the coaming return blocks. I set the boards to the side, as well as the return caps, for varnish work and finishing.

Total Hrs: 3