Bottom Finishing and Boat Painting #1922

Submitted by jcork on Mon, 04/05/2010 - 21:29
I got my hands on a Douglas 1971 FS last fall and rushed to complete a CB and CB trunk repair in time to frostbite race it this past winter. It was a big job the lead was sticking out and not only was it delaminated but barnacles were in between the lead and the fiberglass pushing out the CB and making it tough to even get it out of the boat. Good news - I go it done and had a great winter. I now have it flipped over in my yard and have spent the last week chiselling off and sanding layers of red bottom paint. I am now down to the light blue gelcoat. I found a long 3 foot gouge where it must have hit and scraped a rock that was repaired. The cut is through the gelcoat and you can see the fiberglass (but it is dry). There are actually a number of dings through the gelcoat that were filled and lots of old blister spots. Taking advice from a friend I am going to use West Marine system epoxy 105 and fill in where needed, sand, and then apply one coating of that epoxy to the entire bottom. I am planning to repaint the red boot strap (red) and repaint the hull (carolina blue - light blue). Any suggestions on the order of what to do? I am not sure if I should put the thin coating of epoxy on the boot strap area as well. Someone said there was another epoxy product that would smooth it out the bottom as well- a black 2 system paint called Tar or something that could be put on after the West Marine epoxy and before painting. Also if I follow the boot strap imprint on the hull I will actually be putting topside paint on the bottom of the boat as it curves in towards the transom port and rudder. I was going to epoxy the bottom, lightly sand, paint the boot strap, then use alblative blue paint on the bottom and then paint the blue hull before flipping it back over. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. My major constraint is we have a Holy Communion party the beginning of May and my wife wants it out of there by then. I am trying to do the best I can, realizing it is an old boat and I want it mostly for recreational use with 4 kids and although I hope to have it a long time, I am not trying to break the bank with the ideal strategy. Jack #1922
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Comments

Once you have all the scrapes and gouges filled and sanded using

Submitted by RandyR on Tue, 04/06/2010 - 09:39.
Once you have all the scrapes and gouges filled and sanded using the West 105 I'd apply several coats of something like Interlux 2000 over the area to receive bottom paint. It's designed to stop water absorption and prevent blisters. Then I'd finish with the bottom paint. Here's a article from West Marine regarding blister repair and barrier coats. http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/westadvisor/10001/-1... And here's one regarding bottom paint. http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/westadvisor/10001/-1... Randy

Congrats and good luck with this challenge.

Submitted by Andy Carrier on Wed, 04/07/2010 - 09:25.
Congrats and good luck with this challenge. I know you are under a short timeframe for completion. But, I certainly would like to see some pictures. Andy FS 4957

Well, after finishing all the scraping and spot covering with we

Submitted by jcork on Wed, 04/07/2010 - 22:46.
Well, after finishing all the scraping and spot covering with west system I rolled a full coat of West System on the bottom. I am going to finish it with ablative bottom paint but should I use a barrier coat first? I have read up on the Interlux 2000 and it seems a bit intimidating as the directions do not seem clear. There seems to be a window that you can recoat without sanding in between but I don't grasp it. Also do you have to get it on quickly like the West System Epoxy Resin? Someone mentioned a 2 part black barrier paint called tar but I haven't found it. I am asking because once the ablative paint is on there is no turning back. I am torn between getting it perfect and getting it done as I have a bunch of other stuff to do on the boat. Jack #1922

I would recommend you skip the barrier cote and go straight to t

Submitted by HarryC on Fri, 04/09/2010 - 12:00.
I would recommend you skip the barrier cote and go straight to the ablative bottom paint. The boat is old enough that if it were going to have a big blister problem, it would have shown up by now. The epoxy resin will provide some absorption protection. Save the time and the money and go straight to bottom paint. We have had good luck with the Interlux Micron CSC sticking to bare, sanded gelcoat.

Harry That is music to my ears.

Submitted by jcork on Fri, 04/09/2010 - 14:54.
Harry That is music to my ears. I was hoping someone would chime in before I stick a stirrer in the blue stuff. Thanks for your comment. it is all the encouragement I need. Jack #1922

A friend Lou Harkin (not his real name but an inside joke) talke

Submitted by jcork on Tue, 04/13/2010 - 22:28.
A friend Lou Harkin (not his real name but an inside joke) talked me into using Interlux Interprotect 2000. I had put on a layer of West Sytems and we then filled in a few more spots and sanded. i bought a quart of white interprotect and we got one good coat out of it. It went on a little thick and seemed to absorb in. It was kind of like rolling on elmers glue. We got done around 10:45 last Saturday. It was supposed to take a few hours to get tacky for the thumbprint test. It was almost hard by noon. i went out and bought a second quart of grey (they were both $46.00. I mixed it and waited again the 20 minutes for the induction time. At 1:30 we rolled a coat of blue alblative West Marine premium bottom paint and an hour later rolled another. I then waited an hour and puled off the tape. Fortunately the tape didn't mess up the red boot strap I had painted on it. I am now sanding and filling in dings on the hull. I am going to repaint it with Interlux 1 part light blue Polyurethane. We'll see how it goes. photo of Flying Scot hull photo of Flying Scot hull photo of Flying Scot hull photo of Flying Scot hull photo of Flying Scot hull photo of Flying Scot hull photo of Flying Scot hull photo of Flying Scot hull photo of Flying Scot hull photo of Flying Scot hull photo of Flying Scot hull photo of Flying Scot hull photo of Flying Scot hull photo of Flying Scot hull photo of Flying Scot hull photo of Flying Scot hull If these pictures don't show up maybe someone could point out how I could attach them. [Attached by your friendly editor] Jack #1922

Nice job on this project! What a difference.

Submitted by lucky_jack on Fri, 04/16/2010 - 15:09.
Nice job on this project! What a difference. I purchased my Scot in September and it is just about ready to go into the water. I have some old bottom paint I have been stripping off with the boat still on the trailer, but now have reached the point of needing to roll it on its side or flip it over completely. It would seem that flipping the boat completely over would require a few strong hands. I wonder if you might share your method and mention how many people (oxen) were involved. Congratulations on your project- very impressive... Rob Volpe FS 4347

Very impressive - good job and in such a short time! [:)]

Submitted by Andy Carrier on Sat, 04/17/2010 - 16:41.
Very impressive - good job and in such a short time! [:)]

quote:[i]Originally posted by lucky_jack[/i] It would seem that

Submitted by SavageViews on Sun, 04/18/2010 - 08:37.
quote:
[i]Originally posted by lucky_jack[/i] It would seem that flipping the boat completely over would require a few strong hands. I wonder if you might share your method and mention how many people (oxen) were involved.
It's not as hard as you might think (after removing the CB). I have a post describing my bottom refurbish: http://edgewaters.blogspot.com/search/label/boats (from the blog post) "...last weekend I removed all of the hardware including rub rails. This weekend I removed the centerboard (with the help of the club hoist). Launched the 338 onto dry land – a very unnaturally feeling. And, with the help of 3 club members, flipped the hull onto low sawhorses." I should add that I used a rope under the boat to help pull it past vertical. Best of luck! Chris

I was asked about how i flipped the boat.

Submitted by jcork on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 00:33.
I was asked about how i flipped the boat. I had 6 guys come over one Saturday morning and pulled it off the trailer onto 2 fence posts that I had wrapped in astro turf. I didn't have a lot of area to work with and no forgiving grass to use. We got it on its side and then repositioned the posts so we could lay it down. You really have to be careful not to bend the hardware (forgot the name - tangs maybe) on each side of the fore cockpit. The real trick will be getting it back on the trailer after I am done painting it. I think I will wrap the front of the boat in some sort of blanket and then put down moving blankets on the ground and as we start to get the nose onto the trailer. I was amazed how dings and a few blisters really showed up after I painted the boot strap. For this reason I filled in a lot of dings on the hull and did some sanding before I put on the first coat of hull paint. When it was ready I rubbed the sides with Will-Bond instead of using primer. I then rolled out 1 layer of Light Blue Interlux 1 part polyurethane paint. At a loss for help, I rolled it with a 9 inch foam roller and then tipped it with a Purdy 3 inch brush as I went along (roll, roll, roll, brush, brush, brush). This part was very frustrating. It went on thick and didn't seem to be covering uniformly. I has brushing it on where the roller couldn't and especially around the toe rail. The paint seemed to dry quickly and I kept going back where the paint 'sagged'. All the while a breeze was putting short pine needles on parts that I would redo. With Will-Bond I had about 30 minutes to get each side done once I started it. All in all the paint went on thicker than I thought and continued to form small drip marks after about 10 minutes. I fixed most of them but I still have some. It still looks great and it doesn't have to be perfect (I guess) since I plan on using the hell out of the boat, what with the 4 kids and my struggling racing career. As my friend Jeff said, so its not a perfect 5 foot paint job, it still looks perfect from 20 feet away. I will ask my new editorial friend to post a picture. So tonight I put the nylon centerboard gasket back on using the brass strips I took off when I pulled off the old decrepid rubber gasket. I followed the instructions that Dee at Flying Scot sent and it worked out well. I didn't have gook or goop to put on the screws to insure no leaking so I took, after I redrilled the holes (a little longer than before since the nylon is thinner than the rubber gasket) some epoxy and dripped it down the screw holes before tightening them. Today I picked up 320 SandWet sandpaper and a Norton Hand sander at Home Depot and will try wet sanding for the first time. I also bought a 4 inch and a 6 inch Whizz small white foam rollers that are made for cabinets etc. My buddy Jeff assures me he will tip the brush this time and we will see how it goes. Another friend tells me I really need 3 coats. We'll see which means I'll probably do it. In any case for a person that isn't all that handy, who hates painting, the boat looks amazing all things considered. Depending on how the boot strap border looks (Light blue hull touching up to the red boot stripe), I also have 3/4 inch blue water line tape I may put on. Someone asked me if i was going to paint the top side after I get her back over. I don't speak to that person anymore. Truth be told I have a Bolger Bobcat that needs bottom paint and an old 1969 Boston Whaler for the kids that I'll be doing some learning on as the summer progresses. I hope to get really good at this stuff and then never do it again! Jack #1922

Once you turn the boat right side up and on the ground getting i

Submitted by karafiath on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 11:57.
Once you turn the boat right side up and on the ground getting it onto the trailer should be a snap. Think of it as moving the trailer under the boat using the trailer winch. Support the rear transom conner on some padding, get the bow up on the trailer and winch away, letting the trailer wheels roll under the boat. The trailer is not connected to the car and you allow the trailer tongue to swing up. Good job on the paint I have just finished doing a Poli Glow fiberglass restoring job on a 16 ft sailboat deck. It came out real shinny and was much less work than buffing off the oxidized gel coat and then waxing. It is only for fiberglass and if the gel coat is just faded then the Poli Glow does a great job, especially on nonskid portions. The Poli Glow is a clearcoat and thus you have to make sure that the gel coat underneath is free from repairs etc as all that will show through. Gabor FS3512

Thanks Jack.

Submitted by lucky_jack on Thu, 04/22/2010 - 18:29.
Thanks Jack. I was thinking that it must have taken some muscle to do that. Congratulations on your work. It looks very nice.
quote:
[i]Originally posted by jcork[/i] [br]I was asked about how i flipped the boat. I had 6 guys come over one Saturday morning and pulled it off the trailer onto 2 fence posts that I had wrapped in astro turf. I didn't have a lot of area to work with and no forgiving grass to use. We got it on its side and then repositioned the posts so we could lay it down. You really have to be careful not to bend the hardware (forgot the name - tangs maybe) on each side of the fore cockpit. The real trick will be getting it back on the trailer after I am done painting it. I think I will wrap the front of the boat in some sort of blanket and then put down moving blankets on the ground and as we start to get the nose onto the trailer. I was amazed how dings and a few blisters really showed up after I painted the boot strap. For this reason I filled in a lot of dings on the hull and did some sanding before I put on the first coat of hull paint. When it was ready I rubbed the sides with Will-Bond instead of using primer. I then rolled out 1 layer of Light Blue Interlux 1 part polyurethane paint. At a loss for help, I rolled it with a 9 inch foam roller and then tipped it with a Purdy 3 inch brush as I went along (roll, roll, roll, brush, brush, brush). This part was very frustrating. It went on thick and didn't seem to be covering uniformly. I has brushing it on where the roller couldn't and especially around the toe rail. The paint seemed to dry quickly and I kept going back where the paint 'sagged'. All the while a breeze was putting short pine needles on parts that I would redo. With Will-Bond I had about 30 minutes to get each side done once I started it. All in all the paint went on thicker than I thought and continued to form small drip marks after about 10 minutes. I fixed most of them but I still have some. It still looks great and it doesn't have to be perfect (I guess) since I plan on using the hell out of the boat, what with the 4 kids and my struggling racing career. As my friend Jeff said, so its not a perfect 5 foot paint job, it still looks perfect from 20 feet away. I will ask my new editorial friend to post a picture. So tonight I put the nylon centerboard gasket back on using the brass strips I took off when I pulled off the old decrepid rubber gasket. I followed the instructions that Dee at Flying Scot sent and it worked out well. I didn't have gook or goop to put on the screws to insure no leaking so I took, after I redrilled the holes (a little longer than before since the nylon is thinner than the rubber gasket) some epoxy and dripped it down the screw holes before tightening them. Today I picked up 320 SandWet sandpaper and a Norton Hand sander at Home Depot and will try wet sanding for the first time. I also bought a 4 inch and a 6 inch Whizz small white foam rollers that are made for cabinets etc. My buddy Jeff assures me he will tip the brush this time and we will see how it goes. Another friend tells me I really need 3 coats. We'll see which means I'll probably do it. In any case for a person that isn't all that handy, who hates painting, the boat looks amazing all things considered. Depending on how the boot strap border looks (Light blue hull touching up to the red boot stripe), I also have 3/4 inch blue water line tape I may put on. Someone asked me if i was going to paint the top side after I get her back over. I don't speak to that person anymore. Truth be told I have a Bolger Bobcat that needs bottom paint and an old 1969 Boston Whaler for the kids that I'll be doing some learning on as the summer progresses. I hope to get really good at this stuff and then never do it again! Jack #1922
Rob Volpe FS 4347

I got the second coat on, put on the new nylon centerboard gas

Submitted by jcork on Mon, 04/26/2010 - 00:22.
I got the second coat on, put on the new nylon centerboard gasket replacing and old ratty rubber one, and with the help of 6 friends got it back on the trailer without a scratch. We flipped it back over on moving blankets and winched it up keeping the nose off the paint covered trailer rollers by tilting the back of the trailer down and a number of use holding the nose up. I added a few more pictures thanks to the helpful editors. You can see my next project in the second to last picture and notice the rub rail is still off, where the boat hit a piling before I got it above where the registration numbers were - the 3rd to last picture is a closeup. Below the rail fiberglass was showing that I epoxied, filled and sanded before painting. Now I am going to do the top. I am hoping to have enough energy and desire left to sand the area down, lay a little glass then sand and paint the area. I am now thinking of using a hairdryer and removing the traction tape and repainting the whole topside. I like the dull white paint that is on now which frankly seems like leftover house paint. I am going to look into non skid paint but I don't think I'll add sand to it like some say to do. It is an off white paint and I want to roll it out all over including the seats. Any recommendations on what paint and what shade to use? As everyone who reads this probably knows, it is an of white. I'll ask Dee at Flying Scott for their recommendation. It is tough to keep working on this as I have a boat slip a block away waiting for re-entry. But so far, so good. Jack #1922

Oh and PS before someone mentions the stemband is missing.

Submitted by jcork on Mon, 04/26/2010 - 00:30.
Oh and PS before someone mentions the stemband is missing. I realized after I flipped it over I wouldn't be able to get inside to unscrew the u bolt someone added. so I pulled off as much as I could and will replace it now that I have access up inside. Jack #1922

I forwarded the finishing shots.

Submitted by jcork on Mon, 06/14/2010 - 02:13.
I forwarded the finishing shots. I hope to get her in this week. A long haul. I can't wait to get her in, put the sails up, and 'do very little, slowly'. Jack #1922