Lot's of Fresh Varnish

[wsonntag]

5 coats of Interlux schooner so far. Toe and rubrail are 3 coats Interlux teak oil followed by one coat of Amazon Golden teak oil. Photos taken during Elf Classic Yacht Race Annapolis. Go to
http://www.cyrg.org/elfclassic2016_finnish.htm for additional photo galleries including CD 31 Surprise.

Cheers!

[Sea Hunt Video]

S/V Surprise is about as beautiful and Bristol as you can ever get. Jealously rears its ugly head again

[wsonntag]

Well thanks Roberto, I appreciate the compliment a great deal. But of course, I know where the flaws are! I'm very happy to have had the opportunity and to have made the time to get all the necessary work done. I've had support from my wife and a couple of friends that has made all the difference. My friends have given me ready access to tools needed and much good advice on how to tackle the big jobs. I have had fun with a recommended chemistry concoction for the varnish for instance that I feel has resulted in the best "seal" I have ever gotten on the teak in the first few coats. Its Interlux Schooner as base of course, cut with 333 solvent to thin for absorption, a dash of Penetrol for its leveling properties, topped off with Japan dryer to get it to set up fast resulting in a couple of days where two coats were possible. Now its just additional layers for durability and filling the grain. I'll need to hard sand between at least one or two upcoming coats to start to get to that smooth mirror finish I want for the final coats.

[psjanker]

I like the name (reminds me of the ship in the sailing book series) and looking at the boat makes me feel like I am admiring someone else's girl.

V/r

Pete

[Jim Walsh]

Great job!
Wondering if the coaming cleats were removed and polished or are they new replacements?

[wsonntag]

The cleats are original Cape Dory/Spartan castings. They were electropolished, then the cleats, mounting hardware including screws have been plated with a copper strike, nickel, finished with 22 carat gold. FYI they are taken off the boat when not in use. Definitely a conversation piece and they never tarnish.

[Bob Ohler]

Magnificent job! Something to make us all drool over.
Why did you opt for oil on the toe rails? Did you also use oil on the stern rail as well?
Would you please go into detail on the varnish cocktail that you used/ Was it the same for all coats?

Thanks.

[Sea Hunt Video]

The cleats are original Cape Dory/Spartan castings. They were electropolished, then the cleats, mounting hardware including screws have been plated with a copper strike, nickel, finished with 22 carat gold. FYI they are taken off the boat when not in use. Definitely a conversation piece and they never tarnish.

Wow If that's the kind of care you give to a cleat (22 carat gold finished) I would like to know if you would adopt me as your son. Please

[wsonntag]

Thank you for the compliments. I am very pleased with how all the work has turned out, but, also know, I know where ALL the flaws are in the varnish work, and they are there. Some of them are very much because the boat is as old as it is and I did leave the wood "open" for quite a few years, a reaction to the two week horror of taking off a urethane enamel finish that shall go un-named that lasted very nicely but when it fell apart taking it off was inch by inch with a heat gun and scraper. So the wood had a very open grain and a great deal of staining through the grain that was tough to take off and in fact some still remains, showing through the finish. Also some of the areas of the coamings that needed to be hard scraped have come up mottled in addition to some areas where the depth of the sanding has left some lines and irregularities in the surface. I mostly used a Fein Multimaster sander with a vacuum attachment. I can't recommend one of these types of sanders highly enough for this work. I scraped and sanded, used Teka A and B on the coamings, sanded again.

The recipe for the varnish has not varied too much from what I posted a week or to ago. I have of course used less and less 333 solvent after using the thinned coats to seal the wood. Just enough now to make it flow nicely from the brush. And, I have pretty much used badger bristle brushes on this work, not foam brushes. I use the "starved brush" method, just enough on the brush to get coverage, brushing until all but dry and working carefully to maintain the wet edge. I did do a couple of the quick build up coats on the bowsprit and stern caprail with foam to avoid the brush clean up time. So as just mentioned, the caprail across the stern and the bowsprit are varnished and they are the hardest parts on the boat to keep in varnish. I'm making it my habit to put at least one coat on per weekend on these two areas. I think I'm up to about 5. However, the dorade box and the companionway sliders have benefited from a few more coats because I turn to them to finish up what I have left in the pot. I have yet another weekend coming up dedicated to varnish work. I hope to get a minimum of 4 new coats on everything. I plan exacting surface preparation for the coamings this round. Fine scraping for a few sags and a hard detailed sanding to help continue getting the grain to even up.

Why oil on the toe and rub rails? Simple, I just could not face all the additional varnish work necessary, especially the long term upkeep which is daunting for say, 60 some linear feet!! Oil is so much easier to apply, you know you have to put a coat on every now and then but its just not as exacting a varnish work. Also, and this is a bit of a revelation to me, it looks really good! It does not at all second rate next to the varnish, the oil is clearly oil and looks just as good in its own way as the varnish. "Stop me before I varnish again"!!!

Cheers!

[Jack in Norfolk]

Looks like a nice CD10 on your port quarter. Would you happen to have any more pictures of that?

[wsonntag]

CD 10 Resto Pics