[Public-list] Cockpit coamings.

[George Dinwiddie]

Tom S. wrote:
> Gail ..... Any tips on getting them off after the screws are removed?  
> Or was this not a problem in your case? Mine seemed to be stuck pretty 
> good as I recall. I gave up and finished them in place but was not real 
> happy with the job. I would like to get them off this next time.

The first time we took ours off, it was quite difficult.  They were 
stuck to some black sticky gunk that I think was original to the boat. 
As I recall, I used some putty knives to poke down behind the coaming 
and slowly pry it away, starting at the top and working down.  Go 
slowly; I cracked the teak a little toward the aft end where it's weaker 
by getting in a hurry.  A heat gun or some solvent might help, too.

When we put them back on (at least, the second time), we used a 
two-inch-wide strip of 1/16" neoprene gasket near the top edge of the of 
the cockpit behind the coaming.  We got this from an industrial gasket 
place (there were lots under "gaskets" in the yellow pages).  If you 
call around, you might be able to find some big enough scraps for a very 
reasonable price.  I forget what I paid, but I went with a place that 
was convenient over one that was cheaper.  I still caulked the gap after 
mounting the coamings, but this made it very waterproof.

Take photos of the process and write it up as an article.

  - George
    Calypso, #543

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