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1957 Lyman Runabout Deck Milestone

1957 lyman runabout decking

After a long winter of scrubbing, scrubbing and scrubbing the bilge and the hull’s related interior surfaces; spending endless hours applying Sandusky Lyman Sand Tan Bilge paint to all those surfaces, it is time to deck.

We are installing ribbon cut mahogany plywood that matches that Lyman originally used in its Sandusky, OH factory.

We use 3M5200 to minimize the need for fasteners. In fact, in for foredeck, other than along the rub rails, where they will be covered by the toe rails, down the middle where they will be covered by the king plank and the stainless finish nails driven along the dash, there are no additional fasteners driven anywhere through the surface.

Bending the panels over the framework produces all the down pressure needed to ensure significant squeeze out, which indicates the substantial downward pressure being generated there. The covering boards are also bedded in 3M5200 and secured with stainless finish nails driven in using a pneumatic nailer, which is also consistent with Lyman’s methodology.

We employ 3M5200 in three colors. White is used along the rub rail, which produces a white seam between the top strake and rub rail.

Mahogany is used along the top of gunwale framing so that the interior seam between it and the covering board complements the stain and brite finish being applied to these components.

Tan is used atop all of the deck framing, which, along with the undersides of the deck panels, has been painted Lyman Sand Tan. The tan seam lines melt into the surrounding tan surfaces.

As will all other 3M5200 applications, we employ Interlux Brushing Liquid 333 and terrycloth shop towels to clean all squeeze out aggressively and completely. Left behind is the tiniest seam line we can attain.

Once we install the toe rails on the foredeck and the king planks, both fore and aft, her decks and covering boards will be ready for bleaching, staining and, yes, varnish!

Quite a milestone indeed!

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1957 Lyman Runabout Exterior Paint Milestone!

1957 lyman runabout exterior paint

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.

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1946 Chris Craft Mahogany U22 Varnishing Milestone!

1946 chris craft mahogany u22 varnish

We are so close to blasting through the varnished! milestone that I can almost taste it.

While I escaped Vermont’s frigid “spring” for a week, John and RJ applied coats 14 to 16, John sanded all surfaces flat by hand using 400 followed by 600 grit, and they then applied coats 17-19. John must sand everything flat one more time before the 20th coat of Interlux Perfection Two Part Varnish is applied.

She will then sit for two weeks so the varnish can cure before John and RJ begin buffing her to an absolutely mirror-quality brilliance.

John and RJ also finished the “body work” on and bleaching the ceiling planks. They have been stained with Interlux Interstain Wood Filler Stain and sealed with three coats of CPES.

John did a quick hand sanding after four coats of Pettit EasyPoxy Hi-Build Varnish were applied, and that is where things stood when I escaped. My return found the ceiling planks with glistening with coats four more coats of varnish. John spent the first part of this week sanding them flat using 400 grit wet/dry paper and our pneumatic random orbit palm sander.

We can begin installing the ceilings once two to three more coats have been applied.

Then, with the varnishing milestone fading into our wake, it will be time to begin assembly. Yes!

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1940 Lyman 16′ Yacht Tender Preservation Milestone

1940 lyman yacht tender preservation milestone

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, on Saturday, March 17, 2018!

At the end of the day yesterday, John and RJ teased me with, “You might find a surprise when you come into the shop tomorrow morning.”

Right they were. We’ve shared several videos recently in which this Lyman was upside down. In fact we stained and sealed the topsides and transom, and John and RJ applied the initial eight coats of Pettit Easypoxy Hi-Build Varnish with her flipped. She has also been flipped while RJ and I stripped, sealed and finished her interior surfaces with a combination of Sikkens Cetol Marine Varnish, and Sandusky Lyman Sand Tan Bilge Paint.

They must have sneaked back to the shop last night. When I walked in this morning, there she was, upright and standing proudly on her boat dollies. What intriguing lines. And the combination of coamings and planked decks adds so much to her design.

Facing me now is stripping what is left of ancient varnish from her decks and coamings with a heat gun and BAHCO scraper, and cleaning her deck seams with a reefing hook. Yes, using Circa 1850 chemical stripper would likely be faster, but doing so risks dropping the stripper onto finished surfaces unless I protect all of them with masking paper, a task that would be both hugely tedious and terribly time consuming.

I have been searching for Lyman material and research that will help me nail down her model. Tossing the question out to the membership of the New England Lyman Group spawned a lively conversation and also a 1941 Lyman brochure that answered the question.

She meets all the criteria of the “15-foot Custom Inboard Yacht Tender.”

Here is an excerpt from that brochure:
The 15’ Yacht Tender has been the answer to many a yacht owner’s problem of procuring a practical tender, light in weight, fast and smart in appearance. It is being used on some of the finest yachts in the country today. Because the carrying space for a tender on many boats is limited, the Yacht Tender can be built on special order within the limits of 14’ to 16’. The steering wheel is mounted on a special bracket in the forward cockpit and the engine controls are handily located. The motor is installed admidship (SIC), fully enclosed and freely available. The seat in the other cockpit faces aft.

Susan satisfies the following criteria stipulated in the brochure:

  • LOA – 14’ to 16’. Susan’s LOA is 15’8”.
  • Beam – 5’4”. Check.
  • Planking — edge grain cypress or Philippine mahogany. Susan’s topside strakes are edge grain cypress. She is planked with Philippine mahogany below the waterline.
  • The outside of the hull is painted white or finished bright (varnished). Susan is varnished.
  • Decking, seats, motor compartment and all other trim are of Philippine mahogany. Check.
  • A spray shield, in place of the windshield (as shown above) is optional equipment at no additional cost. Susan is outfitted with an absolutely flat-across-the-deck spray shield.

We will now sand her topsides flat, followed by applying 3 – 5 additional coats and sanding again.

Some of the clench nail heads are seated beneath the fair surface, but these declivities will continue filling as additional coats are applied.

Our goal is an absolutely flat surface and varnish that allows all those brilliant copper clench nail heads to shine through.

Yes, we’ve set another milestone free and watching it fade into our wake!

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1957 Lyman Runabout Paint & Stain Update

1957 lyman runabout paint stain

What a difference a bit of attention makes!

  • She is sporting her red boot stripe.
  • Her topsides were sanded to 80 grit, faired with 3M Marine Premium Filler, final sanded with 80 grit, and then received two coats of Interlux PreKote primer.
  • Her transom received two Dutchman repairs, was sanded fair using 40-, 6- and 80-grit paper, stained and sealed with three coats of CPES.
  • Her remaining mechanical components were released and readied for preservation.
  • All interior hull surfaces and all framing were cleaned, sealed with CPES and received an initial initial coat of Sandusky Lyman Sand Tan Bilge paint.
  • Her new foredeck and aft deck panels and her king plank were fabricated using correct ribbon-cut mahogany marine plywood.
  • Most of her hardware was packed and sent to chrome.
  • Her Iva-Lite returned fully preserved.

Once John reaches for surface putty and repairs a series of dings that the primer revealed, we will be applying Interlux Premium Yacht Enamel to her topsides.

We will shortly seal her deck and gunwale framing with CPES, and then we can move to installing her decks and covering boards bedded in 3M5200.

This update affords us an opportunity to remind one and all of us to take great care when we tighten lifting ring assemblies. You fail to do so at your peril, as is clear from this clip. Someone must have trotted out a long bar to have extra leverage while securing the assembly. The result is a concavity around the deck’s center rather than Lyman’s characteristic and elegant crown.

We will address the issue using vertical bracing between the keel and the two deck frame members just forward and aft of the lifting assembly. Carefully applying upward pressure removes the hollow, but we will go slightly beyond fair so that the deck is properly convex once the panels are installed, the bracing is removed and the surface settles slightly.

From now to her post-conservation review sometime in May, she will blossom, becoming ever so much more elegant day-by-day and week-by-week. Yes!

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1957 Lyman Runabout Foredeck Off!

1957 lyman runabout foredeck removal

With only applying SANPACO Lyman Copper Bronze Antifouling paint to the jack stand paddle areas ahead of us, RJ and I lowered the 1957 23’ Old Style Lyman Runabout onto a pair of boat dollies this morning.

He’s totally cleaned the interior of the topsides and bilge of all old paint, varnish and what have you. Now it is time to attack replacing the foredeck, toe rails and aft deck, and to release and refinish the covering boards between them.

The starboard foredeck panel was replaced at some time, along with the toe rails on both sides. Rather than use ribbon cut mahogany plywood, which is correct, the new panel is what we call totally incorrect swirl-grain plywood. That it is thicker than the portside panel does not help at all. I express the hope that we can save the toe rail material in the video, but, having released both of rails now, it is clear that major plywood delamination has assaulted both of them. I quickly stripped a section of the king plank, only to discover that it too is fabricated from swirl-grain plywood. The one positive is that whoever did this work was super lazy, or just did not know. Nothing is sealed on the back sides. Nowhere is there any evidence of adhesive having been applied between the decking material and the frames. All of the delamination we have discovered is the “reward” for taking such shortcuts. We will seal aggressively, and will set everything bedded in adhesive. We have no choice but to replace the king plank and both toe rails using correct, and likely slightly thicker ribbon cut plywood.

The aft deck plywood panels will be replaced as well thereby allowing her to present uniformly from stem to stern.

Once the deck and gunwale framing is exposed, it will be cleaned and then sealed on all sides with three coats of CPES. Why?

We spend incredible money and time staining, sealing and varnishing exterior surfaces, but so many of the boats arriving in our shop present completely raw interior surfaces. That raw wood is like a sponge that continually takes on and releases moisture, causing the wood to expand and contract beneath the wonderful varnish we have so lovingly applied.

For a while the varnish is elastic enough to expand and contract with the wood, but as it continues curing, it also loses elasticity, begins breaking down and ultimately fails.

We seal every piece of wood on every side we can get to. Bilges receive three coats of CPES and then three coats of the best bilge paint we can buy. If the boat is outfitted with ceilings, that bilge paint is applied from keel to gunwales.

The framing is doused with CPES, as are the underside surfaces of all deck and covering boards. Once sealed, the wood becomes very stable and finishes survive much, much longer.

Yes, all this sealing costs money and time, but once again, price and cost diverge. Just think of how much you save if your woody’s varnish fails in 3-5 years instead of 5 – 8 years!

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1940 16′ Lyman Custom Yacht Tender: Interior Varnish & Bilge Paint

1940 lyman yacht tender interior varnish bilge paint

Susan’s interior is varnished. Her bilge is painted. The respirator is back in the bag and on the shelf.

Most important the Sikkens Cetol largely erased the color differential between the mahogany and cypress planking, while adding an almost sensual honey hue to the interior. Yes, the strong lighting does distort and wash the color out, and I cannot wait to have her flipped right-side-up again.

RJ and I applied the first, and quite generous coat of SANPACO Lyman sand tan bilge paint at and below the floor line. A second and finishing coat will be applied once we are ready to install the driveline, seating and engine box.

We will install the floor panel support rail and intermediate topside stiffening rail next week, while we apply several initial coats of Pettit Hi-Build varnish to the topsides and transom.

Then, with cross bracing in place, she will be flipped and set on dollies, so we can begin working on the decks, coamings, and sprayshield. (According to its 1941 catalog, Lyman offered a tall, quite upright and flat sprayshield in place of the shorter sweptback windshield on the tenders of that era.)

Once prepped, all of these surfaces will be stained with Sandusky Natural filler stain, as this model was offered finished natural – bright.

It’s cost us the better part of three weeks, but the result more than justifies the investment of time, sweat and our BAHCO scrapers!

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1940 16′ Lyman Yacht Tender Staining & Sealing Topsides

1940 lyman yacht tender staining sealing topsides

Obliterating milestone becomes more and more gratifying once a conservation project moves past repairing and sanding, and into applying stains, sealer and finishes!

And, with her topsides stained with Sandusky Natural Filler Stain 9805, and sealed with three applications of CPES, our 1940 Lyman Custom yacht Tender just crossed that Rubicon.

Once we complete the transom’s final niggling repairs and sand it flat, we will stain it with a 2:1 mixture of Wood Kote Products Inc.’s red and brown mahogany Jel’d stain.

Yes, after being urged to do so, and following extensive testing on scrap wood, this Lyman will serve as our first time staining with other than Interlux or Sandusky filler stain. While we will sacrifice the positive effects of filler stain and thereby likely need additional coats of varnish to achieve a flat surface, our research and testing suggest strongly that we gain a much more uniform result.

Time will tell.

Once finish “bodywork” and final sanding is behind us, we will stain her transom later today. We will apply CPES on Thursday, and be ready for varnishing soonest thereafter.

Now that is a major milestone indeed!

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1940 16′ Lyman Yacht Tender Interior Stripping & Finishing

1940 lyman yacht tender interior stripping finishing

What a “wonderful” work environment! Not! I have enjoyed two weeks “down under” the flipped 1940 Lyman Custom Yacht Tender hull removing all traces of paint and varnish and then sanding all surfaces smooth.

Finally all surfaces have received at least one CPES application, and the bilge and transom have received three. I will next apply a second coat of CPES to the interior topsides, and all of it will be ready for finishing.

The bilge will receive three coats of Sandusky Lyman Sand Tan bilge paint up to the floor level. How the interior topsides are finished remains TBD at this point.

As is evident in previous videos, she arrived painted – blue, green and finally tan – up to and including the stiffening rail that runs longitudinally about halfway up the topsides inner face, and varnished from that rail to the gunwales.

Thanks to the New England Lyman Group, and the 1941 catalog a member shared, we know that Lyman offered a base configuration that buyers were invited to customize. The aft seat could face forward or, in very few cases, aft. The exterior could be finished bright or painted white. The interior was offered completely varnished from gunwale to keel, but owners could specify various combinations of bilge paint and varnish according to their wishes.

Susan’s original owner chose the completely-bright option based on what I found when stripping the paint. After an informative dialog with the NELG membership, and with the help of Ryan Koroknay, I confirmed that the inner-most, oldest layer, a bilious robin’s egg blue, had been applied directly over varnish. Very careful scraping yielded several paint chips with strong evidence of varnish on their inner sides.

Susan sports cypress topside strakes from her waterline to her gunwales, or so I thought. However, once I had everything clean inside, the strakes running between the stiffening rail and floor level are noticeably darker than those from the rail to the gunwale. And there is evidence of the speckled grain that we often see in early mahogany planking.

So … what to do? Finishing everything bright down to the floor is my preference, and my research, which informs me that bright is how she left the Sandusky factory.

We will do some test varnishing early next week once the final CPES applications have cured, and make a final decision then.

Any ideas or preferences you wish to share will be most appreciated!
Time to go down under again, armed with a 3” chip brush, respirator, fan for fresh air and a pail of CPES!

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1957 Lyman Runabout Ready for Bottom Paint

1957 lyman runabout bottom paint

Our 1957 23’ Lyman Runabout conservation project just raced past a major milestone.

  • Her much needed stem, knee and gripe Dutchman repairs are complete.
  • Her new quarter-sawn white oak fin keel has been fabricated, sealed with three coats of CPES and installed, bedded in 3M5200.
  • Her bottom has been stripped, after re-clenching the strakes from stem to stern, which was particularly challenging as folks had just applied antifoul over and over, and over again through the years. We found upwards of 3/16” of paint on much of the hull.
  • She was sanded smooth using 80 grit on our Hutchins longboard sanders.
  • Fairing, using 3M Marine Premium Filler is complete, and the entire surface was sanded fair using a Festool random orbit sander and 80 grit followed by 120 grit paper.
  • The ever-challenging seams between the keel and garboards were caulked.
  • She was then sealed up to the waterline with three coats of CPES and primed with two coats of Pettit Special Tie Coat Primer 6627.
  • RJ has stripped and polished the stone guard, prop shaft and rudder.
  • The shiplap transom plank seam was caulked using Interlux Seam Compound for underwater applications.

That said she is ready for the three coats of Pettit Copper Bronze Antifouling bottom paint we will apply next.

Lyman owners have reported, and we have experienced that their round-chine hulls tend to wander when under way, especially at slower speeds. Adding the quarter-sawn white oak fin keel that is typical of many later Lymans addresses this issue simply and in a manner that is consistent with Lyman engineering.

By early next week, when her bottom will have been painted we will move to the topsides, which have been stripped, but not tightened or faired. That is the next milestone, which is now just peeking over the horizon.