Wooden Boat People
By McKenzieDriftBoat.com
Restoring Old Blue
I had no idea what I was in for. I have refinished dining and coffee tables, worked construction part time to pay for college, and even spent a solid month refinishing the wood floors in my house. I thought the seemingly simple leak around the chine would take mabe a weekend or so to repair. Seriously. I thought it would be simple. Laugh all you want. I deserve it.
Now to the task at hand. I removed the interior, the UHMW bottom, and sanded the bottom and sides. What I found during all of this is that the boat (built in the early 90s by a hack) was built using drywall screws and subflooring ringshank nails. Seriously. Drywall screws and ringshank nails. Fortunately, the ringshank nails had lost all of their 'rings' via rust and the screws mostly pulled right out. Luckily, the plywood only had some minor discoloration where the screws and nails had been applied. Randy at Tatman Boats advice was to clean out any soft material around the holes and repair. I did just that. Other than that the plywood and boat itself is as solid as any other.
When I removed the chine cap I removed some veneer from the sides. I have applied up to three coats of a very thick mixture of epoxy (trying to keep it from sagging) in key areas. I also applied some epoxy to the sides because the grain had seperated a bit and I want the paint to set and cure like glass. This weekend I will finish sanding both sides as well as the bottom. I think next weekend I will be painting.....any ideas for the type of paint???
I have attached some pictures of my progress.......thanks for all of your help and advice!!!! Much appreciated!
Now to the task at hand. I removed the interior, the UHMW bottom, and sanded the bottom and sides. What I found during all of this is that the boat (built in the early 90s by a hack) was built using drywall screws and subflooring ringshank nails. Seriously. Drywall screws and ringshank nails. Fortunately, the ringshank nails had lost all of their 'rings' via rust and the screws mostly pulled right out. Luckily, the plywood only had some minor discoloration where the screws and nails had been applied. Randy at Tatman Boats advice was to clean out any soft material around the holes and repair. I did just that. Other than that the plywood and boat itself is as solid as any other.
When I removed the chine cap I removed some veneer from the sides. I have applied up to three coats of a very thick mixture of epoxy (trying to keep it from sagging) in key areas. I also applied some epoxy to the sides because the grain had seperated a bit and I want the paint to set and cure like glass. This weekend I will finish sanding both sides as well as the bottom. I think next weekend I will be painting.....any ideas for the type of paint???
I have attached some pictures of my progress.......thanks for all of your help and advice!!!! Much appreciated!
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Comment
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Comment by Craig on March 2, 2009 at 10:07am
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Sanderson,
Yeah I think ill get some of the epoxy from you as well as the paint. I like the sould of that stuff. The Raka that I am using takes FOREVER to cure enough to be sandable.....and it is finicky in the cold weather. If I came up to Vida on Friday would you have the chine and transom battens as well as new rub rails? Are the rub rails already scarf jointed together? chine batten?
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Comment by sanderson on March 1, 2009 at 12:47pm
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SilverTip QuikFair is a system three product that is a lightweight, fast-curing two-part epoxy fairing putty. you can go to : http://www.systemthree.com/p_st_quikfair.asp yes you can put it over the epoxy that you have used. i would not recommend using a palm sander for any final sanding because it is very hard to keep a smooth surface. it will look fine but there will be small "waves" in the paint if you look down the side of the boat. the smother the unfinished surface is the easier it will be to get the primer smooth and then the final coat as well. yes I sell the paint and I can make you chine and transom battens. I normally have some pre-cut at the shop.
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Sanderson, what is quick fair? Can I use it over the thin layers of epoxy theat I already have in place and sanded over? You mentioned sanding with a big block....Can I used a palm sander? Do you have these products in stock? I have been the Interlux website and I think one of the deep blue's wouls look sharp! Do you have the paint in stock as well. Also, I will need the chine and transom caps soon. Do you need me to pay up front before you build the chine caps.....its a 16'x48". Let me know...thanks for the advice!!!!!
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Hey Ross....the chine batten was lumber....I belive back then they were using white oak and that appears to be the wood used on mine. The original builder used 2 produts. One was caulking....I think it was just a siliccone based. It pulled apart rather easily when removing the chine. The other was a hard wood filler. I am not sure what it is, but it is responsible for the extra effort to remove he chine. It has a pinkish color. Not sure what it is. As far as the leak, I noticed several very small leaks when I would row the boat. All around the chine. All of the trim will be replaed with new when I get around to it. I could see areas around the chine (discoloration) where Im certain that it had leaked. It wont leak anymore. I have several layers of epoxy in the gap and it is sealed tight. I just need to finish sanding and Ill be ready for paint. Thanks for the response, Ross.
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if you want that glass paint look i would use system three quick fair on all of the sides and block sand it out with a big block. then use a primer and block sand it out again. if you do that it makes it much easier to get a glass like finish. as for paint I am still fond on interlux toplac or brightside . it is around $40 a quart but that is enough to do the outside of the boat if you prime.
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Comment by Randy Dersham on March 1, 2009 at 8:31am
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It looks like your doing a great job Craig. Keep at it. The work your doing now is fixing the poor work done the first time around. This project is going to be well worth it.
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Comment by Ross Duncan on March 1, 2009 at 5:32am
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What the condition of the chine batten? Was it plywood or lumber? Was it bedded in adhesive?, Epoxy or 5200? Did you ever find the actual source of the leak?
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For some reason these pictures post VERY narrow. Ill place them on page!
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