Beginning work on my new boat - 1994 Drifter built by Stuart Williams

I am looking out the window at blowing snow (Bozeman, Montana) and thinking about where I will start on my winter project of restoring the interior of a drift boat that I bought last Friday. The boat should have been in good shape from what I see of the exterior hull, but it was left out all summer and fall in a fly shop parking lot. The sun and weather got to the brightwork on the interior and needs some TLC. My first decision is whether to reapply varnish or paint the interior with something like Interlux Brightsides or Alwgrip; any advise would be appreciated. I have looked over a number of the photos in the photo alblum of this web site and there are any number of really nice boats that have used either approach. I would also apprciate any advise as to where I might find a source of material and items for driftboats such as anchor fittings and oars. At any rate, I look forward to checking the site frequently and looking for new ideas on wooden boat maintenance and refinishing/construction. It is time to get back out into the garage and get some boat seats removed. Roger Rippy (aka Rip)

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Permalink Reply by JAY STRUGNELL on November 13, 2011 at 8:12pm

Hello Roger, Great to see another wood drift boat owner posting on here. I'm not familiar with the products You mention, You will get many different opinions on what finish owners prefer on the interior. Ulta violet light and water,like you said will take its toll. With proper indoor storage any of the finishes should last a very long time. Remember that if you paint it then change your mind later it will be difficult indeed to go back to clear. My brothers boat is epoxy and varnished and 18 years old. It has been revarnished in spots but is beautiful still today. My ten footer is also epoxy varnished and eight years old. My current project is about 50 years old and has been varnished only.  Almost no varnish left,but the wood though dry is not in bad shape,it will have the interier sanded and varnished,if I miss a spot it will look old, but wont be green or blue or worse. I guess You have figured out whitch I prefer. Good luck and have fun,if it stops being fun, I sit down and rethink my priorities and try to put things back into prospective.

Permalink Reply by Roger Rippy on November 14, 2011 at 4:25pm

Thanks Jay and it is good to meet you; I am new to this site and discussion group and you are my first reply since joining. You certainly make a good point about painting as opposed to varnishing. Most of my previous sailboats were glass with wood interiors and trim on the exterior, and I was certainly proud of the apppearance of my brightwork; varnish really does look nice when it is done right and maintained. But it is a fair amount of work if you are applying multiple coats. I still have a lot of preparation work to do with removing old peeling varnishing and sanding the wood down before I have to make a final decision. You are absolutely right about the headache of removing paint in order to apply varnish! Ha...that is really work. It is turning cold in Montana with snow on the ground so I am looking forward to working on the boat in the garage this winter. Thanks again for the reply and the ideas. Rip 

Permalink Reply by Lawrence E. Long on November 15, 2011 at 6:23am

Rip:

I am headed out to Kalispell in the AM via Salt Lake City driving through Salmon- I hope I get there by Thanksgiving.

Trying to get a goodlooking varnish job on an older boat that has been neglected sounds  like a lot of work- and it might not look the best when you are done with  it.  Starting out with new work I might consider a full varnish job- but consider the maintenace required- muddy waders, labrador retrievers, etc .  Sanding down solid wood- gunwales, rubrails etc is  possible to get back down to "new wood"- but be careful about sanding plywood.  It is easy to eat through a ply  - and then it will always look  poorly.  The heatgun and a dull scraper work well.

I have used Pettit and Inerlux but never Alwgrip- my understanding is the Alwgrip is toxic as hell and should only be applied by a professional with a full suit and respirator.  I have been using Kirby's for a good number of years and am very happy with it.  My skiff sits on a mooring in salt water from May to Oct and it holds up well.

Just finiished the 3rd coat of #19 Blue on the interior of my current build(one more to go) and it looks very good. The Kirby Paint co.  has been making marine paint since  1846.  Still owned and operated by the Kirby family.  These guys actually answer the phone when you call.

163 Mt. Vernon St.

New Bedford , MA  02740

508-997-9008

kirbypaint.com

Good Luck

Permalink Reply by Roger Rippy on November 15, 2011 at 6:11pm

Thanks Lawrence for taking the time to let me know about Kirby paints; I went and viewed their web site and they offer quite a variety of paints. Most of my previous boats were fiberglass sailboats or rowing dinghys with solid wood trim or interiors; usually teak or mahogany. I usually would varnish the brightwork; rarely paint. I did use a small amount of brushed on Alwgrip while fitting out a Bristol 31 at the Atlantic Yacht Basin near Norfolk and it set up pretty hard. But you are right in that it is toxic stuff and if you spray it on you need to has a full respriator suit. The picture I posted on this site was taken just a few days ago after moving this boat into my garage; I plan to remove the old varnish with a heat gun and scraper. Since I have all winter to enjoy myself working on this boat, I probably will not be in much of a hurry. I think that the exterior paint is the original that was applied back in 1994 and it actually is in good shape. The boat appears to have seen little use, but I hope to change that beginning next spring after the breakup. I tried to call the builder Stuart Williams to ask about what paint he was using, but I think that I had a wrong number. His web site appears to have not been updated for a few years so who knows. At any rate thanks for the advice, especially the part about being careful not to sand through a layer of the plywood; I had not thought about that since my past experience has been mostly with solid woods. I hope that your trip to Kalispell goes well; winter has arrived in full force around here. Thanks again. Rip

Permalink Reply by Terry E Walsh on November 16, 2011 at 7:35pm
So were are the pics?
Permalink Reply by Roger Rippy on November 17, 2011 at 5:54pm

Well Terry that is a pretty good question and the answer is just about as short. I have just a couple of pictures; I typically do not take a lot of photographs. But that is a good idea and I think I will take a picture every now and then as this refurbish progresses. By the way, I looked at your pics and they are really good; nice fish. Where were they taken? Did you build the boat?

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Permalink Reply by Terry E Walsh on November 17, 2011 at 7:49pm
The pics are from the Big Horn! The boat is a 1960 that I rebuilt and it was a mess! It is solid now and does not leak one ounce of water. U should get a lot of good years out of yours!
Permalink Reply by Roger Rippy on November 19, 2011 at 8:51am

Great pics Terry; the Big Horn is certainly a great fishery. I look forward to the day I can haul this boat over there. Meantime I have a winter to refinish the boat; tie a few patterns; and do a little winter fishing on the Lower Madison or Gallatin. I am attaching a pic of the boat sitting in a fly shop parking area about a week ago before I bought it. Thanks again.

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Permalink Reply by Josh on November 18, 2011 at 1:02pm

I have driven by that boat quite a few times out at the flyshop and always thought about stopping and taking a peak at it but for some reason never did....good to see someone got it and is going to take care of it! From the driveby's it looked to be in pretty good shape. From the picture it looks like the interior is painted with the just the gunwhales varnished? If that's the case it'll be best/easiest to stick with the type of finish that is already in place. For me....I have a tough time covering up wood with paint and would just give the varnished areas a good sanding and then re-apply varnish. Are you going to re-paint the exterior or is it in good shape? Does it need a new anchor set-up or just some misc. parts? Hopefully, I'll see it out on the water once winter is over here.

 

Josh 

Permalink Reply by Roger Rippy on November 19, 2011 at 5:49am

Thanks Josh for taking the time to write a reply. Yes, I too drove by that boat all summer on the way to work; my office is at four corners. I contacted the owner in either late August or early September and hinted at a lower offer; I also told him that the weather was playing havoc with the varnish and interior. Well about a week ago, I emailed him some photos of the interior and discussed an offer. Of course, my wife needed to be consulted about spending money in this recession; but we did reach a deal. The gunwales were varnished as well seat benches and various braces. The interior deck paint is flaking off and I thought about using the same paint you have used on your boat or maybe just add a non-skid substance to topside paint. The anchor set up is nothing more than a cheek block on the exterior of the transom and the anchor would rest against a sacrifice sheet of plywood. I think that it would be better to use one of the extension arms/stern roller that I see on most boats. Do you have any idea who sells the drift boat version of these? My only boat supplies catalogs are Defender and Jamestown. Josh, the exterior is actually in fairly good shape but it is painted with a dull color (flat) paint of unknown brand and type; the bottom is in great shape. I like a bright shiny exterior; I was over a Bacterin yesterday and was tempted to drive by your place to see if your boat was outside. The paint job certainly looks professional. I was thinking about replacing the plywood seat supports with a solid hard wood and then varnising them. My original thought was to sand the plywood and paint it. I agree with you on covering up nice looking wood, but wonder if I should unfasten the gunwales to get to the inboard sides of the wood? Would I be opening up a can of worms by doing so since they may be partially fastened with glue or epoxy? So at this point in the planning I have more questions than answers; I plan on working on the boat throughout the winter so I have plenty of time. I have already started by removing seats etc in preparation for scraping and sanding. I have been removing the glue left by the duct tape that was used to hold on the for sale sign all both sides of the bow; heat gun and solvent seem to be working.

  There are some really nice looking boats on this website; some look almost too nice to fish from. Ha! Thanks again for your response and any advice is well appreciated. All my previous boats (mostly sail) have been fiberglass with wood trim and interiors, so this wood boat is a little different and I am really enjoying myself with it. I will attach a photo of the boat when I bought it. Thanks again and hope to hear from you again soon.

Permalink Reply by Roger Rippy on November 19, 2011 at 4:24pm

Question for anyone,

There are a few spots on the hull and deck where the paint is cracked and the plywood underneath seems to have split. I attached a picture, but it is not too clear. Has anyone dealt with this? Wood is dry etc. I am thinking that I will sand it down and paint in some West epoxy. Does that sound right? Thanks in advance. Roger (aka Rip)  Bozeman, MT

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Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on November 20, 2011 at 8:33am

Roger, this is very common fir plywood checking.  The best for you to do now is exactly as you guessed.  Sand off the high spots without sanding too deep. Paint in some epoxy then fair it out and paint with a high quality marine paint.  The checking will return over a season or so.  Once it starts its an annual maintenance if you use the boat regularly.

The long term solution is to encapsulate the plywood with 6oz fiberglass cloth.  That's a big job that is best done before the boat is built.  It can be done now but to do it properly you should remove all of the existing paint down to wood before you laminate on any cloth. 

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