bertram31.com

Can someone tell me how the teak trim piece on the corner of the head where the door latches on an FBC comes off? I want to remove it, sand it, epoxy undercoat it, varnish it with the sprayer, and put it back in. Varnishing that thing in place is a bitch and every year I get big nicks on the bottom where people have accidentally kicked it.

The vertical piece on the left is the one I am talking about.



Thanks in advance.

that piece is screwed in and has teak dowel plugs.....find the plugs and you find the screws....

phil

Phil,

Thanks. I'll go back and look for the teak plugs, but I have not been able to find any at this point. It's been a huge mystery to me. It's almost like they used dowels to attach the trim piece to the plywood bulkhead between the galley and the head and simply glued or epoxied it in. That's the traditional way to put in a face frame.

I even wondered if they might have used a pocket hole jig, used screws from the bulkhead side to attach the trim piece and then put the formica over the pocket hole jig holes.

The whole damn thing is a mystery to me at this point.

JohnV8er,
They put the formica over the screws that go thru the bulkhead from the outside of the head and filled the holes with surfacing putty. If you really want to get those trim pieces off, get a heat gun and a real sharp edged large putty knife, work under the leading edge very carefully and place lots of wedges between the formica and the bulkhead, work slow because that laminate gets real brittle with age. Laminate is attached with contact cement. I had to replace mine and I have the brown formica that is very hard to match if it breaks. The trim will come off in one peice after you get to the screws under the laminate. Good luck.
Pete

Thanks Pete!

I would not take them off. Sand and varnish in place. And to those that kick and generally hurt the boat, tell 'em this could be your last trip. Unless it's your wife.