Sanded sole board edges, epoxied

This was a problem of our own making.  First we painted the bilge, including the edges against which the cabin sole board edges rest, which reduced the clearance enough to make it difficult to get the boards in and out.  Then we sanded the edges down to make them fit.  Then the raw wood on the edges, which we didn’t treat with anything, absorbed water and swelled, making it even harder to get them in and out.

Finally yesterday, using our latest fantastic new tool toy (Ryobi 3×21 belt sander–flat topped so you can flip it upside down and use it as a grinder) we sanded down the edges properly, and also the bottoms while we were at it, and coated all of those surfaces with penetrating epoxy.  (we used Smiths Penetrating Epoxy, purchased at our local chandlery Svendsens in Alameda–for those who don’t know, the penetrating epoxy is as far as I can tell just epoxy extremely thinned down with volatile solvents, so that it is thin enough to soak into things, the solvent evaporates off and the epoxy cures over the course of a day or so).

Eventually, we will add latches to these boards so they won’t fall out when we’re upside down.