Learning the ropes

To the editor: It’s a shame you didn’t publish Roger Marshall’s article on replacing rotten deck core a few months ago (Eliminating deck rot, issue #200, March/April 2012). It would have saved our son, Paul, quite a bit of time as he has just gone through the same exercise on his 1975 Cape Dory 28. He has a lot more work to do. He has been showing interest in learning the boat systems and repair skills that I failed to pass on when he was younger, so Terrie and I started him off by spending a week on the boat and throwing every piece of hose, wiring and equipment over the side. We also got him to remove all the through hulls, stanchions, and every fitting and piece of hardware that penetrates the hull and deck, so he is starting with a clean slate. I gave him a copy of my Boatowner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual and then we went home and left him to figure out how to put it all back together! Mum and Dad keep an amused eye on how he is doing through his blog at www.sailfeed.com/paul-calder.     

—Contributing editor Nigel Calder is the author of Boatowner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual, How to Read a Nautical Chart, Marine Diesel Engines and several other marine books.

By Ocean Navigator