Varnish old runabout

[Darren McClelland]

I have been asked by a neighbour to refinish his 14' petebrough runabout, the boat is in excellent condition and just needs a coat of varnish I believe . My question, what type of varnish should I use? Or should I be coating the exterior of the boat with epoxy. the boat is cedar strip construction with small bent ribs. The owner would like to use this boat with a minimum amount of maintenance. Any suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks Darren

[ 09-17-2002, 01:39 PM: Message edited by: Darren McClelland ]

[WWheeler]

Love those old Petes. Spent summers up at Rice Lake as a kid, they were the only decent boats on the lake. I'd hazard a guess that if the boat is in good condition, it's being stored in a boathouse. If this is the case, don't mess around. Find some decent varnish and give her a light sanding. (see www.noahsmarine.com (http://www.noahsmarine.com) in Toronto.) BTW, what's on the bottom? They often had a green bottom paint.

[Darren McClelland]

The boat is stored and has been stored in a boat house it's entire life. The bottom paint is red, from what I remember. The boat still has the original stickers on the side and on the breast hook. I like the sound of just revarnishing the boat and a coat of bottom paint but the owner would like low maintenance and a waterproof hull.
Thanks Darren

[WWheeler]

Darren:

Sounds like it's pretty much low maintenance already! If he's considering putting a coat of fibreglass on it, STOP RIGHT NOW, and offer to buy it from him. Those boats, in good, original condition, are starting to be worth a fair amount. ($2000+) Putting a coat of fibreglass would considerably reduce its value, AND potentially shorten its lifespan. Also, it's so d*** ugly.

The forum has dealt with this issue over and over, and there's been many cases where the owner wanted to reduce maintenance, covered the boat with fibreglass, and ended up killing the boat, or handed a major problem to the next owner. What happens if you've got real wood (as opposed to plywood), is that the wood shrinks as it dries, and expands as it takes up water. The result is that the fibreglass matt and the wood are separated, and that space is a breeding ground for rot. This is taken pretty much verbatim from the Gougeon Bros. (West System) manual on wooden boat repair.

Having said that, there's a couple of products that help preserve wood. CPES (Clear penetrating epoxy sealer) is touted around here as a miracle product. You'd have to strip the varnish, and apply it to the bare wood. You can then varnish over. Do a search in the forum, you'll be amazed.

Epoxy coating is ok, as long as it's on the outside of the boat only. Encapsulating both sides could lead to rot. I know that strip-built canoes are built this way, (with fglass) but they use red cedar strips (highly rot resistant), and they're out of the water most of the time.

If you're interested in this issue, go to the West System web site http://www.westsystem.com/. Go to the Publications page and order "Wooden Boat Repair and Restoration, it's real helpful.

PS Welcome to the forum.

[ 09-18-2002, 03:42 PM: Message edited by: WWheeler ]

[Scott Rosen]

There are lots of good marine varnishes that you could use. It is important, however, that you use a true marine "spar" varnish. It has qualities that make it good for boats. The two most important qualities are: flexibility and UV resistance. Boat hulls work and move. A hard and brittle varnish, like a furniture or floor finish, will crack and lift if applied to a boat hull. Spar varnishes are made to take the movement. Even if the boat is stored indoors, the exposure to the sun will degrade the finish. Any good spar varnish will have ultra-violet protection, which will increase the life of the finish.

I like Detco Crystal Varnish, but there are others that are good too. www.detcomarine.com (http://www.detcomarine.com)

[Art Read]

Darren...

"...but the owner would like low maintenance and a waterproof hull..."

LOL! God, wouldn't we all! ;) Seriously though, if the original(?) finish is "tired" enough that he wants to pay you to refinish it for him, I suspect stripping back to bare wood will give the only REALLY satisfactory results, and will prove the least "labor intensive" in the long run. First of all, trying to "repair" dings and blemishes to match an aged finish is nearly always impossible to do gracefully. Secondly, a "tired" finish will be continuously "giving up" in new, localised areas, requiring further attention. Lastly, a coat or two of the aforementioned CPES will go a long way towards getting a good looking, new finish on there and should help it last a lot longer as well. And you need a nice, freshly sanded, bare wood surface for that. But nothing is gonna save you from the hard work of building up lots and lots of coats of varnish on there for both protection and beauty, or save the owner from maintaining it with a refresher coat or two each season. (And if by your "waterproof" reference", you mean she's got some leaking issues, you'll certainly want to deal with making her "watertight" first, before worrying too much about the finish!)

"Low maintainence" is a relative term, and not often used in refrerence to boats of ANY type. But a wooden boat especially, is always going to require a certain amount of routine, regular care to keep her from going down hill fast. Not necessarilly "more" than other types, but definately more crucial. Trying to turn one into something that won't with "modern miricle cures" will almost certainly dissappoint...

[ 09-19-2002, 04:43 AM: Message edited by: Art Read ]

[lumberdude]

Darrin, I searched and asked about the "best" varnish to use when I restored my little fishing boat, and what I concluded is, I agree with Scott. There are many good varnishes out there. I ended up useing what I had at my store. Valspar exterior marine spar varnish. I'll admit that this was my first major varnish job, but it turned out excellent and after the season I haven't seen any difference yet from when it was freshly finished. I plan on a couple coats a year in the winter, but I have a small boat so I can do that. smile.gif Just do your research and pick one that has uv protection and is specifically for exterior marine use and you should be okay.

...oh yeah, and build yourself a dust-free varnish booth, you will love the results of no dust and bugs!!

Kory

[WWheeler]

How about a picture or two on this thread so we can get some inspiration.

Lumberdude, maybe you should post a pic of your boat again to help things started. I think that the boat we're talking about is fairly similar in size/construction.

[Darren McClelland]

Wheeler

I will try to take a picture this weekend if I get time, Iam in the middle of building a loghome for myself and my wife. I hope to get back into boat building soon.I asked the owner and he is fine with varnish if that the best solution to maintain the boat . There is no bottom paint it is all varnish. The boat will be used periodically and stored in the boat house. the owner also has the original 5 hp mercury motor.
Thanks for your help
Love this forum Captain Sawdust
aka Darren

[ 09-20-2002, 02:44 PM: Message edited by: Darren McClelland ]

[WWheeler]

Cap'n: Sounds like a happy ending.(BTW have you seen them turned into bookshelves? ugh). I think that with good varnish and boathouse storage, that boat will last another 50 years. The old Mercs are great. My family had a 10 hp, and it pushed the tin skiff up and down the lake for many years.

Good luck on building the log house. I'm currently renovating a century farmhouse, and the boss (SWMBO) keeps a careful eye on the amount of boat building time. Is there a shop in your future?

PS No response from Lumberdude. He did over a boat that looked a lot like a Peteborough skiff. There was a decent picture posted in the forum somewhere. Also, Bear Mountain boats is now selling plans for a "Rice Lake Skiff".

[ 09-20-2002, 03:12 PM: Message edited by: WWheeler ]

[Alan D. Hyde]

I agree with Scott on the varnish.

Congratulations on building your own home. It's economical, it's gratifying, and it's something more of us (myself included) should do.

I suspect I'm not the only one here who'd love to see photos, of both boat and house.

Alan

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

The thing I love about this forum is all the things that come of just asking about varnish on an old Peterborough runabout...building a varnish booth, wheres the picture of your house, but I got the greatest kick out of a wooden boat question about LOW MAINTENANCE .... ROTFLMAO... hehhe sorry... all there is is good quality smart maintenance amiright?

[Darren McClelland]

Wheeler

I will also include a photo of the house which is located on an island east of sault ste marie. I have excellent docking and access to the great lakes and beyond. To answer your question about a shop, I built my dream shop prior to building the house it is 28' x 48' and is 12' high it is fully equipped and I have built all the cabinets, interior doors and trim last winter for the house. The shop is insulated, drywalled and heated. Ready to build boats.

Darren aka Captain sawdust