At the risk of offending some of the more traditional Robert Perry fans out there, I decided to remove the teak trailboards from my T-37.  I believe he added these trailboards to many, if not all, of his double ender designs, and while I do like them, they add to the busy, cluttered look of the sheer line.  One of my trailboards was badly cracked and all the rest were in need of refinishing.  Rather than doing all that  replacement/refinishing, I decided removal was the best option for me.  Also, I have been on a fifteen year quest to remove as much exterior teak from my boat as I possibly can.  I am pleased with the reduced maintenance and especially happy with the clean and uncluttered look I've achieved.  I do not feel that it detracts from the traditional look of my boat, and in fact enhances the beautiful lines.

     Removing the trailboards is straight forward and simple enough.  First I removed the mooring line hawsepipes.  Next I removed the teak plugs and screws holding the boards to the topsides, then took a large chisel and pryed off the boards.  They came off in pieces.  They were bedded in the typical Ta Yang black bedding compound.  I cleaned the surface with acetone, then filled the screw holes with thickened epoxy.  I gelcoated the surface and then polished the topsides to blend the color.  The hawsepipes need to be cut down to allow for the thinner bulwark before they are reinstalled.  I took this opportunity to weld closed the attachment holes and tap them to accept 1/4" x 20 bronze flathead machine screws rather that reusing the peened over copper rods that Ta Yang used to install them originally.  

Ralph Richardson
TERRA NOVA
T-37 ketch #406
Portland, Oregon