RJ and I have been challenging our shoulders, first dry-scraping all the loose bottom paint off our 1957 23’ Lyman runabout hull, and then finishing our trek down to bare wood with Jamestown Distributors’ Circa 1850 Heavy Body Paint and Varnish Remover; and yes, so much more scraping. Hours and hours, and gallons and gallons of stripper later, we have, well this video.
I swear someone applied “another couple of coats of antifoul” annually, whether the bottom needed it or not, and, after a point.
What it really needed was what we have just done. Clean it to bare wood; address any fastener, rot or other issues exposed in the process; sand it thoroughly with 80 grit; seal it with Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer; and fair the strake/nail edges with 3M Premium Marine Filler.
Now it is time for the Interlux 2000E Two Part Barrier Coat – five coats, followed by Sandusky Paint Company (SANPACO) Copper Bronze Antifouling Paint – at least three coats.
Happily, lying beneath all this “protection” is a hull that remains well-fastened, has zero rot, and that only needs relatively minor repairs. Most of those repairs will be focused on the stem, knee and gripe, with a scant bit of refastening of the garboards where someone once attempted to do so and failed miserably. (Refastening is just not well served by driving new, larger wood screws into old smaller holes. Plugging and then drilling new pilot holes is the only route to a screw that has bitten into and will hold a strake or garboard, or any other hull component in place.
Tomorrow, after we have refastened where necessary, we will begin applying Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer – three coats, which adds up to gallons on a hull of this scale. Fairing will follow.
Bottom primer and paint are not too far away!