Under cover for the 1st time

[Pack Mule]

We put William under cover yesterday for our winter project ,replacing cap rail and two new wheel house doors . This is the first time ever in 20 years of boating for us to be under cover , feels weird but dry . It' a lot louder undercover . I hope they don't run us off from all the work and cursing we will be doing over the next few months. This dock is mostly empty in the winter so maybe it won't be too much of a problem.
As soon as we pulled under cover we tied up lines and started getting after it , tearing old cap rail off. Several walked by and I can only imagine what they were thinking . A lot of big fancy houseboats here . Anyway we are getting started so we'll need your help to keep us motivated .

 

[LaBomba]

Keep us posted with some pictures as to how the project is going. I would like to replace mine as well but would love to get rid of the wood completely and go with something low or no maintenance. Are you going back to wood?

 

[Vashon_Trawler]

I look forward to seeing your progress. I love the look of the 32 Outer Reef and can't wait to see yours when the work is done. Not many 32s were produced and I doubt many are still around. They were produced as work boats as I recall and I've only seen one up close and that was nearly 20+ years ago.

By any chance, do you have any pictures of William on the hard? Curious what your hull looks like.

P.S. Only problem I've had with covered slips are the pigeons!

 

[healhustler]

Are you also going to do the forward roof extension you were thinking about? I wish I had a covered slip so I could take my time re-bedding my deck hardware in peace. I did my cap rail with Awlgrip last time, and grateful for it. Still, I see some hairline cracks in the joints that I'll have to watch.

 

[Pack Mule]

Keep us posted with some pictures as to how the project is going. I would like to replace mine as well but would love to get rid of the wood completely and go with something low or no maintenance. Are you going back to wood?

Yes I'm going back with teak . I work for lumber company . I like wood but I don't like maintaining it either .Woodwork is one thing I can do decent . I'm just gonna let this weather and clean it when it needs it no varnish no oil .

 

[Pack Mule]

I look forward to seeing your progress. I love the look of the 32 Outer Reef and can't wait to see yours when the work is done. Not many 32s were produced and I doubt many are still around. They were produced as work boats as I recall and I've only seen one up close and that was nearly 20+ years ago.

By any chance, do you have any pictures of William on the hard? Curious what your hull looks like.

P.S. Only problem I've had with covered slips are the pigeons!

I've got a picture of it some where in the slings before I bought it . I'll try to find it . We just bought this one a year ago and have already rebuilt the wheel house and v berth . We used African Mahogany . Mine was a work boat originally . We are getting there just a lot of work .

 

[Pack Mule]

Are you also going to do the forward roof extension you were thinking about? I wish I had a covered slip so I could take my time re-bedding my deck hardware in peace. I did my cap rail with Awlgrip last time, and grateful for it. Still, I see some hairline cracks in the joints that I'll have to watch.

Not this time around , but I still want to . I hope I can get this done before spring . We have always been out on the end of the dock and kinda kept to ourselves . I just thought it would be to stressful to try and take this on outside . There seems to be a lot of drama on this covered dock . I may need to up my wine , beer and rum inventory to stay on everyone's good graces . They all looked a little worried when we pulled into THEIR DOCK . Did you notice the saw horses on the rear deck? My wife keeps telling me we are going to have to keep the noise down .

 

[Vashon_Trawler]

Keep us posted with some pictures as to how the project is going. I would like to replace mine as well but would love to get rid of the wood completely and go with something low or no maintenance. Are you going back to wood?

The previous owner replaced my worn out teak cap rail with "no maintenance" custom milled/bent plastic rails. The plastic (PVC?) has its pros and cons. Mine seem to get dirtly quickly and require cleaning every few weeks to remove the mold and stains.

Nothing beats the look of wood though.

 

[Art]

Pack Mule

Best luck in your "New-to-You" covered berth. And, for all your boat improvements / repairs!!

We moved into our first ever covered berth early 2009... for swimming reasons... by moving from SF Bay’s cold salt to SF Delta’s warm fresh water!

It does seem that some people that have been in covered areas for a period of time like to think it ALL belongs to them. Unlike boaters in open air slips that are much less territorial and tend to their own (per slip) affairs. At least that’s how I read it!

Within a couple hours of us first docking the jerk-off in next slip and I came to terms. I'm real nice till I ain't... I’ve got no problem, if I'm wrong I will freely cop to it... but when I'm correct - I do not back down. And, I was correct in this instance. He soon slinked back into his 38’ Chris Craft. We never spoke but a couple words thereafter.

Within a couple weeks I was in a nose to nose with another jerk-off about four slips up from us - in his work yard no less, as he operated a repair shop at the marina. Again, I was right. That time it came close to getting real real. He backed down; wise move.

Within a few months the first JO in slip next to us suddenly disappeared along with boats from three other slips that were his dock-party-friends. Never saw them again. Within a couple months the other JO bothered me again and I brought the marina manager in on it this time. She was fully on my side and wished he would leave her yard lock stock and barrel. Turned out that JO had been ripping folks off at his marine repair shop for years and was greatly disliked (except, he was friends with the first JO and his dock-party-clan... which figures!).

In short duration he did sell his boat and closed his shop. Really nice couple bought his boat and stayed in same slip. Another repair shop eventually opened and they are great to deal with.

The several JO’s departures took about ten months to accomplish. Soon some of the other boaters at the dock began to come around more often once that tribe of JO’s were gone. We who remain are all very friendly and respectful to one another as well as helpful as can be whenever present and needed. And, we welcome new comers... as they come and go. Having docked there for coming toward five years it is really enjoyable having a covered slip. Overall reduction of sun and rain damage virtually pays for the cost of the berth – IMHO!

Linda and I live 100 miles away and when we come to boat it is to go out and cruise or hook. We only dock sit if the weather really sucks! This year we have been very often kept away from boating by our 90 yr old matriarchs pressing needs as well as other family and business matters. We hope next year can become a booming boat season for us. Fact that our Tolly is always under cover is GREAT to reduce needs to drive 200 mi round trip just for a look-see. Also, we are in communications with dock neighbors and they supply us reports of everything being A-OK!

Long and short of it – We love keeping our Tolly in covered berth.

Regarding sparrows – We loosely tie thin lines all around our boat just above side railing height. It flaps in the breeze and greatly reduces bird poop!

Happy Boating Daze! - Art

 

[Miss Donna]

I just left covered slip on OLd Hickory Lake. It was great for doing bright work, or for that matter any kind of exterior work.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Vashon and Pack Mule,
I think the best plastic for the rails is usually black and called UHMW. Should be readily available at industrial sources.

After all my Linseed oil treatments the rails DID turn black after I stopped re-coating ... like everybody said they would .. but only after I stopped adding more turp and oil. I may have finally found an excellent anti-fungicide .. Tea Tree Oil. I hate K Mart but they have the cheapest Tea Tree Oil. $5.00 an ounce. It smells much stronger than turpentine if that can be believed. I'm going to apply turp and TT oil all through the winter and see if that helps whatever I'm going to do in the spring.

 

[Art]

On Virgin Teak: Baby Oil - Plenty on soft rag. Rub in vigorously. Three consecutive coats, one after another... saturate the wood surface. Let set for short period till nearly all oil is absorbed (time depends on temp/sun-exposure/humidity... etc) Then, while wood surface still somewhat moist with oil rub vigorously (wood surface heat will occur) with no-fluff cloth till shine appears. Lasts for two to three years indoors and a year outside.

yrmv Works well for me!