trimaran hull finishing

[chrisanddawn]

Hello. I hope someone out there can give me a little insight. My wife and I recently became the neww owners of a 31 ft searunner trimaran. The vessel has been drydocked for 4 years. We are planning on launching her in March. I need to re-finish the hulls. She has plywwod hulls. I know that with trimarans the weight is an issue. We also want her protected for big seas. What is the best manner for re-finishing? Epoxy? one layer of glass? any help would be most appreciated.
thank you all,
chris and dawn

[paladin]

POST PIKCHOORS! I circumnavigated in one.....if the hull is stripped to bare wood make sure there isn't polyester resin residue, clean to bare wood....one thin coat of CPES, then one layer of xynole fabric in epoxy all over and a second layer from the bottom to the top of the bootstrip. If built to plans...drop the centerboard and check for damage and delamination and do as above but two layers of xynole all over and an extra layer on the leading edge to about three inches aft of the leading edge. Check all the joints from the hull to deck attachement line on the main hull and amas...then paint only with a white or near white finish. Did you get the plans with it?
Chuck

[chrisanddawn]

Yes, we have all of the plans. However, I know that we sound slightly ignorant, but this is our first sailboat and only our second boat. My lifelong dream has been to have a liveaboard sailboat. I don't want to do anything wrong or half-assed. If you have the time to elaborate on your post, I would be most grateful. How do I check the joints? She is a 1990 John Brown hull. She seems to be in excellent condition except for what time has dealt her outside. I hope that my ignorance will also grant me the ability to take my time and do it right. I will post pics. I know she has sailed the Caribbean extensively and I plan on taking her further. Your circumnavigation interests me and I would like to hear more. I appreciate your response and will gladly buy you a beer in any port that we meet. By the way, she is not stripped to bare wood, there is white paint(the former owner even painted over the teak trim...bastard), but it is old and there are tiny patches(1 cm x 1 cm) of wood where the paint is peeling. I know I need to refinish the hull(whatever that may encompass), we also plan to strip and refinish the teak. I will gladly accept any tips with a promise to repay if the occasion ever comes up.
thank you,
Chris and Dawn

[paladin]

Okey Dokey...I'll try to answer again without deleting what I wuz wrightinggggggg....it's been a baad day...
To inspect the hull and deck joints and the deck to ama hull joints...insure that the laminations of plywood on the wings izz solidly glued/nailed/screwed to the timbers and also the main crittendon truss arms/mainstrength bulheads are still rigidly attacted to the ama frames. The main ama/float support structure is a crittendon truss that supports the amas/floats and the plywood wings act as monocoque skins in the support structure. If all seems well, clean all the old "fiberglass" from the hull and clean down to BARE wood. It would be better to ascertain if the original builder used polyester or epoxy when covering the boat....anyhow..if you are to bare wood then coat with one coat of CPES available from Smith and company, California or maybe from some site on the internet a little closer to home. Then...cover the entire boat with one layer of Xynole fabric in epoxy resin, avalible from Defender industries and an additional layer from the bottom to a couple of inches above the bootstripe. Although I used T-88 epoxy made by Gerry Schindler of Chem-Tech---later sold to System Three (it's a one- to one mix) I think a better choice might be MAS epoxies. Then paint the boat with a light color, perhaps white or close to it. In the tropics a dark color will heat up a joint very fast and weaken the glue lines. Also..pull the centerboard and inspect it for possible delaminations or dings on the leading edge, and also cover it with a couple of layers of Xynole/epoxy with a third and maybe a fourth layer on the leading edge to about three inches aft of the leading edge because you are gonna use it to find the bottom on occasion. Check the inside of the centerboard case, clean it up and repair where necessary and coat with a couple of coats of antifouling....the cheapest anti-fouling paint you can buy to which you add eight ounces of the finest grind cayenne red pepper per gallon of paint. Then coat the centerboard just before launching.
Inspect the spars closely if made from the original plans...they would be wood..check the top of the mast for water intrusion and repair and repaint as necessqary. Normally a wood mast is varnished. I on the other hand completely sealed my mast with epoxy and painted it white. I stripped it three years later for inspection, resealed and repainted the thing and never had a lick of trouble. Remove all fittings, coat the faster holes with CPES, wait 24 hours then seal with epoxy, screw the fasteners into a block of beeswax, wipe gently to clean, then reseat and rescrew the fastners and fittings...
any more questions...just ask..I still have my original prints to refer to....
Chuck

[brian.cunningham]

Yet another trimaran on the forum :cool:

Sounds like it just needs a good cleanup first.
Remove the old bottom paint, and whatever's been growing on it. Check out all the mechanicals, and the rigging. Basic maintainance stuff common with any sailboat.