Installation of Bow Cap and Toe Rails

July 5, 2020

The day after the shelling...amazing how a 17-month year old sleeps through the barrage! We walked outside last night and witnessed a celebration of the birth of nation with literally 360-degrees of professional fireworks being let off - it was shock and awe!

On the boat today,  I arrived just prior to noon, and then got straight to the toe rail installation.  Since this was a one-man job, I knew I had to jump straight into it to finish at a decent time...and with a decent amount of daylight left.

The photo below shows the installation of the port toe rail, but not the engineering that went into its installation.  

I use a series of lines to both support the lengthy, flippity-floppy piece of brightwork and to elevate it to the correct position.

Once I have the rail in the proper position, I begin ticking off the 1/4-20 fasteners, until I reach a point in the curve of the deck that I need to reposition the lines to effectuate moving the rail into its new position.  The process, being one person left to it, is an up and down, back and forth, inside and out round-about kind of job...and did I mention I happened on to 9 stitches in my right foot on July 1st?  My sympathy pleas....I managed.

With the port and starboard toe rails on, as well as the bow cap, I returned to the shop and began cutting 1/2" bungs to cover the toe rail fastener holes.  I managed through 3 pieces of scrap teak from the original stock, and then removed the bungs by gently leveraging one side.  

I slightly thinned a bit of Epifanes varnish, grabbed a few tools and headed to the boat.  The process is simple: batter the bung with some varnish, set it into position above the hole, and persuade it into its final resting place with a hammer.

I worked from the starboard stern, forward to the bow cap, and then down the port toe rail, completing the bunging of the rail.  

Tomorrow, I will trim the toe rail bungs and varnish over the fresh teak.  I will also (hopefully, as I am awaiting a delivery) install the taff rail, and also install the business end of the Torqueedo motor.

Total Time Today: 7.5 hrs