
9610 Commonwealth Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32220
Port Toe & Rub Rail Removal (6-1-24)
Jun 1, 2024
Getting back onto Biscuit, the Cape Dory Typhoon (hull #466), I resumed the process of removing the balance of the deck's brightwork. In this case, and through the work session, I was able to complete the removal of all remaining mahogany brightwork by focusing on the port toe rail and run rail.
As I had done for the starboard rails, I used the following tools for this work:
- a center punch (used to dimple the individual bungs, also to help break the connection to the rail itself
- pair of screwdrivers to drive a screw into the bung to break it apart and push it out; also to remove the fastener
- a razor knife to pick out the bung remnants, and to clear the slot head fastener of bedding compound
- an impact driver for the most stubborn of fasteners (used twice on the port side)
I made my way from stern to stem, and for each fastener: center-punching the bung, driving in a standard drywall screw, extracting the bung (most often in pieces), clearing out remnants, cleaning the slot head of the fastener, and then removing with the flathead screwdriver. I removed the roe rail first, labeled it and set it aside in the shop, and then carried on with then removal and storage of the rub rail. The rails will be fabricated from fresh mahogany, so one may ask why store the old rails. The purpose for storing them is for taking measures and profiles off the original rails.
With the toe and rub rails tucked away in the shop, I moved on to scraping off the old bedding compound. Much of this material was completely dried out and could be chipped off in large flakes. Some of the material resisted, being still a on the soft side (only slightly softer than hard), and so a brief sanding to heat it up allowed me to get a scraper under neath for removal. With most of the bedding material removed, I completed a couple passes with the random orbital using 60 and 80-grit discs.
Having an ~hour of available time, I used it to continue work on the new shop property: clearing, trimming and removal via burn-pile brush and unwanted trees. Work towards re-roofing the shop continues as well.
Total Hrs: 5.5



