Yes! Our 1950 22-foot Shepherd’s True 5200 Bottom has been fully fabricated, installed, filled-and-faired, and sealed with four full coats of Smith’s Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer.
Priming the new bottom with five coats of Interlux Interprotect Epoxy Barrier Coat Primer. We will begin with gray and finish with gray, with coats two through four alternating between white and gray, which helps us see any coverage holidays.
Once primed, her bottom will receive three to four coats of Pettit Hard Racing Copper Bronze bottom paint.
From there we will move above the waterline, finish fairing the hullsides and transom before they are bleached, and stained using Mike Mayer’s incredible Jel Stain. See www.loboat.com.
Varnishing follows, the first step of which involves applying a heavily thinned primer coat of Pettit Hi-Build varnish, per Mike Mayer’s detailed guidance.
We bid 2022 farewell and wish one and all our best wishes for a safe, healthy and prosperous 2023!
Finally, this 1947 Higgins Speedster has a solid, sound, and rock-solid True 5200 Bottom that has been primed with five full coats of Interlux Interprotect 2000E Epoxy Barrier Coat Primer!
We will give the 2000E primer 72 hours or so cure time before we begin applying the brilliantly glossy Rochelle Red Interlux Two-part Polyurethane that will define her entire hull.
Our roster of materials we use and their sources can be found here.
The painting will also mark passing a major milestone in that all structural work will be disappearing into our wake. We will check back in then.
Our 1947 17’ Higgins Speedster finally has proper bottom framing with a doubling of the number of frames, atop of which we have installed her two-layer True 5200 Bottom.
Where we could deflect the bottom with a fist thump before, as is clear in the clip, it is rock solid now. Our last structural detail involves fitting and installing the about-half-inch-wide keel strip.
Filling and fairing the countersinks using 3M Marine Premium Filler is next and will be followed by thorough sealing with Smith’s CPES.
Applying FIVE – not fewer – coats of Interlux 2000E Barrier Coat is the final step ahead of applying three coats of brilliant red bottom paint, a color that is carrier out throughout the hull and upholstery, per the thumbnail photos that fronts this clip.
Our 1948 20’ Truscott Barrelback Runabout “graduated” from Danenberg pre-soaking with flying colors. We, well, Joe, trimmed the 5200 squeeze-out from the seams as we waited for the planking to exude excess moisture until it reached 15-17 percent when metered.
After applying four full coats of CPES, with the second one applied immediately after the first, and allowing it to cure fo0r 48 hours, we began priming her bottom using Interlux InterProtect 2000E Barrier Coat primer.
Then, beginning last Friday with gray, I applied five thin coats, alternating between gray and white, and thereby finishing with a fifth gray coats yesterday afternoon. Alternating colors helps identify holidays, and finishing with gray, which covers more easily, delivers a uniformly gray surface.
Following a quick scuffing with medium Scott pads and wiping down with a microfiber cloth dampened in acetone, it was time to begin applying Pettit VIVID Antifouling Bottom Paint this morning. You are viewing her after I applied the first coat this morning. The minimum recoating interval at 90 degrees F is four hours, and it is eight hours at 70 degrees F according to Pettit’s product information included on this page. It is 80 degrees F in here today, so I will apply a second coat later today.
Please visit our Materials & Sources page for a roster of and sources for most of the materials we use.
Our 1948 19.5-foot Truscott barrelback deluxe runabout survived Don Danenberg’s “Pre-Soaking” step in the process of installing what her terms a True 5200 Bottom.
We thoroughly wetted down her hull and left it soaking beneath a layer of .15 mil plastic sheeting, and then did our utmost to wiped out all of the air bubbles, per Don’s guidance.
We then repeated this step yesterday. This video presents the results after having removed the plastic film this morning, July 18. As Don predicts, there is now 3M5200 squeeze out standing proud of virtually all of the bottom plank seams.
Next, as Joe illustrates here, we are using a multi-purpose razor blade scraper with its angled handle to slice the 5200 fair with the bottom planks.
The result? The bottom is tight, tight, tight! The topsides, which we kept wet under the plastic film as well, have also swelled and closed the intra-plank seams noticeably.
After the moisture content gets down to 15%-18%, we will make one final pass with our longboard sanders, and apply multiple coats of CPES, with the first two applied one immediately after the other and allow it to cure for 24 hours before we apply the final two coats.
Five coats on Interlux InterProtect 2000E Barrier Coat Epoxy Primer, with a goal of reaching a 10 mil film thickness. Finally, she will receive three coats of Rochelle Red Interlux Perfection 2-Part Polyurethane paint. Yes, this is a topside paint. However, since she will be dry sailed and therefore remain dry when she’s not in the water, this topside paint, which Jamestown carries and is available in many colors, will serve the purpose nicely.
All that said, given what we see as very positive results, Danenberg-Pre-Soaking will henceforth be a regular component of Sanke Mountain Boatworks’ True 5200 bottoms.
Here for those of you who did not click on the “SHOW MORE” link in the last two videos on the subject, is the excerpt included therein:
Don has just published yet another incredible how-to article, Using Common Sense Is Allowed, pp. 44-55, Classic Boating, July/August 2022, which is a must-read for anyone serious about wooden boat preservation. (To the fellow who savaged me, claiming “Don Danenberg is my friend, and I know he would never wet a hull down and cover it with plastic sheeting,” please pay attention …) “…The outside bottom of the hull can now be … be hosed down with fresh water. “The next procedure I call pre-soaking. After the bottom planks are thoroughly wetted out, I cover the entire bottom with a very thin plastic sheet (.35 mil) and rub out all of the air bubbles as if the plastic were Saran Wrap. The thinner the plastic, the better this works. Cheap painters’ drop cloths work well. For the next two days peel up edges of the plastic to wet it and again rub out the air bubbles. This procedure changes the moisture content of the wood and causes it to swell, forcing out all excess rubber and, hopefully any trapped air. “The equilibrium moisture content for the wood in your boat is dictated by the average relative humidity and temperature of the environment your boat lives in. For example, in most of the United States with lakes, it is in the 18% range, while in Arizona, it is 11%. “Kiln dried mahogany from my suppliers is in the 6-10% range. Changes in overall moisture content of the wood can be retarded by protective coatings, not prevented. I know if this boat is to be kept in Michigan, this wood will eventually learn to exist at roughly 18% moisture content. Personally, I feel it wise to set it to this level before sealing it. (Claudon note: I received precisely the same advice from Don about the rest of the hull’s exterior planking.) … “When properly sealed against seasonal variations in relative humidity, this type of construction exhibits little or no expansion or contra traction great enough to crack the enamel paint at the plank seams. In order for this to work, of course, the bottom must be well sealed from excessive moisture absorption from extensive periods in the water. “After two days of wetting the bottom, allow it to set for two more days until the moisture is noticeably absorbed and the surface appear dry. Remove the plastic and allow the surface to become completely dry. Now you must quickly cut off all the excess rubber, fill in all the screw holes, grind and fair the bottom, and get it sealed before it dries too much.” (pp 51, 55)
The extensive write-up accompanying our July 8, 2022, update on my pair of 1948 Truscotts introduced you to Don Danenberg’s “Pre-Soaking” step in the process of installing what her terms a True 5200 Bottom.
So … here she is, thoroughly wetted down and soaking beneath a layer of .15 mil plastic sheeting. Don stipulates that all bubbles be wiped out, a task we discovered is easier to speak about than execute.
We will now leave our lab rat for 2-3 days. If there is significant squeeze out, as Don predicts, we will shave strips off the seams until they are fair. If we have yet to see significant squeeze out, she will be soaked anew and again swaddled in plastic film.
Our one departure here is that Rick had already filled and faired the countersinks using 3M Premium Marine Filler. Don advises holding off doing so until we are on the other side of pre-soaking, something we will surely do when my other Truscott, the 18.5-foot utility, gets pre-soaked. Here is the link to that video.
That write-up includes the following excerpts from Don’s latest Classic Boating magazine article” It was all provisionally sanded fair. Rick is now almost finished filling countersinks and declivities 3M Premium Marine Filler. He will then sand the bottom, chines, hullsides and transoms fair a final time. However, we will then use her as a Don-Danenberg-inspired lab rat. Don has just published yet another incredible how-to article, Using Common Sense Is Allowed, pp. 44-55, Classic Boating, July/August 2022, which is a must-read for anyone serious about wooden boat preservation. (To the fellow who savaged me, claiming “Don Danenberg is my friend, and I know he would never wet a hull down and cover it with plastic sheeting,” please pay attention …) “…The outside bottom of the hull can now be … be hosed down with fresh water. “The next procedure I call pre-soaking. After the bottom planks are thoroughly wetted out, I cover the entire bottom with a very thin plastic sheet (.35 mil) and rub out all of the air bubbles as if the plastic were Saran Wrap. The thinner the plastic, the better this works. Cheap painters’ drop cloths work well. For the next two days peel up edges of the plastic to wet it and again rub out the air bubbles. This procedure changes the moisture content of the wood and causes it to swell, forcing out all excess rubber and, hopefully any trapped air. “The equilibrium moisture content for the wood in your boat is dictated by the average relative humidity and temperature of the environment your boat lives in. For example, in most of the United States with lakes, it is in the 18% range, while in Arizona, it is 11%. “Kiln dried mahogany from my suppliers is in the 6-10% range. Changes in overall moisture content of the wood can be retarded by protective coatings, not prevented. I know if this boat is to be kept in Michigan, this wood will eventually learn to exist at roughly 18% moisture content. Personally, I feel it wise to set it to this level before sealing it. (Claudon note: I received precisely the same advice from Don about the rest of the hull’s exterior planking.) … “When properly sealed against seasonal variations in relative humidity, this type of construction exhibits little or no expansion or contra traction great enough to crack the enamel paint at the plank seams. In order for this to work, of course, the bottom must be well sealed from excessive moisture absorption from extensive periods in the water. “After two days of wetting the bottom, allow it to set for two more days until the moisture is noticeably absorbed and the surface appear dry. Remove the plastic and allow the surface to become completely dry. Now you must quickly cut off all the excess rubber, fill in all the screw holes, grind and fair the bottom, and get it sealed before it dries too much.” (pp 51, 55)
Our 1948 Truscott Barrelback Runabout has almost blasted through her True 5200 Bottom milestone! Her cousin, our 1948 Truscott utility’s stripping milestone is behind her.
I am now comfortable with having consigned both Truscotts to be fully preserved and resting on their identical Loadmaster custom trailers sitting on the green at the 2022 ACBS International Show in Burlington, VT, September 9 and 10. We hope to see you there!
After replacing a couple of the runabout’s rotted bottom frames and installing a new inner skin comprised of 4 mm Meranti mahogany marine plywood six-inch-wide planks laid at an approximately 45 degree angle with respect to the chines and keel, all of which was bedded in 3M5200, we fabricated and installed outer planking using three-eighths FAS-grade Meranti mahogany plywood, also bedded in 3M5200.
It was all provisionally sanded fair. Rick is now almost finished filling countersinks and declivities 3M Premium Marine Filler. He will then sand the bottom, chines, hullsides and transoms fair a final time. However, we will then use her as a Don-Danenberg-inspired lab rat.
Don has just published yet another incredible how-to article, Using Common Sense Is Allowed, pp. 44-55, Classic Boating, July/August 2022, which is a must-read for anyone serious about wooden boat preservation. (To the fellow who savaged me, claiming “Don Danenberg is my friend, and I know he would never wet a hull down and cover it with plastic sheeting,” please pay attention …) “…The outside bottom of the hull can now be … be hosed down with fresh water.
“The next procedure I call pre-soaking. After the bottom planks are thoroughly wetted out, I cover the entire bottom with a very thin plastic sheet (.35 mil) and rub out all of the air bubbles as if the plastic were Saran Wrap. The thinner the plastic, the better this works. Cheap painters’ drop cloths work well. For the next two days peel up edges of the plastic to wet it and again rub out the air bubbles. This procedure changes the moisture content of the wood and causes it to swell, forcing out all excess rubber and, hopefully any trapped air.
“The equilibrium moisture content for the wood in your boat is dictated by the average relative humidity and temperature of the environment your boat lives in. For example, in most of the United States with lakes, it is in the 18% range, while in Arizona, it is 11%.
“Kiln dried mahogany from my suppliers is in the 6-10% range. Changes in overall moisture content of the wood can be retarded by protective coatings, not prevented. I know if this boat is to be kept in Michigan, this wood will eventually learn to exist at roughly 18% moisture content. Personally, I feel it wise to set it to this level before sealing it. (Claudon note: I received precisely the same advice from Don about the rest of the hull’s exterior planking.)
…
“When properly sealed against seasonal variations in relative humidity, this type of construction exhibits little or no expansion or contra traction great enough to crack the enamel paint at the plank seams. In order for this to work, of course, the bottom must be well sealed from excessive moisture absorption from extensive periods in the water.
“After two days of wetting the bottom, allow it to set for two more days until the moisture is noticeably absorbed and the surface appear dry. Remove the plastic and allow the surface to become completely dry. Now you must quickly cut off all the excess rubber, fill in all the screw holes, grind and fair the bottom, and get it sealed before it dries too much.” (pp 51, 55)
Unfortunately, we received Classic Boating and read Don’s piece after we began fairing the countersinks in our runabout’s bottom.
We will execute Don’s Pre-wetting procedure completely on the utility.
Priming – five coats of Interlux 2000E Barrier Coat Primer Will be followed followed by applying multiple coats of red hard antifoul paint.
Priscilla, our 1940 seventeen-foot Chris-Craft Runabout has blasted through her True 5200 Bottom milestone!
After replacing nearly half of her rotted bottom framing and installing a new inner skin comprised of 4 mm Meranti mahogany marine plywood six-inch-wide planks laid at an approximately 45 degree angle with respect to the chines and keel, all of which was bedded in 3M5200, we fabricated and installed outer planking using three-eighths FAS-grade Meranti mahogany plywood, also bedded in 3M5200.
It was all sanded fair with countersinks and declivities filled using 3M Premium Marine Filler before being faired and sealed with CPES a final time.
Priming – five coats of Interlux 2000E Barrier Coat Primer – was followed by applying multiple coats of dark green Interlux Ultra-Coat hard antifoul paint.
We will now flip her upright, repair several dings and gouges and then hand block sand her using 250 and 600 grit. Finally, she will receive upwards of ten coats of Pettit Captain’s Ultra Clear varnish and buffed.
Once she is reassembled, she will be ready for her final milestone, returning home to Delaware, OH.
Our 1950 18-foot Chris-Craft Riviera is well on her way to having a new True 5200 bottom.
We achieve that goal by using 6mm Aquatek Meranti Maring Plywood for the inner skin, after which we fabricate exterior planks patterned on her original planks using 3/8-inch Meranti FAS grade mahogany.
The ply is first is sealed with three coats of CPES, inside and out and then painted with three coats of Chris-Craft red Sandusky paint Company bilge paint, and then installed using mahogany 5200 bedding on the frames and the battens.
The exterior planks are sealed with three coats of CPES and then bedded in a uniform, approximately 1/8-inch-thick bed of white 5200, save for the outermost plank, that is bedded in mahogany 5200 where is sweeps above the waterline. They are installed using #8 x 1-1/2 flathead silicon bronze screws.
The final result is a rock-hard, super-stiff bottom.
We then apply three more coats of CPES to the bottom planking before priming it using five coats of Interlux Tow-Part 2000E Barrier Coat Epoxy Primer, alternating between gray and white as we build coats.
Finally, her bottom will receive three coats of Pettit Hard Racing Bronze bottom paint, and we will then resume focusing above the waterline.
We are just two coats of Pettit Old Salem Copper Bronze Hard Racing Enamel away from completing installing a True 5200 Bottom on this 1956 17’ Chris-Craft Special Sportsman.
While the Interlux Interprotect 2000E Barrier Coat Epoxy Primer cures for re-coating in five hours, the Pettit bottom paint wants sixteen hours at seventy degrees Fahrenheit. Since our shop stays in the mid-sixties, we will wait twenty to twenty-fours, or until midday tomorrow, to apply the second coat.
Her bottom will receive a third coat, but not until the balance of this preservation project is behind us. All of her topside and transom planks must be released. We do no know until then how many, if any, can be saved, and re-stacking of the topside planks is an absolute must, as is replacing at least one transom plank.
That said, on next Wednesday we will flip and load her onto her trailer, and place her in our storage facility until we and her owner agree on the path forward. His history with her – she was bought new by his family. He grew up with her as the core of family activities each year. She was sold and then banished to lying beneath a tree with a deteriorating canvas tarp as her only protection from the elements for forty years until he finally found her three or so years ago.
Those strong family and emotional ties are driving him towards investing himself in the balance of her preservation. We understand and anticipate a warm and compassionate conversation with him in the coming months.
But the best news is that, with her True 5200 Bottom in place and all structural elements now sound, we saved her. Mission accomplished!
