
9610 Commonwealth Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32220
6) CD 27 - Removal of the Starboard Side Mild Steel
January 15, 2024
The starboard side's mild steel did come out with a bit more authority behind my efforts, though I wouldn't say any easier than the port side extraction. I knew what to expect, it what it came down to. This particular job, on these particular boats, is often passed up for the next owner; however, Doryen's owner had offshore goals, requiring the factory installation of the mild steel be addressed.
I got to work by replicating my efforts on the port side through-bolts: doubling up the nuts and tightening them up in an effort to break the initial rust bond, a few taps on the end of the bolts from below, and then application of the impact driver, alternating forward and reverse until I could back out the bolts. There was clear corrosion of the stainless steel through-bolts, as well as the mild steel plates. It was good to rid the boat of this system of supporting the rig.
After removing the pad-eyes, I cleaned the surface with acetone and carefully and securely tapped off the deck to prevent water ingress. I then headed below to make access cuts into the interior fiberglass liner. In the salon, after removing the fiberglass liner, the large globs of polyester putty was visible and came out with a bit of forceful prying. With enough of the putty removed, I clearly saw the mild steel encapsulated in fiberglass. I removed the fiberglass covering the mild steel webbing, both in the salon and the hanging locker just forward of the primary bulkhead, and scored the welds of the vertically oriented webs where they met the backing plate using an oscillating tool with a carbide metal cutting blade. After the webbing-backing plate welds were scored, I worked the webs back and forth until they separated from the backing plate.
With the webbing out, I continued cutting along the seem between the hull side and backing plate with the oscillating tool. This cut along the seem allowed for the backing plate to be pulled down and out of position. With the seem cut complete, I gradually worked my way from aft to forwarded, prying the plate away from the underside of the deck. Pop!...she was out, and I slide the plate aft, up and out of the salon. The next phase of the project is to rebuild the rig support structure. It will accomplish the same effort as that of the mild steel, but look cleaner and will lack the rust aesthetic!
Total Hrs: 4.75








