Shrink Wrap and the Damage done.

Will not be in the water this year... complacent on my part. A few years back (7 to be exact) the
bow rail was a little loose in spots, no big deal tighten it up and off we went. Then a few years later
a few cracks appear where the toe rail meets the fore deck, a little grind and epoxy. The the fun
really started when the deck went soft in one spot. Never imagined the extent of the damage until
this fall when we decided to do the refit. Pictures to follow, just a word of caution in the north where
the temperature drops (freezing). The root cause of loosing my decks, yes all of it about 2 feet in
from the toe rail, was "shrink wrap". The strain put on the bow rail cracked the glass beneath the
pads, could not be seen, letting water into the toe rail (hollow by the way). Subsequent freezing
created the cracks at the area where the toe rail meets the deck (more water intrusion) except
now it was free to wick into the balsa coring which destroyed the deck. Never occurred to me
to brace the bow rail when covering the boat for the winter, lesson learned.
The DYLAMAR will be back next season standing tall after the refit. Many improvements to the old
girl planned, new eskimo ice machine, enlarged drop in fish boxes in the cockpit (one to be the ice
dump), transom live well/fishbox with new teak covering boards, new hardtop on the bridge, along
with the new decks and paint. Following the Sea Lion restoration down at the Willis yard, I should
start a page for the Dylamar.