Its just one of those things that you cant give up on half way through. She's gotta be ready for the big trip in August, and be "standing tall". Only another 10 coats of varnish and it'll start to have some "depth" again. Too many guys gave up on these things and just painted the wood. Probably another 200-300 hours and I can take a break; WHEW!!! ws
Nothing like launch day! It was like a celebration with all of my boating friends, a sense of freedom to be out on the water again
LAUNCH DAY???? Heck Mark, this has been year 'round since 1972! Just some of the time is spent "in the water" LOL... Im always junking, and theres a contractor that has a freebie bin at his shop. I always stop and look for lumber. Last year, I anticipated this job and low and behold, there was a bunch of mahogany planks and 1/4 plywood in the box. There was several nails and screws in it, but I cut and use it judiciously, so only a few holes need patching. I never point that stuff out to the judges either LOL. Got this panel stained and sealed yesterday, then flipped it over to seal the backside today. Thats critical to keep rot away. The slightest bit will grow and not go away. Also have 3 thinned primer coats of varnish on all and today went with full strength spar varnish. Its starting to look better already. Gonna go clean house tomorrow before the Nor'wester hits us and then spend some time saturday and Sunday on the trans cooling line job on the BAD LAD. Two frying pans and one burner on the stove. Get it?? ws
Managed to get in a few hours this morning, but got winded out, as they say in the trades. Irons workers dont go "up" and cranes dont run with sustained 30 mph winds. It was ALL of that today! Lakeisha had to resort to a bar clamp. The chinaman put a sheet metal mount over the control area to "prevent tampelling", so Wun Fun Tungs' cousin come to rescue with Habah Fright cramp. Heat stayed on and 2 jackets came off. Got a piece of teak sanded stained and 2 coats of varnish on it since it was warmed up; looks like furniture. The panel got flipped over and a dose of 10% thinned stuff went on that. That stuff dries tomorrow (cold and snow forecast) so I can work on the BAD LAD. Spotted two goofballs surfing in the lake today. 38*F water and 8 foot waves rolling onshore. Pretty cruddy day. So now for the dial up guys; a few vids and some pics... ws
Decided not to bore anyone for a week, but making slow progress on the love barge. Discovered some "punky" (rot) stuff that needed fixin'. Nows the time. All the fitting is easy, but 10 coats of varnish means nothin' but time. Finally put it together today and then came home and did some lathe work. Had to fab a seat pedestal locating pin for the navigators seat. There was one (rounded end) and the other was just a receiver which wasnt too sturdy. Fixed that! The black stuff is 60 year old "patina" that cooked off with the flux. If I were 30 years younger it would go on the buffer. Replacement panel is buttoned up and the frame for the seat mount too. Tomorrow the seat goes in and continue with the brush. Heres what I did on spring break hahaha... ws
No rest for the weary, eh? Got in a good solid 7 hours yesterday, and hoping for the same today. Cleaning house (tools and crap) and then sanding and varnishing. After hat the shrink wrap comes off and we'll get busy with the aluminum siding job. Dang weather should start to cooperate by then! ws
Man... dontcha know it! Ive done sooo much to this boat over the last 40 years that I felt like I needed a break a few years ago. Stored it inside while I worked on the 65 foot Hatteras I bought in 2006. The barn had a damp gravel floor, full of pigeons and rodents and already had a year of neglect on it. So now after a 4 year hiatus, I am in year number 3 of refinishing the ol' girl! I think its coming along OK, but I dont have the OOMPF I had 30 years ago LOL. One day at a time, but I sure as heck dont want to spend all summer working on it again. Always work in stages until you feel satisfied with he results! ws
TODAY BUICKS; TOMORROW THE WORLD !! Gonna hit the boat in the A.M. for a coat of varnish without sanding. Got 24 hours for a chemical bond. Then one more sanding and a coat to finish. Then its back to turbo 400 stuff to finish off the XGS. Fun is getting closer daily! ws
Got to the chemical bond in the nick of time! Like a few hours is gonna matter; right... No sanding today and the whole trip was 2 hours including a wipe down for dust with a rag with some mineral spirits. Amateurs use tack cloths. Grabbed a new 79 cent chip brush from harbor fright and had at it. I think this is about 6 or 7 coats and its pretty much inside, so the sun doesnt beat on it. A few more times around the block and this chapter will have been read. Theres a few pics of what I started with and a wrap up from today. Now its time to go pull the governor and drain the pain and mount the hoses. Just a walk in the park LOL... ws
Just building up the varnish and putting trim stuff back on. I wanna finish up pretty soon so we can pull the shrink wrap and get started on the aluminum siding. Just for MY peace of mind, boat and tools need to be "secure" from predators. More to follow; whether you like it or not LOL! ws
And I thought horses and property were a alot of work. Not sure I feel sorry for you bro! She is a pretty boat though. Enjoy. Mikey
Thanks Mikey! Critters require as much if not more care, altho I am attached at the hip with this one LOL. We are just finishing up with a 3 day weather event here that netted us about 18 inches of snow (the ice included knocked that down considerably other wise maybe coulda been 30 inches!). So we were snowed in all weekend and at 0515 hrs today the plow truck went down our street and left a 24" pile at the end of the driveway. One more pass with the snow tiller and then hopefully its gonna be rain for a while ! ws
Every time i turn around, another neglected issue slaps me. Opening windshields needed a bunch of attention. Gottem finished with 10 coats, all sanded in between, then masked them off to caulk the glass again; purely preventative. Keeps rot at bay. Applied the caulk, then removed the tape from the wood and then sealed the caulk with 2 coats of varnish, then removed the glass tape. Whats three hours between friends? Beats sittin' around smokin' dope all day gettin' nothin' done eh? ws
I came within a wisker of buying a big boat when I was single and lived in Miami back in the mid 80's. Came across a gorgeous 53' Chris Craft with 3 staterooms, a 10KW generator, 3000 gallon fuel tank and the inspection went very well. The downside was it had two 440 Chryslers for propulsion and it would have consumed enormous amounts of fuel. The asking price was $35K and I was buying it as a live aboard. It was a fiberglass over wood hull and was just a beautiful older motor yacht. One problem I found was anything over 40' would be a problem to dock cheaply until I found a couple who would let me dock behing their mansion on the intercoastal as long as I would watch their house as they traveled extensively. Wow this could be cool. What killed my live aboard idea was that in the event of a hurricane the boat had to be moved or drydocked and I worked for a company that required me to be at work during weather that potentially could shut down the facility. Can't be in two places at once so no deal. Mikey
I hope everyone thats reading this gibberish can understand where its going. In 1985, I did a "frame off" restoration (literally!) and was well over $100K in a 30K boat. It was a concours restoration on a 1970 GSX with only 4 tires and a roof left. I can soooo relate to being upside down in something, but this afterall is my legacy. Spent yesterday grinding away at gawn varnish on the outside (face) of the pilot house with #60 on a random orbital (electric 5" DA). I needed to get the dead stuff off and vacuum it clean and then at least get a seal coat on it. There is so damn much dust and debris that I cant not only not stand it, but I'm carrying it home on my clothes and Pat and I are both choking from it here. I feel like the Pillsbury Doughboy when I get home and the mud literally runs off in the the shower. TMI, I know, but that's life LOL. Yesterday, I managed to get that all done, and finished hand sanding with 180 paper. It was bad enough that I had to clean out the shop vac, and the run it outside and bang on (after cleaning!) and it was blowing a plume of dust out the exhaust hole. Today I am cutting the plastic wrap off, save for a 20 x 20 foot piece to tarp over my work area and pulling the frame down. So Ill be able to manage some access and get a water hose over there from the building to rinse it off. The yard water is still off up here but a friggin 150 feet of hose will be worth the struggle with the Anaconda LOL. I wanna try to have this puppy all finished up in another 2-3 weeks. Today all the tools etc go INSIDE the boat for weather and security, then out comes the razor knifes! ws
