- Joined
- Mar 27, 2005
- Messages
- 67
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 8
- Location
- Casco Bay Maine
- Model
- Freedom 255
I finally had it with the rest of the Duratrim on my '91 Tournament. Previous attempts of varnish; Penatrol; sanding, etc. had minimal results.
Time for HDPE.
There appears to be two mfg's of HDPE...King Starboard and CPC-Vycom Seaboard. Both offer the same color choices, which in my case is Seafoam, which almost exactly blends with the gelcoat of older Grady's.
Weird that they both have the same color.
Next hurdle was purchasing the material. For a 19' Grady all the trim pieces except the toe rails are 1/4". Toe rails are 1/2". Some pieces are 8' long, which I quickly discovered is a big problem when ordering. Hamilton Marine up here in Maine was the only retailer who sells less than full sheet of 1/4" and 1/2". The price of a full sheet makes you want to pretend the faded Duratrim is weathered teak, and just live with it.
I purch'ed a piece 27"X96", 3/8" for approx $90.00. This is enough to do all the trim. I suppose if I went with 1/2" for everything, it would be the cheapest way, but I wasn't quite confident how the visual look of that thickness would look when replacing the 1/4" Duratrim.
Anyways, I decided to keep looking for 2 8' pieces of 1/2" for the toe rails and use the 3/8" sheet for just the trim.
Since I had alot let over, I made some bases for the rear seats and some panels under the seats. Most times when I am alone in the boat I have my cushions stored in bags to prolong their appearance. The seat bases are used to cover the batteries. The slotted panels I made to prevent those slippery little buggers from sliding on the floor in back of the batteries
Here's how it looks so far:
Time for HDPE.
There appears to be two mfg's of HDPE...King Starboard and CPC-Vycom Seaboard. Both offer the same color choices, which in my case is Seafoam, which almost exactly blends with the gelcoat of older Grady's.
Weird that they both have the same color.
Next hurdle was purchasing the material. For a 19' Grady all the trim pieces except the toe rails are 1/4". Toe rails are 1/2". Some pieces are 8' long, which I quickly discovered is a big problem when ordering. Hamilton Marine up here in Maine was the only retailer who sells less than full sheet of 1/4" and 1/2". The price of a full sheet makes you want to pretend the faded Duratrim is weathered teak, and just live with it.
I purch'ed a piece 27"X96", 3/8" for approx $90.00. This is enough to do all the trim. I suppose if I went with 1/2" for everything, it would be the cheapest way, but I wasn't quite confident how the visual look of that thickness would look when replacing the 1/4" Duratrim.
Anyways, I decided to keep looking for 2 8' pieces of 1/2" for the toe rails and use the 3/8" sheet for just the trim.
Since I had alot let over, I made some bases for the rear seats and some panels under the seats. Most times when I am alone in the boat I have my cushions stored in bags to prolong their appearance. The seat bases are used to cover the batteries. The slotted panels I made to prevent those slippery little buggers from sliding on the floor in back of the batteries
Here's how it looks so far: