Allied Greenwich 24: Installing the Coaming Boards and Aft Cockpit Trim

July 3, 2020

First thing on the list for today was to trim the portion of the coaming board/return bungs that were standing proud. I trimmed the bungs and then carefully sanded down to a fair surface.

With 320-grit paper, I widened my sanding area a bit to help blend in the varnish to come.

With the coaming boards and returns assembled, I took them over to the boat to begin their installation. I set them on the aft deck while I worked on preparing for their installation. The first order of business in the prep work was countersinking the fastener holes on the fiberglass molded portion of the coaming. I wanted to create an area that would trap the bedding compound - helping to keep things water-tight.

I then set up the hydraulic jack and spacer blocks that would help push the coaming boards into their final position. With everything prepped, I moved to pushing the boards into place. The hydraulic jack slowly moved the boards tight up against the fiberglass molded coaming. Once the boards were set in position, I started fastening the 1/4"-20 machine screws. I worked my way along the boards, 20 screws per board. With the fasteners in place and the hydraulic jack still supporting things, I began mounting the lock washers and nuts. Roughly half of the fasteners were accessible through the cockpit lockers, the balance from below. After installing all fasteners, lock washers and nuts, I removed the hydraulic jack to complete the installation.

Boat is looking good....

Back in the shop, I pulled the aft cockpit trim board and prepared for its installation. Chances are that the owner will elect to go with a mainsheet traveler installation, and the place for that traveler is aft of the cockpit. The original/previous install position was on the bridge deck. I never understood mounting the mainsheet traveler on the bridge deck - encumbering entry and exit to the cabin! This teak trim board will be a good place to mount a small traveler system, if the owner elects to do that. Of course a few blocks mounted to the poop deck can accomplish the same goal.