Oldest To-Do Item - Done!

[kthoennes]

We bought our current boat in 2015. The previous owner (second owner) was great. Excellent maintenance, no complaints. He did leave me one item though. The sink faucet in the forward head was badly corroded and needed to be replaced. Not sure why, the aft head faucet looked fine, but forward the chrome was pitted and gray and greenish, all discolored and just looked gross. He left us a brand new replacement faucet - however, he never tackled it because someone had used adhesive caulk to seal the under-sink access panel to the surrounding cabinet. This weekend, my son and I finally tackled it. Knife, steak knife, chisel, screwdrivers, utility knife, pry bar, bent two cabinet door hinges until we took off all the hardware, just a struggle and a mess all around. I didn't want to break or crack the surrounding fiberglass cabinet so we had to be gentle. Took two hours by the time it let loose.

So in summary, we have a shiny new faucet in the forward bathroom, the access panel can now be easily removed in the future to reach all the plumbing, wiring and A/C ducting back there, and finally, may the bonehead who used 92 ounces of adhesive caulk to glue in an access panel be taken behind a boat storage yard and beaten black and blue with a gym sock filled with quarters. There, I feel better.

 

[Delta Riverat]

I agree! A pox on anyone gluing in an access panel.

Yup, another "what was he thinking" moment -

 

[Max1]

Congrats on finally tackling that task. I can imagine how frustrating it was. Fyi, one of my most favorite tools that I now keep on the boat is a battery powered oscillating saw. If I had to do that job I would have used the oscillating saw with a knife blade. Makes cutting through glue and silicone like cutting through butter. And no damage.

 

[Comodave]

That is why I don’t use 5200 on anything other than transducers or through hulls.

 

[Bmarler]

Ditto on the oscillating saw. I have two now, indispensable.
Why the heck would someone glue in that panel? Is it in a “wet” head?

 

[kthoennes]

That's a good question, no idea why somebody thought that was a good idea, or necessary. It's the only access panel glued in like that. No, the shower is inside its own enclosure so that's a dry sink area (even though there's a floor drain). The insert is actually an under-sink cabinet with two doors, normally held in with four big screws inside the cabinet box with decorative screw caps, so the access intention should be clear. There's an A/C duct in there, the wiring run forward to the windlass and forward berth, plumbing lines, 110v to the forward berth - all kinds of important stuff.

The photo doesn't show this very well because we had cleaned off a lot of the caulk by then and shop vac'd the chunks, but they didn't just fill the seam once the cabinet panel was in place - they buttered the entire back edge of the cabinet panel and then seated it in place.

Thanks for the tip though, I'll get myself an oscillating saw just for general purposes.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. k. FINALLY. Now you can get onto the other 373 things that have cropped up since Hahahaha...Just yanking your chain, a bit. I DO know the feeling, all too well.

Looks like that panel was inset from the cupboard face so an oscillating tool may not have helped much BUT, most definitely buy one. Countless uses. Buy a variety of different blades (when they're on sale) and lots of them.

Our new (to us) cat requires removing actual complete cupboard units to access various pumps, hoses and do-dads. Really quite straight forward as they are all surface mount although frustrating. Cut existing caulk, remove a few screws and VIOLA! Out she pops.

 

[kthoennes]

You're right, the insert cabinet is inset or recessed so the face is flush, so the challenge was cutting through an inch of caulk 90* behind the face -- cutting around a corner if you know what I mean. I have to say that Mainship is generally pretty good with access points and panels, I've only had to curse Mainship once -- access to the outboard side of the port engine (between the engine and the hull) is almost impossible. I have a skinny teenager who can get in there for now for filter changes and checks, but once he grows too much I'm screwed.

 

[Moonfish]

Well done!

 

[Mark Laurnen]

Judicious application of a heat gun can also ease the burden, but great care must be taken to avoid damaging, or burning, the components and finished surfaces. Good job! You were rewarded for your patience and perseverance!

 

[RustyPBucket]

That is why I don’t use 5200 on anything other than transducers or through hulls.

For some reason some people think that adhesives are a fix all for everything instead of a caulking. I’ve run into it lots and I curse to myself every time. But out comes the oscillating saw and the hard to reach places get the sharp fillet knife treatment.

 

[JP2]

But what of the original underlying cause? Had the same problem. Discovered someone had left a partially open container of cleaning solution in the cabinet. The fumes over a long period of time corroded the fixture metals slowly but significantly. We try not to do that anymore.

 

[kthoennes]

You know I never thought of that, but the fact that the under-counter space was (mostly) sealed, no air exchange and any moisture was trapped in there - maybe that's why that one bathroom faucet was so badly corroded, pitted and all the chrome had peeled off. That bathroom always smelled just a little "off," and not a holding tank smell either. I always figured it was because that cabinet is close to the anchor locker.