Trunk Repair, Wood Oil, and Centerboard

Thursday evening's jib work did not proceed according to plan.  I was able to start a few machine stitches, but had to continue with hand sewing.  Since I was sewing a full panel at the jib's clew, progress was slow.  I stopped after completing the vertical zig-zag stitches, and decided to get fresh needles for my machine on Friday.

While I was out the next morning, I picked up some tung oil and fresh fiberglass resin.  I was not sure whether my old resin would still be usable.  As it turned out, it worked fine, but I had to destroy its can to pour it.  The cap was sealed solid.

Once I returned home, I coated the new ipê trunk cap with the tung oil.  I later oiled the teak thwarts, too.  However, I didn't sand the thwarts since I expect to replace them within the year.


Returning to the centerboard's trunk, I used foil tape backing below it's flange so I could fill the existing bolt holes while repairing its frayed fiberglass edges.  This seemed to work well.

While the resin was curing, I took a good look at the anodized aluminum centerboard.  It was in decent condition for having lasted 48 years.  Some of its anodized finish had worn away, but most was still intact.

I used some aluminum/mag polish to see how well it would clean up.  After polishing off a good amount of the heavier corrosion, I decided it was good enough to get me on the water.  I can always work on it more when the lakes are iced over.

At this point, I called it a day outside so I could continue working on the jib sail repairs.  My new machine needles were quickly broken or bent as I tried some sample stitches.  What a bother!  I decided to call it quits for the day on this as well.