April 3, 2017
Precision 2017-1
Monday
The owner delivered this boat to me back in the fall, at which point I covered the boat and stored it for the winter next to the shop. I’d done various upgrade and maintenance tasks to the boat a year earlier, and now the owner requested that I rebed the large windows, which were leaking badly. In addition, he mentioned that the chainplates–which I’d rebedded during the earlier phase–were also leaking again, at least in part because the screws securing one of the cover plates hadn’t held, allowing this plate to pull up.
A few days earlier, during a brief stretch of good weather, I’d pulled the boat from its storage area, taking advantage of warmer weather to release the trailer tires from the mud into which they’d sunk. Now, I removed the cover and frame that I’d installed in the fall, and moved the boat into the shop, where I’d recently made room. It was a tight-ish fit considering I wanted to leave room to work on the windows on each side, but it was workable.
With staging set up alongside, I turned to the windows. Particularly on the port side, it was easy to see why the windows might leak, as the sealant appeared inconsistent, and, viewing the port from an angle, I thought I saw light between the plastic and the cabin side. The large tinted window was secured from the outside with screws, and was substantially larger than the actual opening in the cabin side, presumably for the sake of a certain outward appearance. The outer portion of the plastic was coated with paint outside of the actual window opening, and overall the plastic itself looked to be in good condition; I thought I might be able reuse it unless some clear reason came up why I couldn’t.
Continuing in the port side, I removed the screws and then the window itself. The window came off easily, and seemed barely sealed in place.
I repeated the process on the starboard side, where I found that the plastic was definitely much better-adhered than on the port side, but still I had little trouble removing the window intact.
The starboard window had some pre-existing cracks emanating from a couple of the screw locations, and for the moment I reserved judgement whether it would be reusable or not. For the moment, I ordered some materials I knew I’d need either way–black sealant and replacement screws–and would forge ahead next time.
Total time billed on this job today: 2.5 hours
0600 Weather Observation:
21°, clear. Forecast for the day: sunny, 40s