The answer when “universal” isn’t quite
Issue 114: May/June 2017
You can buy a key for the old-style slotted deck-fill caps, but about the only type available is a universal key designed to fit several cap styles. I’ve found the curved-blade side of the key, intended to fit my style of fill cap, is not a close fit, and it’s hard to grip the universal key firmly enough to gain the leverage sometimes needed to remove a stubborn cap. I figured I could make a purpose-built key that did a better job.
I crafted my deck-fill key from materials lying around in my garage. It consists of a shaped piece of 1/8-inch bronze and bookend handles made from leftover teak.
My biggest challenge was determining the radius of the curve in the deck-fill cover. I’m no mathematician, so I did it the simplest way I could think of: I pressed a chunk of modeling clay into the slot in the cap. That gave me the exact shape and depth for the perfect key. It turned out that the curvature matched that of a 2 1/2-inch hole saw, so I used the hole saw as a template to scribe the shape onto the bronze.
The rest was pretty easy. I cut out the rough shape of the hilt and blade of my tool on my band saw, then filed it to shape and sanded it smooth.
The handle is two pieces of teak attached independently, one each side of the hilt. Using a 7/64-inch bit, I drilled four holes along the centerline of the hilt, two pairs about 1/4-inch apart toward each end, then tapped them for 6 x 32 bronze machine screws. The offset ensured the screws on opposite sides would not bottom out against each other but would penetrate the opposite-side teak.
Before assembling the teak pieces to the key, I spray-varnished them and finished off the bronze surface with 120-grit paper on a random-orbit sander. I used a utility knife to score the hilt and insides of the varnished handle halves before applying thickened West System 105 epoxy to both surfaces and fastening the teak pieces in place.
Glyn Judson and his wife, Marilyn, have sailed Santa Monica Bay and the Channel Islands together since 1982, for the last 20 years on their 1979 Ericson Independence 31, Dawn Treader, that they keep in Marina del Rey, California. They always sail with Glyn’s current guide dog in training.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
