exterior woodwork

[davestlouis]

I got the CP 16 home today, and so far I've taken it to a carwash and hosed it off, let it dry, then backed it up my steep driveway into the garage next to the Sunfish.  My first observation is that this boat makes its presence felt behind my old S-Class Mercedes, the car's butt was drooping!

First question, what is the exterior wood made of, and what can be done if it's loose...is it just rotten or can it be tightened and repaired?  The grab handles over the cabin are the only pieces that are loose, but it all needs cosmetic help. 

[crbakdesign]

Mostly teak for handrails, slides and bowsprit if you have one. Hatchboard can be any number of things, but most often marine grade plywood.

[davestlouis]

The hatchboard is discolored and looks terrible, but it is only swelled at the very bottom and I suspect I can still make it look presentable.  I had never looked inside the cabin until today, found the rudder ass'y, one sail, tan vinyl seat pads and lots of lines.  This boat had been parked on a dirt/gravel lot in midtown St. Louis MO for an unknown period of time and there was lots of leaf debris and standing water in the rear footwell, but the cabin itself seems to stayed mostly dry.  I'll advise as things progress and I come up with newbie questions...

[Paul]

Just a consideration regarding the "droopy bottom" of the Mercedes.  1) Does the trailer tongue rest level when hooked up to the car?  2)  Has the boat been shifted forward on the trailer?  Hint:  Look for a mark where the winch/bow post had been.  Tongue weight at the height of the hitch should be around 100 lbs to 120 lbs.  I would not anticipate that much weight would lower the car very much.

As for the loose wood, check for leaks into the cabin.  I like to use polysulfide sealant when re-attaching wood.

As for the hatch, replace with plywood.  Marine grade would be preferred.  Or, consider replacing with lexan.  Not quite as "nautical" but functional none the less.

One of Don Casey's books on boat care certainly would shed light on the details of evaluating and treating the wood, and the rest of the boat for that matter.

Congratulations on your new purchase and have fun tinkering.

Paul

[mgoller]

Hey Dave,
When you cut the new hatchboard consider adding two little ears at the top corners to cover the holes left by the sliding hatch.  I thought that was a good idea to discourage nesting wasps.  On the other hand the curve at the top nestles in very nice with the curve at the stern of the cockpit making a nice table for gear when sailing.
The other thing I am considering is making the hatch in two parts with a piano hinge in the middle.  It would fold up and stow easier, make the above mentioned stern table a bit less obtrusive, or swing down for a companionway table.  Haven't done it yet but there has to be something fun to do with that big board.
Mine lasts two seasons before swelling and popping the finish.

[davestlouis]

The whole towing situation was a fiasco...the car had a 2 inch ball on it, of course the trailer is 1 7/8, the hitch itself does leave the coupler lower than I could like, so I ran to NAPA and bought a smaller ball and a hitch that put the ball at a better height...of course that hitch didn't line up with the holes in my receiver, so it wouldn't work.  Further, the balls had 2 differnet size nuts that held them to the hitch, so I wound up back at NAPA to buy another wrench. Aftr I got the boat home, not only is it farther forward on the trailer than I would like, but the boat is sitting at a bow-down attitude which contributed to the build-up of debris in the footwell.  The old Benz is my baby...I bought a 92 Buick Roadmonster for a tow vehicle, but it was getting new tires this week after getting 2 flats one day last week, so I didn't want to tow with it until I got the new tires. 

[davestlouis]

I'll play with the woodwork this weekend.  I also found a wood oar in the cabin...I'm tempted to experiment with it to perfect my finishing technique.  I also have a daggerboard and rudder to refinish from my '65 Alcort Sunfish.  That boat is almost ready for paint on the deck...I'm leaving the hull alone, but some genius had punched a hole in the deck the size of the mast...guess they dropped it vertically and punched right through, then "fixed" it with duct tape, so I glassed it up and got the deck ready for paint. 

[mgoller]

Hi Dave,
What I found with the teak trim is to take it off, sand it down agressively till smooth and finish it with many thin layers of poly.  Thin it with mineral spirits and let it really soak in.  Five layers will prevent seasonal popping of the finish.  the last coat can be a medium coat and it will gloss up nice.
I had a sunfish and loved it.  I sold it a couple of years back on Ebay in the middle of winter for $1375.  I paid $200 for it in 1995.  I miss it though.  That is a nice boat.  The fiberglass isn't as thick as you'd think.  not hard to punch a hole in it.  What are you using on the deck?

[davestlouis]

I have some one part marine urethane from West Marine, although I work in a body shop and am tempted to shoot it with a hardened base/clear coat Standox automotive finish...one of my co-workers just re-did a Ranger bassboat and used House of Kolor huge metal flakes and Standox base coat/clear coat on the upper shell and deck, and soild black Imron on the bottom.  Of course I wouldn't put silly bassboat metal flake on a Sunfish...

[pelican]

I drill out screw plugs and take off teak, sand as said above.. I finish with Cetol Marine. Available at West marine. It holds up well in the Florida sun. If you get a rub or bad spot, you can lightly sand and spot finish if caught early. Re-set with marine adhesive in screw holes. New teak plugs Etc is available at West or probably any marine center

When the wood surface is in poor condition, a boat restorer in our area takes the teak off and passes the square flat surfaces through a table saw. He just shaves the wood to get to a fresh surface. It saves time on sanding if you have good table saw skills.

Happy sailing

[mgoller]

I used to do body work and painting.  I don't think it is a bad idea at all to use a catalyzed  automotive finish on a Sunfish.  I agree the metallic might not be a good idea.  You could check intop Awlgrip paints if you want a Yacht finish.  My guess is it isn't tremendously different than a good Auto finish.  But at least you'll already be familiar with how it goes on if you use a Urethane or Acyrlic Enamel.

[davestlouis]

The only issue with a high-gloss finish would be that the surface needs to be perfect, but I suspect that a hardened clear coat would be fairly tough and should hold up well.  I went to West Marine today and came home with Interlux Schooner varnish with UV protection for the woodwork...the guy there steered me away from the Cetol because he has an issue with the tint in the Cetol throwing the color of the wood off. 

[davestlouis]

I sanded the grab rails after I removed them...I wanted to experiment with those first and see what happened.  The first coat of varnish made them look REALLY dark brown and seemed to raise the grain in places.  I let them sit for 2 days, then lightly sanded and recoated them tonight.  AFter the second coat, there seems to be more clarity to the grain, and the color seems lighter, even though that seems counterintuitive to me.  So far, so good.  I was reading the varnish container, and noticed that Interlux is an Akzo-Nobel product, same company that makes the Sikkens paint we use at work.  Not cheap, but this company makes a nice product. 

[davestlouis]

The more I look at the hatchboard the less I like it...I think I need a new piece.  I'll hunt up some marine plywood adn cut one, I think.  I saw a Catalina 22 on ebay tonight that had a vent cut in the hatchboard.  Is there any purpose in doing that?  The vanes on the vent were angled so most rain would stay out.