1950's Luger Riviera runabout

[Jacopa]

I'm in the process of restoring my Riviera kit boat. The forum is great with almost too much info. But I can find very little on Lugers. I am looking for advice on finishing as well as replacing some of the plywood on the bottom of the hull. I removed the keel and found dry rot, although not too much after 50 odd years. I want to cut it out and place in a patch. I am not sure what replacement ply to use. The decks are occume, but the bottom of the hull is not. I will use marine grade ply but should I use fir or something else? Should I treat the bare wood before installing it? I want the best ply so I will not have a problem for another 50 years. It will be glassed over only on the exterior part of the hull.

Also when it comes to refinishing I am perplexed. Should I use a wood filler stain? The deck is in decent shape and I am trying to get a "chris craft" look. I want that nice mahogany look with a deep varnish finish so it looks like a mirror. Don't know what filler to use either, was wondering what to use so it blends with the rest of the occume so when I do the final finish/varnishing it will blend in. Also do I prime the gunwales before I paint them? Do I use one part or two part finish? Sounds like one part is better and a bit easier to use. I would like to paint the gunwales to match the deck but the ply is not occume so it will have to be painted. Any ideas on how to match the paint with the stain on the decks?


Also I want to replace the boot stripe that was sanded off during the last repainting 20 years ago. Any ideas? I would rather not float the boat to find the waterline then pull it back out and do it.

Also anyone have a good site to find stainless rubrail and old electrical parts? Specifically I am looking for a d-cell battery case that mounts under the dash to power the nav lites. The old one was rusted out and corroded beyond repair. It looks like a mag lite tube, but I would be willing to go plastic to avoid corrosion.

[mucrewbtp]

As for the D cells, why dont you just modify a Mag Lite? It would be pretty straight foreward to take the bulb end off and solder some wires to the points where the bulb makes contact.

You can find Chris Craft Mahogany filler stain at the Sandusky Paint Company http://www.sanpaco.com/view.asp?id=2411 For painting, I have had luck with an interlux high build primer, sanded and then I use a one part interlux brightsides polyurethane on top of that.

The best place I have found to locate old hardware and electrical bits is good old fashoned eBay. Just be persistent and keep looking.

Regards,
Mike

[paladin]

You can purchase battery cases for "D" cell batteries from Radio Shack and also the plastic cases in which to mount them. Why not use a small motorcycle battery in a plastic case with a vent hole drilled so that you can recharge it externally.
Any ply on the Lugar kit would probably be fir marine plywood, and veneer would have been Tanguille, the original Philippine mahogany ply/veneer. You can use a veneer from the modern Philippine mahogany, but it turns urine yellow when exposed to sunlight. Use a good stain, coat with thin epoxy, and varnish it with several layers of UV varnish to get the look.

[Jacopa]

Paladin- When you say stain it then apply a thin coat of epoxy, how would I do that? Can I use epoxy resin that i am using for the fiberglass? Also I assume the varnish will adhere to the epoxy. However, if I need to refinish in the future wouldn't the epozy be a bear to remove?