I need a little shove

[ddeaton]

I am nearing the point where I need to lay the cockpit deck and have a couple worries. I took the boat on second hand and it was unfinished. The boat was taken off the trailer, sanded, and repainted. The steel centerboard was taken out, stripped, and painted. I have ripped out the cockpit deck, cleaned the bilge area, sealed with CPES, and will paint. I also installed 1.5 inch thru-hulls for cockpit scuppers. While refinishing the cabin and decks there were some areas that the original glass and epoxy started to seperate. These areas were stripped and redone. This was from the boat sitting in the weather for a time and the UV done its thing on the topsides. All else looks fine. In the back of my head though, I am just a little worried about the centerboard case. This is the only item I feel I cant inspect as well as I want to. I have this fuzzy feeling that I should dump it in the water as is for a trial, to see if all is tight before I make the cockpit deck permanent. This is a big boat to me, and I am going to moor it. I am just a little nervous.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid195/p1946a75d5477ca50d15578efa67b69a1/f14094e6.jpg

[Thorne]

How much delay would putting her in the water result in? If you are done with all the sections that would be impacted by getting damp, seems as if you've got nothing to lose by floating the boat and checking the centerboard.

Do you anticipate her taking up much water? If so the initial test might not tell you much until the wood has reached equlibrium.

Lovely boat!

[Jay Greer]

I have to agree with Thorne. I would splash the boat and check it out for leaks. If you don't want to do a quick check in the water, then here is a simple way to stop small leaks in a center board trunk. Seal the bottom of the trunk with plumber's emergency leak stop tape or other means. Then fill the trunk with hot water and radiator leak stop fluid. Sounds nutty but has worked for me.
JG

[Paul Girouard]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid195/p1946a75d5477ca50d15578efa67b69a1/f14094e6.jpg



Get er wet, better to know now than later if you got more work to do.
Sweet lookin shop , :) how about the nickel tour :)

[ddeaton]

I agree with all of you. I dont have a bow eye on her yet to winch back on the trailer, and she isnt inspected or registered yet. The local lake is a state operated park, so I need to chat with them first to see if it would be ok. I like the idea of taping and filling the case with water, not much pressure but at least it would be a decent first test. I was also thinking of filling the bilge with H2O and let it sit for a while, then checking downstairs around the keel.

Paul, I will post some pics of the shop tonight, gotta go to my daughter birthday party.