The coamings on A-24 were in pitiful shape in terms of finish and it wasn't until I removed the finish and got down to sanding that I knew their true condition. To my delightment I found no rot found anywhere on the coamings themselves. There was a little on the bottom of the pieces that touch the side of the cabin that the coaming screws into. The plan to fix that is to cut out the rotton part and glue up another piece of mahogany to match. I am fortunate to have a pretty good supply of mahogany from the same era that the Ariels were made because I got my hands on the remains of an old 1959 runabout that someone cut up. The wood looks identical once sanded so it should be a seamless fix. To remove the finish I used a heat gun with a steady, patient technique. I was able to remove all the finish on both coamings in about 1 hour. Then I sanded with a typical orbital sander, followed by hand sanding to prep for the varnish. Both coamings are now ready for varnish which should be started this coming weekend. Below is a picture of the half-way point with the heat gun and a couple comparison pictures after finishing the first coaming.
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