jerry bonded the M15 deck to the hull before thru-bolting. the toe rail is also bedded to the deck as part of the thru-bolting process. this all means you have a DIFFICULT task to remove the toe rail and may damage the teak getting it off of the deck. the deck to hull joint has no balsa core so there is little reason to remove all those bolts, teak plugs, etc unless you have a known problem (i've only read of two instances of a hull/deck leak on one of jerry's boats ... a early, mid-70s M17 and an M23). the outboard flange and box hull/deck joint is really strong without the bolts installed and you need not worry that the deck will come off if you choose to remove the toe rail (again, i don't recommend you remove the toe rails). i suggest (i did it to my M15) you strip, clean and re-finish the toe rail in place. it is good maintenance to re-bed the deck hardware every seven-ish years. this protects the balsa core. this also makes it easier to refinish the teak. i have also refinished deck teak (on my M17 and M15) in place. be sure to follow the instructions for whatever you use when removing old finish so as not to damage the gelcoat. be careful when sanding so as not to damage the gelcoat. use finish of your personal choice. i prefer Dalys SeaFin Teak Oil. details on some of my refinishing work - http://m17-375.webs.com/apps/blog/show/1081975-teak-oiling-has-begun http://m17-375.webs.com/rebeddinghardware.htm :: Dave Scobie :: former M15 owner - www.freewebs.com/m15-named-scred :: M17 #375 - SWEET PEA - www.m17-375.webs.com :: Sage Marine - www.sagemarine.com --- On Sun, 10/16/11, Gordon Gilbert <gordon@financialwriting.net> wrote:
On Oct 16, 2011, at 6:44 PM, Ted Weidenbach wrote:
Hi everyone,
It is October and sailing season has pretty much come to an end in Minnesota. I am looking to refurbish the wood on the 1981 monty 15 that I bought last winter. I was wondering if anyone has any advice on what worked well for them at any point in the process. From taking off the wood (which I am doing now) to sanding to making it look good, any help would be appreciated.
Also the toe rail is wood and I want to take that off but I still need to transfer it to storage. Does the toe rail keep the top of the boat and the bottom of the boat attached? It looks like that is what is keeping it together and if I took it off I wouldn't want to be driving down the highway with it. Any thoughts?
Thanks, Ted