While waiting for the Meranti mahogany planking that we will mill into bottom planks so we can finish her True 5200 Bottom, we turned our attention to her hullsides and transom.
Stripping them to bare wood revealed the eternal truth about old wooden boats: You can never know all the secrets she is hiding behind her skirts until you get there.
As you see in the clip, this time she revealed quite a few rotted, split and unsavable planks, and two splash rails with so much rot in their interior faces that many of them must be replaced.
We have been hard at doing so, along with executing a sea of Dutchman repairs – gouges, tears, and splits from what must have been unfortunate encounters with unfriendly docks.
Once we have the bottom and hullside planking installed and faired, she will receive a Don-Danenberg-inspired presoaking.
Fairing and sealing the bottom with four coats of Smith’s CPES will be next, followed by applying five coats of Interlux Interprotect 2000E Barrier Coat Primer.
The hullsides and transom will be bleached, stained with Lowboat.com Jel stain and sealed with CPES before varnishing begins.
For a comprehensive roster of the materials we use and their sources, please click here.
Happy Thanksgiving!