Deck The Halls!

Our Girl's got a new rack!  Well, renewed anyway, kind of.  This project was completed near the end of November, but since I crewed on a friends boat from Ensenada to La Paz, I am finally getting around to this post.  

When we returned from Florida, a boat on our dock had just had her teak decks refurbished and our neighbor took us over to have a look.  After chatting with the owner about the job and the price, we got in touch with Roy, the local guy who did the work, and contracted him to do the same for Discovery.  

We agreed that he would replace screws, plugs, and caulk where needed, as well as repair the rotted and leaking core above our pilot berth, amidships. Everything went pretty much as planned, and with some minor tuneups that I will be tinkering with, we eliminated most of our leaks, and the decks are oh so silky smooth now.

Discovery's decks before:

The orange color is the teak sealer the previous owners applied
twice a year, which destroyed the caulk.

During the process:

Removing plugs, screws, and caulk

Roy's brother, Felipe in action

This was the only piece that needed replacing, the original teak
is still about 5/8" thick.

Epoxied new plugs

Plugs trimmed

Good thing the caulk had cured.

Covered up and ready for sanding

Some nice color starting to show

Deck core repair, the square core pieces are actually solid teak.
It's hard to imagine how much teak must have been laying 
around the yard when she was built

Core patch was made from marine plywood and epoxied in

Final step was an acid wash.

I asked Roy about Felipe's lack of shoes, and he just shrugged 
and explained that this is how Felipe cleans his feet.  
Gotta love Mexico.

 The finished product:

Teak was literally glowing after the teak wash

After about a month of natural weathering and daily sea water sponge baths

Happy Holidays, 

and Happy Trails!