New Typhoon owner with a hulluva lot of questions!

[Gary H]

As of this week, I have become the owner of a Typhoon weekender - my first sailboat. As a newbie, I could benefit from the knowledge of those more experienced. My first questions are:

1. The bottom paint has peeled off in a few small places down to the gelcoat. Is it ok to just sand until everything is sound and then repaint? If so, the hull will not be perfectly smooth as there are less layers in those places. There are already some rough spots where the current layer was painted over areas that had previously peeled.

2. There is some fouling for an inch or two above the boot stripe and on the flat part of the hull under the transom. If I raise the boot stripe and bottom paint, most of the flat part of the hull under the transom will be painted. Is this how it should be?

3. The standing rigging looks in very good condition but I am told that it is 15 years old. Should I be concerned becuase of its age?

4. Any advice on repairing some minor hairline gelcoat stress cracks where the deck meets the cabin roof? A compression post has been installed.
Thanks in advance to any and all help with my new Ty.
Gary

[Pete S]

I would put replacing the rigging up near or at the top of the to do list. It's short money to replace it all and start fresh relative to the problems you might have if you don't.

[Jerry Hammernik]

Gary,
One question to be considered is are you interested in putting on a barrier coat. If the boat is to be kept in the water, that is worth considering. For that you would want to remove all the old bottom paint. If you are going to strip the bottom paint (I would even if you don't barrier coat) I've had good luck using a chisel that is "dull sharp" to peel the paint off, followed by sanding with a power sander.

As for the rigging, any way to determine how much the boat was sailed and how the rigging was stored. If it wasn't heavily used and was stored carefully (I used to coil my rigging and keep it in the house over winter) you will save some money. If money is no object then replace away. But if money was no object you'd be having the boatyard do it! Was the rig exposed to freezing temps?

I wouldn't be in a hurry to raise the stripe. You don't know how she was loaded and such. Get the excess paint off, get her dry and redo. You can always raise the waterline later.

As always, this advice is worth what you paid for it.
Your mileage may vary.
Welcome aboard!

[Jim Davis]

In the first question you have some peeled bottom paint and a few rough spots. Here you need to know what paint is on the boat. This will tell you what paints are compatable. If it is a hard paint, you should be able to sand the edges smooth, and the rough spots. Then wipe down with lacquer thinner and repaint with the same type paint. If the PO mixed different types of paint, or you don't like the type on the boat,or you can't find out what paint(s) are on the boat, then I would strip and start fresh. If it is a soft paint, I would remove it and start with a clean bottom and your choice of paint.


In the second question it gets a bit more interesting. Did the boat sit for a period with water in the bilge, or too heavily overloaded. Fouling an inch or so above the boot stripe would indicate this. I would clean everything and repaint as before. Launch the boat and see how it looks. If you had a chance to see it in the water, how was it floating in relation to the painted water line? This could give you a few clues.

Good luck.

[Jerry Hammernik]

Gary,
One question to be considered is are you interested in putting on a barrier coat. If the boat is to be kept in the water, that is worth considering. For that you would want to remove all the old bottom paint. If you are going to strip the bottom paint (I would even if you don't barrier coat) I've had good luck using a chisel that is "dull sharp" to peel the paint off, followed by sanding with a power sander.

As for the rigging, any way to determine how much the boat was sailed and how the rigging was stored. If it wasn't heavily used and was stored carefully (I used to coil my rigging and keep it in the house over winter) you will save some money. If money is no object then replace away. But if money was no object you'd be having the boatyard do it! Was the rig exposed to freezing temps?

I wouldn't be in a hurry to raise the stripe. You don't know how she was loaded and such. Get the excess paint off, get her dry and redo. You can always raise the waterline later.

As always, this advice is worth what you paid for it.
Your mileage may vary.
Welcome aboard!

[Carl Thunberg]

. . . and welcome to the Board!

Gary - I'd suggest spending some time checking out the search function. It's a tremendous resource. I find most of my questions have been discussed before. None of your questions are unique to the Typhoon, except maybe the second half of question no. 2.

Here are some suggestions for search topics. The numbers correspond to the numbers of your questions. I should warn you, you'll get a lot of hits. Where I have something pertinent to add, I will.

1. "Removing bottom paint" and "Barrier Coat" - Personally, I have used a very sharp chisel to remove old layers of bottom paint. Be careful with it. It does take some technique, but you'll get the hang of it soon enough.

2. "Raising boot stripe" - Are you sure it's fouling or is it wax that has yellowed? It's important to know. If it's yellowed wax, you can switch to a better quality wax. You may want to search "wax" while you're at it. If it is indeed fouling, then you really do need to raise the boot stripe.

3. Pete answered this one and I agree with him. Standing rigging on a Typhoon can't be very expensive. If you have the bottle type (i.e. closed) turnbuckles, you should seriously consider investing in some open turnbuckles while you're at it.

4. "Gelcoat crazing" - There was an excellent discussion about repairing gelcoat crazing in a fairly recent thread. By recent, I mean some time this fall. Sorry, I can't be more specific than that. Not having seen your particular gelcoat crazing, most gelcoat crazing is cosmetically unappealing but not a major concern. If you have more pressing projects, this is one that could be deferred for a while without causing a serious problem. One of the real challenges with gelcoat crazing repairs, is getting the colors to match afterward. Also, epoxy is not UV resistant. Seriously, read the stuff in the archives on this. It can be done, but it's hard to do it well.

Good luck. You have a great boat there!

[Gary M]

Gary,

#1. Hopefully you know what type of bottom paint is on your boat now. If you do, you can feather it out, prime the bare spots, then paint the bottom. That being said, it would be great to remove all of the bottom paint and start fresh, which is what I just did. It really wasn't that hard. A smooth bottom is important in racing, especially one class racing, but it doesn't sound like you'll be doing any racing this first season.

#2 Your Typhoon should sit on its lines. I wonder why there is any fouling above the boot stripe. I think you've got some good ideas in other posts.

#3 You probably don't have to be too concerned with the standing rigging but I would replace it. It's 15 years old and you will buy a lot of piece of mind knowing that it is new.

In reallity your rigging might give 15 more years of good service especially if you don't push the boat much but I think you'll really be thankful if you decide to replace it.

#4 Instead of working on the stress cracks use the time to remove the bottom paint. Do the stress cracks later. Once you get used to them you may leave them be!

My second sail boat was a Typhoon you have a great boat.

Welcome to the board.

Gary

[Lew Gresham]

How bout this boot stripe folks!



Congrats Gary! You have a classic!


http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p52/ ... cts133.jpg

[Gary H]

Gary - when you say prime the bare spots, what do you recommend as a primer?

I'm inclined to raise the boot stripe as it is flush to the bottom paint now and I would prefer a white space in between.

In reading the archives, I have read about pouring antifreeze into the bilge. Sounds like something I should do for the winter.

I am looking forward to spring!
Gary

[Jim Davis]

Painting a white stripe between the bottom and the boot stripe requires some serious prep work. White paint doesn't really hide previous colors. Also as food for thought, the reason white separators became popular is it is faster for a manufacturer. He can mask everything at one time with three strips of tape then spray the job, strip the tape and the boat is ready to ship. Another caution, the white stripe gets scuzzy and is harder to clean.

As to antifreeze, if the boat has a drain plug, I would just pull it. If not then you might consider antifreeze, but my preference is to not bother. I do rig a cover out of good poly tarps (AKA FEMA roof).

[Dick Barthel]

Gary,

If your bottom paint is of the ablative variety be sure to where a good respirator and protective clothing when sanding or painting. That stuff is deadly.

Congratulations on a great boat and welcome to the board.

Dick

[Gary H]

Thanks, Jim. Can I cover the old boot stripe with new bottom paint and the leave some of the white gelcoat space under a new boot stripe?
Gary

[Steve Laume]

You will never feel more like stripping all the bottom paint off than during your first year of ownership. It is also a great way to get aquainted with every inch of your boat's bottom. A great way to look for previous damage. You will feel so good about a nice smooth bottom and know exactly what you have on there for paint. Having done this twice now. Once on a Typhoon and then on my CD-30, the TY is not that big of a job. I would not mess with barrier coat unless there is some definite need. As for the water line, I would wait to change it. In fact I tried to wait a year to make any major changes until I got to know my boat a bit better, Steve.

[Gary H]

Thanks, good advice.

[Gary H]

If no barrier coat is used, is it necessary to prime with anything?
Thanks again,
Gary