Flybridge cowl and deck refurbishment.

The flybridge sole was perforated with many holes when we bought the boat.  There was also a large bench seat to port which was screwed right down through the protective glass cover and into the material below.  Gee, what could go wrong with that?  So we removed that bench and cleared the decks for filling and re-gel coating of the entire area.

• With the understanding that one of the best ways to modernize the appearance of an older boat is to remove the visible seems wherever possible, we glassed the cowl, inside and out, to the flybridge sole to remove all water ingress potential and to give everything a more uniform look.

• We also grinded down the upper helm seam lip which is where two halves of the roof (upper/lower) were joined and then glassed it shut and faired it out.  Originally this seam was covered by an aluminum strip which we no longer need after having glassed the seam over.  That aluminum strip was also a drip catch but we plan to make the side windows immovable, perhaps with a single pane of glass, in order to approve appearance, improve efficiency of air conditioning and to eliminate windows leaks and associated maintenance.

• After filling all the holes and cracks and then adding glass to better support the top portion of the cowl, we gel coated the flybridge sole and interior of the cowl.

• While we had the gel coat spray setup in operation, we also prepped and sprayed the hull.