what next with the boat

[piquet95971]

Hi guys,
Now that I have spent so much time getting rid of all the paint and crud out of the inside of the boat I am interested in some feed back as to where next.

This boat has been neglected and left out of the water for quite a long time. All the timber seems to be very dry and as it is likely to be another 12 months before it sees water again i want to get something into the plywood to rejuvinate it.

I intend to varnish the inside of the boat and am wondering from you guys that have more experience in these matters as to what should be my next course of action.
All paint has been removed with the Coopers paint stripper and it looks quite amazing to see the original timber again.
It is Coachwood Plywood, as I have said previously. The ribs are Spotted Gum.

There is still some grime in the boat and I am wondering about using a wood cleaner as the next stage of getting it nice and bright?

I have been reading the Interlux web site and they talk about Interlux 1026 wood sealer, 2 coats to seal the timber, which is compatible with their single pack varnishes.

Or is this just overkill and should I just stick to varnish only and thin the first couple of coats down with the appropriate thinners to allow it to really soak into the plywood.
I am considering doing this now before I do any more work on planking, ribs etc so as to get some thing back into the timber and seal the surface for two reasons. So as to keep the dirt and grime out of the cleaned timber and also to help rejuvinate the timber.

So far for the deck beams, deck stringers and the plywood I have used Feast and Watsons Spar Varnish. Good choice or is there something better that I should use?

Am I going along the correct course or am I lost or am I just plotting too much and not doing enough work.
cheers
Peter

[NPeth]

Hate to bring up the epoxy sealer/ varnish debate again, but I have just finished reading my new copy of restoring your wooden runabout which has been highly recommended by some people on the forum and rightly so. He recommends using smiths clear penetrating expoxy sealer. I have checked the net and it seems you can get it in Aus at http://www.senseal.com.au/products/multi_primer_overview.html. Has anyone tried this and if so how did they find it?

[Darren]

On the inside of the boat where there is sure to be oily residue in the timber I feel the varnish or oil based sealers are better. At least there is some compatibility.
Darren

[nool]

On the outside of the boat, if you're spraying clear coat over the top, I'd be sceptical. Not sure if the smiths is much different to bote cote (which I used on Mystress) but after a couple of years I started to get visible patches under the clear coat. See if you can talk to someone who has had it on their boat for a few years before you decide.

On the inside of the boat I haven't had any problems. Still holding up well even in oily areas but the epoxy was applied to new wood rather than a resto...

My2c...
Cheers!
Neil

[bootlegger]

I will never ever again seal a boat with epoxy sealer if varnishing over. I did the clear on nools boat plus several others since. Every one bloomed when using this method.
Even darrens boat bloomed after he got it out of the shed.
There is a non amine epoxy that they reckon doesnt do it. Im not about to try it.

[bauchy]

ill agree with dave. i was the silly prick who didnt listen when he told and advised about epoxy and clear. i still went ahead with it and guess what. it bloomed. dont go the epoxy route

[NPeth]

Thanks for all the replies. I was thinking of just using Spar varnish, but the book argued strongly for the use of this sealer. I wondered if it was different to the other epoxies. Pretty happy with the idea of just varnish though. It has worked on the boat for 50 years and is pretty easy to redo if needed.
Regards
Nick

[Darren]

You can gather I was epoxy/2pac poly orientated at first.
Did Steinway seemed OK.
Went down the same path with Scrubcat and for 4 years in the shed it looked
sensational.
Finished the boat in 2011 and by the time I got to Narrandera from my place in the sunlight, it
had more blooms than a flower show.
NEVER will I use that method again.
Varnish or 2 pac poly if you have spraying skills. I am still angry!

Darren

[rayza1]

Hey Darren,you may be angry about the finish on Scrubcat but having crawled (figurativley) over evey inch of her, all i can say is she's fabulous! An absoloute work of art. Gives me a migrane wondering how i can do mine justice !! Ray

[Darren]

Thanks for the kind words Ray.
I love the boat, it makes me smile every time I walk in the shed.
Keep learning and asking questions..... This club has a wealth of knowledge amidst
It's members. I had alot of help over the journey and I endeavor
to reciprocate the favors.
You've got a couple of great projects in front you.......enjoy the journey!
Darren