Joint Fiberglass, Painting, and Cabin Headliner

[Ambler27FC]

Posts to this page seem a little more rare this year, so I thought I would throw out some thoughts on projects on an A27 over the past few years.

1) If you get to the point where you want to paint the topside, removing the trim between the cockpit and deck and replacing with fiberglass is an easy move. A weekends work and it completely removed all leaks. Adding a little ridge before the end of the cockpit structure easily removes water getting into the cockpit under any canvas. Those trim boards are (almost entirely) not structural - you can only improve the joint.

2) Single part top-side paint is still holding up very well after 3 years. The rolling and tipping process can give a spray-finish look with practice, and you only need to get the last coat perfect so plenty of practice. Will I have to repaint in couple years? Probably, but still less work that buffing and waxing every year. There are areas to the sides of the aft cabin where water tends to sit that is a problem that needs fixing because it is too much exposer for top-side paint.

3) I decided to remove the liner in both cabins because I couldn't trace leaks. A leak in the back cabin was due to a loose cleat (very bad) and in the front cabin it was a poor cutout for the overhead hatch. In both cases the water traveled 4-8 feet under the headliner before becoming visible. Not having a headline allows you to see any leaks quickly (comforting). It took 4-5 pints of fairing compound and then paint and some trim-work to make the cabins look good again, but it looks as nice as it did before.

4) I re-did the hull-deck joint, which is not for the faint of heart. Two months of work. On my boat someone had tried to cover up issues by smearing epoxy over them. If you can leave the joint as-is, they still sell the rub rail but the joint cannot be changed. I decided to remove the goop and the gel-coat, re-rivet, and then fiberglass over the whole thing so that it would be bullet-proof. The next sizes of rub rail require a much thicker joint, so I added foam below the joint and 1/8 to 1/4" of fiberglass over the whole thing. I suspect it would do pretty good with a sea-wall impact.

Anyway, sorry for the long post. Just some thoughts.