Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

First off let me say that I love the forum. It's been a great resource. I have a '98 Z221 Talari that I've owned for 3 years now. Recently my radio bezel broke after a long day of boating. I followed the info from a post here and replaced it with a vinyl wrapped aluminum plate. I'm a Tool Maker by trade so I hand made all the parts. I had several open slots including the cassette tape holder which I eliminated. I'm very happy with the results, the vinyl matched the original dash pretty darn close. It's just a little more red than the original.

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

I'm now tackling the sun deck. The next time I went boating after fixing the radio the darn threads pulled out of the sun deck hinges. I've stripped the sun deck down to bare wood. It's very solid with the exception of the steel tee nuts that rusted apart. I've made three stainless plates with stainless weld nuts that I plan to insert into the wood. But now that I've gone this far I'd like to seal the wood to keep it from bleeding this dark brown water from it's edges when it gets wet. Anyone have any ideas on what I would use to seal the wood before I reinstall the foam and upholstery?

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

That bezel looks factory! Good job.
I don't have an answer for fixing the bleeding wood on the sundeck, just wanted to compliment the fix.

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Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

Bezel looks awesome!:wink_thumbup:
I'd use Helmsman Spar Varnish on it. Need to make sure you do all sides.:yes_grin:

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

if your sun deck wood is water saturated, you need to replace it. one issue that most make is sealing wet wood. That is the last thing you want to do.

It either need to be totall dried or sealed with back yard wood deck seal. this allows what ever moisture is trapped in it now to escape and deny any new moisture from coming in.

If it were me, Id replace that board all together and seal it with a good wood stain sealer.

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

Thanks for the recommendations guys. At this time replacing the board may be my only option. There is a lot of adhesive on both sides. I just spent the entire evening trying to sand it off with no luck. I doubt I'll get any type of stain to hold with all of the adhesive residue everywhere. Sucks because my intentions started out to just peel enough fabric back to get the stainless nut plates installed. But one thing lead to another, and now I'm sitting here with with the thing completely dismantled.

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

I know its too late for you, but if anyone else has this hinge problem I'd like to suggest my fix. I was tempted to build a backer plate with captive nuts as in your pic, but instead I used new stainless steel T-nuts that were one size bigger than original. I think OEM were 5/16 and I used 3/8 inch. This obviously means you have to use new SS bolts as well, but the added flange size on the bigger T-nuts was enough to solidly hold the hinge hardware to the wood deck. Completely rebuilt the hinges for under $50.

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

If your gonna replace it , use King Starboard.:rolleyes: Why use wood again?:shakehead:

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

I would suggest the same. It may be a little more expensive but you won't have to mess with it again.

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Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

I thought the same and in many locations around the boat I think this is a good idea too., except here.

Figure, his boat is 15 years old already. Will he still own it in 15 more years ? if not, then why spend the money or bother.

In 15 years what will the vinyl look like ? Even if he reupholsters today, and he uses his boat regularly it will be time to do it all over again then anyways.

dont get me wrong, Im a big fan of boat-board or star-board products, but the additional costs in my opinion dont add up here.

If he uses a good quality 10-12 ply board, then stain-seals it well after construction it will last beyond the vinyl life. Mariah did not seal any wood in the construction of our seats and they lasted how long ???

Food for thought.

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

:confused:To each his own.

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

What's that supposed to mean ?

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

I see no use in doing a repair that is sooner or later going to be the exact same result as he started with. Whether the vinyl lasts that long or not.
You see it different.
That's all I'm saying.

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

Is that all you read in my post ?

if the wood is treated correctly it will last as long and cost far less.

Regardless, if the owner is not going to own the boat as long as the necessary repairs life, but yet with some simple care and preparation will extend that life substantially, why wouldn't that be a far more cost effective approach ?

In cases where the wood is exposed to prolonged moisture with no ventilation there no question about it. But the sun deck is not that situation.

If cost is No worry, then why not build it out of Kevlar ? That too will out last everything on the boat.

I look at everything I do on my boat in a coat effective manner. I plan to own my boat for at least 13 more years (the age it is now) and every change, repair or improvement I make must last that, plus 50% longer (hopefully)

I look at the methods Mariah used and try and improve on them. It lasted this long so far, so I know it will do that (and then some).

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

Dunes... Apparently you dont agree with Larry's approach and that's fine. Leave it at that. Personally i would rather do it a little better than the original method and use it as a selling feature if the right opportunity comes along but each method has its benefits and as such, to each his own.

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

Dont you mean that Larry didnt agree with mine ? I offered as an alternative (not a disagreement) to his suggestion, a method that was far more cost effective and like you said "little better than the original method".

Exactly what useful purpose did Larry have in making his reply "To each his Own" as his only reply to my suggestion ? If he disagrees with me, than that is his opinion and should be kept "to himself" and not aired here. Did I do that to his post ? Response from moderators like this is what will kills sites like this. This site has been a great resources to all of it's members and the (drama) free exchange of ideas is what keeps it that way.

If you or he dont value my opinion as a member here, then come right out and say it. But you coming to his defense does not show well to others wishing to offer their suggestions in the future for fear of rebuttal by the management.

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

Dunes.. Larry's opinion of how to repair the deck went up first and you responded. I saw nothing wrong with Larry's response of 'to each his own' as it implied that individuals will have their own method of repairs depending on where they see the value. You apparently didn't see it that way.

As such, i will again suggest "leave it at that" and that my friend, was directed at both sides.

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

Well guys I would have loved to have made it out of the plastic material, but unfortunately I'm in too deep now. With all of the sanding supplies and the stain I bought. I'm going to have to either get the old board dried out or purchase a new piece.

CroMagnum44, my first thought was to replace just the tee nuts. But unfortunately in my case the old tee nuts had completely pulled through the deck, leaving 3/4" holes. Also my oem inserts were 1/4-20, not 5/16-18. Not sure if that varies boat to boat.

But heck, I figure with whichever material I go with outlasts the boat I could always add some legs to it and convert it into a Mariah picnic table!

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

:yes_grin:

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

Shoot us some pics td.:wink_thumbup:
Be nice to see it documented.

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

Absolutely TDmaker, if you could document it with pics, I'm sure a lot of our members would appreciate seeing what type of work is involved! If it's not possible, then just keep us updated! Good luck! :wink_thumbup:

Re: Radio bezel and sun deck repair
 

I definitely will. :wink_thumbup: