Classic Australian Wooden Power Boat Association

Nice. Very nice Bob.

Well today was a crap day. The task today was to stain the deck with Interlux CC Mahogany stain. It looked ordinary when it went on... a bit patchy and with an orange tinge. It's nothing like the sides of the hull, which makes me think that the previous "restorer" used an incorrect stain. I have another stain fronm the US from a company called Sandusky who also do a CC mahoagny stain and on a test piece it comes out a little browner. So the task tomorrow is to sand off the Interlux stain and apply the Sandusky version. I may even apply a second coat of the walnut stain to see if it will go a little darker. To round out a frustrating day, a bird flew into my shed and crapped on the freshly stained deck. I guess that was an omen.

Now it looks "poo hot" mate, I don't mind the lighter look, but not the orange.

Sanded entire deck & transom removing the stain and reverting to bare timber. The trusty Festool sander didn't miss a beat but it did chew through 51 disks which clogged pretty easily. Now, back to staining with the Sandusky product this afternoon, plus a second coat of walnut stain on the cover boards. Ain't boat restoration fun!

Jobs done.... back to where I was 24 hours ago but this time the result is much more acceptable.

Looking good Bob.

Varnish day today. Started by cleaning up the hull sides with a razor scraper, a little wet n dry on select spots then a thorough going over with a Scotchbrite pad on the sander, all the while making sure not to cut through the stain. The previous owner had applied a dozen coats of satin varnish which didn't look too appealing to my eye . So prep work done, then out with the full gloss varnish. Used roll & tip process, took my time & very happy with coat #1. It can only improve from here.

A couple more pics. Prep done pic pre varnish and first coat of varnish on.

Fantastic Bob! When I first saw Nirvana I thought why aren’t you fixing that up? Now I get it, being retired having the time, patience and your eye for detail and getting it right is the way to go! I take my (captains) hat off to you mate, superb restoration job/story …so far!
Thanks and cheers mate

Thanks Chivs. You're very astute & wise.