Mr Toad upgrade

[mrtoad]

My com.pac is a 1990 23/3, Mr. Toad. I am in the process of a serious cleaning, doing a few upgrades and replacements. I would like very much to have your help along the way. I purchased the "little yacht" new and have tried to give it special care over the past twenty plus years but time has taken its toll. It is time to take action. I hope you on the forum can help me along the way. Thank you so much.

My first question concerns paint. Fifteen years or so ago I had the mast and boom painted. Same color as the white sides of the boat. Looks very nice. The paint has held up very well with only a few scratches near the base of the mast. What paint should I use to repaint the mast and boom?

I am going to repaint the brown stripe. But the sides of the boat I will not paint. Cleaning, compound and waxing will suffice here.

I am also thinking of changing colors of the mast and boom to give the boat more of a wooden boat look.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks, Rdeal / mrtoad

[Greene]

Wow!  You kept the same boat for over 20 years.  I guess "3 foot-itis" doesn't run in your family.  I don't think I've kept anything for 20+ years except the extra pounds on my waistline.   (The Admiral just leaned over my shoulder to tell me "And your wife!")

Last weekend we were in Door County and one of the sailboats had an extruded mast that was painted to look like wood.  Unfortunately it looks like a metal mast painted to look like a wooden mast.  It really stood out as if it didn't belong there.  Maybe you could try a few colors on some junk aluminum tube from a local scrap yard to see if anything looks the way you want it to before painting your mast.  

Have fun with the restoration.  Sometimes I think that tinkering around with our boats is a sort of therapy.

p.s.  You'll have to tell us how you named your boat Mr. Toad.

Mike



 

[mrtoad]

thanks, mike for your quick response - and to be sure, your advice will be noted

the reason for the name, Mr. Toad is explained in the first few paragraphs of a sailing journal I am working on

maybe I should get permission to post it here – I am not sure of all the rules

rdeal /mr toad / com.pac 23/3

[Bob23]

Permission granted!
Bob23

[mrtoad]

   Mr. Toad, why did i choose this name for my com.pac 23/3


i posted the background to the name choice in the "com.pac sailors lounge"

hope you enjoy

rdeal / mr toad

[Billy]

Agree with green. Don't paint metal to look like wood.

[Bob23]

   A few years ago at the Annapolis show, I was gonna buy the Hinckley Picnic boat that was alongside the dock. She certainly was the prettiest girl at the dance...except for the faux painted mast and boom. If it's wood, fine, then it's wood. If it's aluminum, fine, then it's aluminum. But don't try to make aluminum look like wood.
   Sure the $750,000.00 price tag was a bit of a challenge but the deal breaker was that faux mast and boom. I'm much happier with my cp23...no facades!
   To paint aluminum, clean the heck out of it, remove all corrosion, wax, etc. then lightly sand, wipe down with acetone and prime with a zinc chromate primer. That's all I know. Maybe Brightsides finish coat but you should check the interlux website.
Bob23

[rip]

Mr Toad, I am in total agreement with Greene, Billy and Bob23...as well as anyone else who thinks that painting an aluminum anything to "look like" wood is a terrible idea. The only folks who are not put off by wooden looking aluminum masts are those who know nothing about boats, are not discerning at all about quality, have no taste, prefer women with too much make up, make wakes with their moboats, etc. My humble opinion rip

[wes]

Mr Toad - Don Casey's book "Sailboat Refinishing" (publ. International Marine Sailboat Library) might be a great help to you. It was my bible as I refinished my 1988 CP 19 over the past year. He has a whole chapter on proper technique for mast and boom painting. I bought my copy new on Amazon for $7.00. Fyi, he recommends a two-part linear polyurethane such as Interlux Perfection, applied by roller to the mast, working around the circumference in bands (mast on sawhorses) as opposed to running the roller the long way. I didn't do my mast (my aluminum was in pretty good shape) but used this paint on every other part of my boat with good success. It is incredibly hard and durable after curing.

- Wes