I tend to think of the boat as equal parts a tiny moveable home, access to a lifestyle we enjoy, and as a hobby. As a hobby, like motorcycles, airplanes, and sports cars, boats should look like they are owned by someone who cares. (Just my opinion, your approach may differ.)
Since we are not moving until the Dink motor gets back from the shop, and with all of the items on the “must do” list completed, it was time to undo some of the wreckage that befalls a used boat being prepped for departure. The aft cockpit has been the main workshop for weeks, and it showed. With the gelcoat repair of the cockpit / swim platform door completed (not on the must do list though it probably should have been) the rubbing compound, wax, and buffer were brought into play. I enjoy that kind of bright work. It isn't particularly challenging, there is little risk of doing damage, and the buffer doesn't easily draw blood. It is also the kind of work that lets one take a close look at parts of the boat, a chance to spot potential problems before they become actual problems. With the aft and side walls of the cockpit looking better it was time to turn to the sliding doors that make up the aft salon wall and open onto the aft deck.
I'm not really a fan of the sliding doors. They are heavy, cumbersome, and have never fit very well when closed. On a boat the tracks will, inevitably get filled with goo and dirt. Cleaning them is always a back bending pain. Honestly, boat builders; if you insist on sliding doors at the back of the salon make them hanging doors riding in guiding tracks at the bottom. And put adjusters at the rollers at the top so the angle of the hanging doors can be adjusted to keep the edges lined up when the doors are closed. In case no one has informed you, boats flex.
We had a go around with those doors while the boat was on the hard, got them working as well as we could and then kind of forgot about them. Well, actually, ever since the boat was launched we just ignored the fact that the doors were getting worse. The port side door was not really staying in the lower track. It wasn't actually falling out of the track either, just getting twisted enough to be very hard to open. It didn't matter much as that door only needs to open when one is moving furniture onto or off the boat. The starboard side has been a slowly more noticeable pain to shove to one side.
But as the buffer moved across the door seam it was clear that the situation had deteriorated past being a potential problem and well on it way to being a real problem. And so the buffer went away and serious tools were brought into play. We lifted the doors off the tracks completely; heavy and cumbersome is an understatement. The tracks were packed with gummy dirt and grit. Sliders that had been installed on the the bottom of the doors to replace the original rollers had broken, leaving even more bits to snag up the works. There are seams on the doors that are delaminated, a problem shared with the helm door. (That door was on the must do list and was fixed last week sometime.) We made some modifications to the doors that, hopefully, will help the sliders stay in place. The track inserts on which the sliders are supposed to slide were reinstalled with some additional anchoring screws to keep them taunt. It all sounds relatively easy but, as mentioned, the doors are heavy and big, nearly filling the available workspace even when up on their edges. it took several hours of relentless effort by both Deb and I to modify, repair, and refit the doors in their tracks. By the end of the day we were beat. It still looks like a bit of a mickey-mouse fix, but the doors are working better than they ever have...at least for now. Problem deferred long enough to get the boat to St. Louis. Once there, I think we may explore getting some parts made to get the doors back on rollers. In the meantime I can get back to cleaning up. I think I'll start with the cockpit. It looks like a workshop...again. And I'm sure there are other potential problems to be discovered along the way.
Something that was not really a problem but was certainly highlighted by the cleaning was the dreary state of the non-skid on the aft cockpit deck. It was, to put it mildly, trashed. With nothing else pressing, we decided to repaint the deck. In terms of a reward to effort ratio, it was a really good call. Working together, we taped, cleaned applied the first coat, and pulled the tape in about 4 hours. Making a massive difference. This morning Deb, not wanting to waste any of the paint we bought, re-taped and applied all that was left in the can in about 2 hours. The only concern now is using the aft cockpit as a work area again. The good news is that just waiting for the nonskid to cure will mandate a break in the flurry of work being done.
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