September 29, 2019
After running some morning errands, I began work close to noon and started with the toe rails once again. At this point, the toe rails were cut to length and assigned to both port and starboard. Today, I needed to cut a scarf joints on the ends were pieces would be glue together to create one continuous toe rail. A scarf joint ( I decided to opt for a common scarf) is a angular cut made on one board and a parallel cut made on a second board to be glued together, creating a longer surface area for the glue contact. I will be using epoxy to glue the boards together, and as a result the joint will be stronger than the natural wood toe rail.
To accomplish this, I would need to create a scarf sled, or a board that locks into the channel of the table saw and has a cleat to which the toe rail sections could be clamped as the scarf joint was cut. A typical scarf joint requires an 8:1 length to thickness ratio. The toe rail is roughly an 1" thick, so the length of the scarf would be 8 inches. I selected a scrap piece of plywood, with 90 degree corners, and laid out the angles.
I used a scrap piece of white oak to cut a rail that would fit snugly in the table saw channel.
The rail attached to the plywood scarfing sled.
On top of the scarfing sled, I attached a large cleat that would serve both as a point of contact for the toe rail sections to be clamped, but also as a handle that I could use to push the toe rail section into the blade. The cleat's face to touch the toe rail section was planed, and then attached to the sled with screws. The cleat was mounted such that it created the 8:1 cut required.
The first section of toe rail mounted on the scarfing sled, and cut!
I repeated this process for the two port rails and the two starboard rails.
When finished, I laid out the rails - both starboard and port - and took a measure on how much length I had with just the two boards per side. Turns out, 19' and 5.75". I would need to cut tails for both port and starboard to get to the required overall length bow to stern.
With the fifth board cut from the teak stock, I halved it and ran it through the same scarfing process. Laying the toe rail sections out, I now had more than enough length for my needs.
Next, I moved on to cutting the rabbit in the underside of the toe rail sections to allow for the overlap from the outboard edge of the hull to the top of the deck. The overall width of the rails is 1 and 3/8", with the rabbit being 1". This 1" of material, 1/4" deep, would need to be removed from the bow to the stern.
I set up the router table to make several passes - with a straight-cutting bit - to remove the material for the rabbit.
This process took several passes, and then some finish work with the rabbiting plane and the hand plane. Things came out well, with the toe rail section tops ready to be rounded over slightly and then the sections glued up. I would wait on gluing them up until I had the decks and topsides primed, sanded, and ready for topcoat paint.
With the toe rails taken as far as I wanted, I then turned to caulking the hatches. I am using BoatLife Teak Deck Sealant for this purpose. To start, I lightly sanded the varnish sealer coat I applied several days ago. Next, with compressed air I blew the dust off and then wiped the surface with acetone.
With the surface prepped, I then applied tape to protect the surrounding surfaces of the hatch from the messy teak deck sealant.
With both hatches ready, I began to apply the deck sealant from its caulking tube, squirting more than enough material in the grooves of the hatches. As I completed one hatch, I used a plastic squeegee to force the teak deck sealant into the grove, pulling the squeegee across the surface.
As the deck sealant cures, I will remove the tape and come back to sand the application flush to the hatch top itself. Several coats of varnish will follow to finish out the hatches. I had but one tube of the teak deck sealant on hand, running out midway through the second hatch. More on order.
I gathered the toe rail sections and set them to the side for safe keeping.
Total Time Today: 5.75 hrs
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