Sea Sprite 28

This was my view of the Sea Sprite when I first entered it.

The first thing I checked out was the black area of the sole...

It wasn't a pretty sight! My first impression was that the bilge was fill to the sole level with dirty, black oil. Of course, there was just a layer of oil floating on top of bilge water, but I knew it would take some effort to clean it out. I also realized that, since the teak and holly was saturated with the oil, it would need to be replaced.

Once the boat was in my driveway, I worked on removing the sole. The original cement did a great job of holding it secure -- to keep the sole intact, I needed to remove it in sections. I used my Rotozip to slice it into three sections and carefully freed the sections with pry bars. By keeping the sole intact, I was able to use it as a template for the new sole.

Here's the sole right after removal.

I bought a 4' by 8' sheet of 1/4" teak and holly from Boulter Plywood. Cost at that time was $120. (They've sinced increased their prices.)

To prepare for the new sole, I cleaned the fiberglass sole as best as I could.

My new piece (with access panels cut out) were soon ready after that, but with so much work to do on the boat, I decided to hold off on permanently installing it until the other work was done.

Since I expected to be working on the boat for another two years, and since I wanted it to look better (if only for me, since I was the only one who spent time on the boat), I painted it with Bilgekote.

I applied epoxy to the bottom and sides of the sole (to protect it from water from below) and six coats of urethane/epoxy varnish.

I had lots of exta teak and holly, so I used it to replace the teak grate in the head area. I still have the grate, but since I don't think anyone will use the area to shower, I don't think I'll ever need it.

A nautical touch. This was a quick and easy project, perfect for winter.

Unfortunately, several weeks after launching the boat, signs of water damage started to appear. I've since pulled the sole out and refinished it.