I have to confess that it was very difficult to get started on anything Shoal Waters related today. In fact, I did not start anything until after lunch. But eventually I made the effort and continued the task of the leaks in the cockpit.
Again I chose small tasks to begin with and that meant hot air gun and scraper to remove some of the paint on the starboard side of the aft block. Not a complete scrape, just enough to locate the screws.
Then it was a case of using the multi-tool, hammer and chisel to remove the runners.
Once most of the thickness of the runners was taken away, the rest broke off the keel, splitting along the glue line. These are some of the pieces that just came off, indicating that the bond was not longer good.
This screw was interesting. The left image is what remained on the port side and the right image shows the large screw that it was originally.
I suppose it was the work of about an hour to clear the runners away and then sweep up the mess. The wood of the aft block is quite wet but it does not seem to have any rot. The plan for this part of the leak repairs is to cut new runners to replace the old ones and then leave the repair so that the wood has a chance to dry out.
Then the wood will be soaked in penetrating epoxy, allowing that to cure before fitting the new runners.
The two outer runners will start at the forward end of the centerplate case and run all the way back to the aft, seen here. This means that it will not be fitted until all the other centerline leaks have been dealt with. This runner will be glued in place and screwed with just enough screws to hold it in place as it will be curved to fit the keel.
The upper runner, originally the same width as the runner that came with the hull, will be cut wider than before such that the wood overlaps the join between the two lower runners, thus providing more “leak proofing”.
None of the keel leaks around the case are a problem. The two that will probably be a little more taxing are the transom leak and the leak under the port bulkhead that forms the front of the footwell.
Time for a cup of tea.