John and RJ grow weary of me asking, “Well, is she ready to float yet?” As of today, and save for installing the strut, prop and rudder, the answer for the 1957 Lyman 23-foot old style runabout is, “Yes!”
We have broken through the exterior topside and bottom painting milestone. Four coats of Pettit EZ-Poxy Hi-Build Varnish on her transom, leaving only eight to ten to follow.
Thank you for all the great questions on this project. Here is a summary that I hope answers the vast majority of them:
In order, reaching this milestone involved
- Stripped the entire hull to bare wood from gunwales to keel and stem, including the transom planks, to stern using Circa 1850 Heavy Body Paint and Varnish Remover
- Released all fairing compound from all fastener countersinks • Refastened and/or reset strake clench and rivet nails
- Sand bottom and topsides fair
- Sealed strake seams with 3M5200
- Sealed the entire surface with three generous coats of Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (CPES)
- Faired above and below the waterline using 3M Marine Premium Filler – six applications with sanding between each pair
- Sanded all bottom and topsides fair again using 80 grit followed by 100 grit
- Applied another three coats of CPES
- Primed bottom with Pettit Tie Coat Primer 6627 – three coats, sanded between coats two and three
- Applied four coats of Sandusky Paint Company Lyman Copper Bronze Antifouling Paint
- Primed the topsides with four coats of Interlux Pre-Kote Primer For One-Part Finishes
- Applied four coats of fire red TotalBoat Wet Edge Topside Paint to boot stripe
- Applied three coats of semi-gloss white Interlux Premium Yacht Enamel
- Splash rails o Stripped, cleaned and sealed the rails with three coats of CPES
- Coated the rails’ mating faces with TotalBoat Thixo 2:1 Fast Cure Epoxy and installed them temporarily against wax paper taped to the strakes – produced perfectly fitting mating surfaces
- Installed the rails bedded in white 3M5200 and masked off from strakes o Primed – three coats of Interlux PreKote
- Applied three coats of topside paint
- Applied three additional coats of topside paint hand-sanded with 120 grit between coats
- Transom o John fabricated two small Dutchman repairs to splits radiating from the exhaust port o Sanded fair using 80 grit
- Stained with Wood Kote G’eld Stain o Sealed with three coats of CPES
- Applied the first four coats of Pettit Easypoxy Hi-Build Varnish, hand-sanded between coats two and three, and very lightly after coat four.
The bilge is ready for a final coat of Sandusky Lyman Sand Tan Bilge Paint. Installing her decks and covering boards are next.