Plastic Classic Forum

Here's my project for the winter; TOFU






I'll be posting fotos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilchuckje/

and here

http://photobucket.com/mobilchuckje

Wish me luck,
chuck.

Good luck, Chuck.

Looks like it ought to clean up pretty nicely, but what's beneath the surface?
What's on The List?

Primarily: Scrape, Sand and Paint inside and out.

- Brightwork
- Re-bed deck hardware and remove unused hardware (Loran antennae, etc.)
- Prolly replace running rigging.
- Replace finicky depth sounder (done)
- Replace abandoned and crappy 12V wiring (done)
- Solar Panel regulator (done)
- Mast-top Windex
- Sail patching
- New interior cushions (prolly reuse foam) covers
- Replace spreader boots
- Clean Rubrail
- Get it back in the water by April

Updates to come,
chuck.

Deck hardware is all off:





Wind keeps trying to knock it down, but it still stands:


Plugging away,
chuck
http://photobucket.com/mobilchuckje

Looks like its going to be a fun project, looks like the previous owner didn't do much preparation for his paint job... Unless that's gelcoat flaking off?

Either way, having a decent shelter like that will make a big difference, wish I had something like that, my DIY tarp cover is terrible! :)

Progress:







I've posted a bunch more photos here:

http://photobucket.com/mobilchuckje

Enjoy,
chuck.

Chuck,

1) Are you doing anything with the bottom this year or are you waiting until next year?

2) Have you decided what you will be using for paint?

3) Have you decided on colors? The reason why I asked about the bottom paint because it will affect color selection. To quote Figment " Damned Because It's All Connected."

4) Before you buy any paint, I suggest you run your color selection by the Classic Plastic Color Mafia. (Hint - no white with black - too power boat and too much like the new "high volume, low displacement" Hunter and Benneteau sailboats.

Looks good so far. Keep up the good work.

LazyGuy wrote:1) Are you doing anything with the bottom this year or are you waiting until next year?

I will scrape what's loose and put 1/2 gal of the cheapest Red ablative I can get my hands on. I plan to take it out every winter and do the bottom as needed each year

LazyGuy wrote:2) Have you decided what you will be using for paint?

At this point I'm leaning toward System Three WR-LPU. I have a box of System Three free-bees like epoxy, mixing sticks, some deck enamel, two part primer, etc, so I'll stick with that system of products.

LazyGuy wrote:3) Have you decided on colors? The reason why I asked about the bottom paint because it will affect color selection. To quote Figment " Damned Because It's All Connected."

My lady friend likes Lopez Blue hull, Orcas White deck with Bainbridge non-skid, but we both like the idea of Bainbridge decks and Vashon Grey non-skid. Not sure on the stripe under the rubrail. Either red or light grey. White bootstripe I believe.

LazyGuy wrote:4) Before you buy any paint, I suggest you run your color selection by the Classic Plastic Color Mafia. (Hint - no white with black - too power boat and too much like the new "high volume, low displacement" Hunter and Benneteau sailboats.

I like the dark hull. I looks tough. It also kinda looks like a whale.

What I really want is some extra cash to replace the sails with tanbark cloth.

Cheers, thanks for the encouragement,
chuck.

Chuck,

Nice, although Green looks better with the blue topsides.

Dennis

LazyGuy wrote:Before you buy any paint, I suggest you run your color selection by the Classic Plastic Color Mafia

Ouch! (It's a pretty helpful "mafia," though, isn't it?)

Rachel

PS: It's a matter of opinion, of course, but I've always liked the combination of dark blue topsides and traditional red bottom paint.

Yes, the Mafia puts a lot of thought into aesthetics and this is a better forum because of it. I am glad that I have neither the black and white boat with black fenders and dock lines nor the white boat with blue sail cover.

This forum is definitely a great place to post thoughts on many boat things and get a great response of ideas to ponder and consider. But personally, I chose the colors I like and don't really care what anyone else's opinion may be on the subject. As you approach the dock, or row out to the mooring, you are the one who has to like what you see. And if you are painting your boat, you owe it to yourself to make sure you will enjoy that view.

Hirilondë wrote:This forum is definitely a great place to post thoughts on many boat things and get a great response of ideas to ponder and consider. But personally, I chose the colors I like and don't really care what anyone else's opinion may be on the subject. As you approach the dock, or row out to the mooring, you are the one who has to like what you see. And if you are painting your boat, you owe it to yourself to make sure you will enjoy that view.

Purdy much.

Ok, so the classic plastic mafia comment did not go over well. Additionally it should go without saying that if you know what color you want to paint your boat, no one is going to argue with you.

The comment was made because I had a great time following many of the threads discussing boat colors. There are a few people here with strong feelings about some color schemes and they have some great ideas for owners to consider. If anyone took offense to my post, please accept my apology.

Any thoughts on how much of the Navy Blue topcoat I should take off? I started with areas that had scrapes and gouges. Some areas I can see that the Navy is coming off in little chips and the gloss of the army green gelcoat is broken down. But there are other areas where the Navy seems to have a pretty sound grip. I s'pose I should take it all off.

Cheers and thanks,
chuck.

From what I see in your photos, I'd suggest you remove all the blue paint.

I figured as much. New PC 7345 arrives this week. I'll just bite the bullet and enjoy the new toy.

Thanks for taking the time to respond Tim.

Cheers,
chuck.

LazyGuy wrote: If anyone took offense to my post, please accept my apology.

I took no offense to the post, so no apology to me is needed. If someone asks for thoughts on colors then they care what others think and are looking for opinions. I do not however think anyone should suggest that anyone should care what others think before they ask. Other than a few considerations like glare off of decks, and hot seats, colors for a boat are a very personal decision for which no opinion is of more value than the owner's, if anyone else's is even worth anything.

Progress:



Water tends to collect here because the outboard causes the boat to list a bit:


Mid-Grind:


My Icebox:


More here:
http://s738.photobucket.com/albums/xx22/mobilchuckje/

We've been focusing on the Miso Dinghy for the last few weeks, but while the epoxy was flowing I re-insulated TOFU's icebox and covered it with cloth.



I sense melted ice being my bane in the near future.

Here's MISO's bottom:

LazyGuy wrote:Chuck,

Nice, although Green looks better with the blue topsides.

Dennis

... Guess you never heard that old saying: "Blue with Green should never be seen!" ???

Skipper599 wrote:

LazyGuy wrote:Chuck,

Nice, although Green looks better with the blue topsides.

Dennis

... Guess you never heard that old saying: "Blue with Green should never be seen!" ???

"My Maserati is bad, man, it's blue and green - and gold
(That's a lie)"

~ Russel Simmons and LL Cool J
"That's a Lie" 1983

There's dinghy progress.





This weather OMG. I could be painting, but it can't last.

Celebrated my birthday yesterday with the Water Test on the Miso Dinghy:

Happy birthday!

And congratulations on your new dinghy - she looks lovely!

Cheers,

Chris

The pram looks great. Do the plans not call for quarter knees at both transoms? I would consider adding them even if the plans don't.

Hirilondë wrote:The pram looks great. Do the plans not call for quarter knees at both transoms? I would consider adding them even if the plans don't.

The plans do indeed, but they have not been installed yet:



Too excited to see it float. It also needs some sanding, 2 more rub rail laminates and a paint job. Our epoxy work is not bright finish appropriate.

I do believe it's painting weather.

Miso dinghy is close to finished.



I will be doing some gel coat fairing on the Tofu this week. Itchin' to get back in the water. There have been Grey Whales in the sound the last few weeks. I would really love to see one.

Cheers,
chuck

Had some of the grey pull up when I pulled the masking on the non-skid. Not sure why. I may not have sanded the base coat below enough. It had crosslinker in it. We'll see how it cures.

http://s738.photobucket.com/albums/xx22 ... %20Dinghy/

There are three likely possible causes: insufficient substrate preparation, insufficient cure before overtaping, or paint that isn't much good.

Paint'll do wonders:





Perfect day for painting yesterday. Today looks the same. We got one coat of primer on the topsides and deck. I rolled the end of the tray on the port side hull. Today we will finish the second coat on the deck and the starboard topsides. Then pull all the tape and let that cure before checking the weather for the next break.



The day I've been waiting for for a while now.

Lots more here:
http://s738.photobucket.com/albums/xx22/mobilchuckje/

chuck.

Another fine day:





more here:
http://s738.photobucket.com/albums/xx22/mobilchuckje/

Aahhhhhh! Clean,white expanse. Looking good!

Chuck, can you describe your paint application and specific product? ...process?

Thanks,

Brian

Surely,

We are using System Three Yacht Primer two part primer and S3 WR-LPU topcoat.

I ground all the old paint off using the Porter Cable DA sander. I used 40grit on the molded-in non-skid. I just took it all down 'till the pattern was gone. There's a black layer of gel coat under the putty colored gel coat so you know when you're going too deep. I used 80 grit on the rest of the deck and the topsides. The sanding pads from McMaster/Carr that Tim recommends are great.

I hand sanded any paint that the DA couldn't reach and then wiped the whole boat with denatured alcohol. I had several places where the gel coat was in rough shape, chipping and such. I ground those down to the black layer. They are all in non-skid areas, so they will be camouflaged, if you will. There were many good sized cracks/splits in the gel coat that I started to grind out, but decided to move on. Now that the primer is on, the field is uniform and 1,000 times better than before, so I think a good decision.

We rolled the primer on with 1/4" nap 7" rollers, tipped with a 4" china bristle brush. After a pattern developed we would cut in with foam brushes as necessary, roll out a roller load and then tip that. My wife was up on the deck, moving fore to aft, and I was on planks along the sides painting the cabin sides, freeboard above the rubrail and outboard faces of the toe rails. I would get fresh bushes and what not and mix the next batch of paint, so no one had to get on and off the boat. Day one I mixed 20oz, 15oz, and 10oz. Day two I mixed 20oz and 15oz.

We started with the cockpit well floor and walls, then moved to the bow and worked back. Once the deck was done, rolled on the hull. At first, the hull goes so fast that the roller was getting ahead of the tipper, but we worked it out, again, pretty much rolling one roller load and then tipping that.

We used the same product on the dinghy (above) as a trial method. That all seems to be curing up nicely. For the decks on that I rolled out the smooth areas with a rough edge. Then I marked non-skid areas and taped them off for paint. I painted one coat of the WR-LPU and sprinkled the S3 non-skid out with a big kitchen powdered sugar shaker. Then coated that with a second coat of the non-skid color. I think that I will do an additional third coat on the TOFU. The non-skid bits seem a little too exposed with just one cover coat.

The literature says to test the primer with a wet finger. If nothing comes off today I will decide when to start the topcoats. I know the stories, it seems bad juju to cover up the primer too quickly, so I don't want to push it.

Hopefully more paint this week. Rainshadow, Hit Meh!!

cheers,
chuck.

Thanks, Chuck. I started priming the topsides of my Sea Sprite 23 recently, and the first coat of primer I decided to roll and tip. I am using the Interlux PrimeKote product, but got poor results from the first application, Interlux tech reps said that generally primers don't respond well to the roll and tip method - though he might have been trying to my operator error blues. I just put the second cost of prime on today - just using a 7" foam roller - and got very good results. I will sand with 220 and prepare for another coat of primer.

Thanks for the detail!

Brian

Who says you can't paint it black? Here's the first coat:









Non-skid areas are primer still, naturally.

Goin' again tomorrow.

chuck.

A little off topic, but do you know Leland Gibson who works on wooden boats there in Port Townsend? I need to get in touch with him. If you can find him I'd appreciate it, he's a family friend who is slipping through the cracks and I've got news he'll want to hear. Reach me off the forum at sscoll@hotmail.com. Thanks.

Hey, by the way. That's mighty pretty work you're doing and the documentation is useful reading.

sscoll wrote:A little off topic, but do you know Leland Gibson who works on wooden boats there in Port Townsend? I need to get in touch with him. If you can find him I'd appreciate it, he's a family friend who is slipping through the cracks and I've got news he'll want to hear. Reach me off the forum at sscoll@hotmail.com. Thanks.

Hey, by the way. That's mighty pretty work you're doing and the documentation is useful reading.

Sorry can't say that name rings a bell. I''ll ask some guys I know around the port.

Cheers, more photos to come. I can't wait to get back in the water.

chuck

Hello, I also have an Islander 21 and need to modify my trailer to fit it. Could you help me by measuring the height of the bottome of keel to bottom of hull? Thanks! Rob

outdoorsman37 wrote:Hello, I also have an Islander 21 and need to modify my trailer to fit it. Could you help me by measuring the height of the bottome of keel to bottom of hull? Thanks! Rob

Hi Rob,



Bottom of Keel to Keel/Hull joint: 31"

Counting rollers left to right in the photo above ~

Distance from Aft Roller (1) to fore roller (8): 86"
Height of Inboard Roller (2): 34"
Height of Outboard Roller (2): 40"
Height of Inboard Roller (4): 32"
Height of Outboard Roller (4): 37"
Height of Inboard Roller (7): 31"
Height of Outboard Roller (7): 40"

Approximate, of course.

Let me know if you need other dimensions.

Cheers,
chuck.

Man! you are the best! thanks! your trailer is awesome. I think the rollers would cost a lot for me to reproduce that?

Thanks!

outdoorsman37 wrote:Man! you are the best! thanks! your trailer is awesome. I think the rollers would cost a lot for me to reproduce that?

Thanks!

No clue, it came with the boat. The trailer was built by Jim Whittaker's kids.

Hi Chuck! I am making the transition from power to sail and just picked up my first sailboat; a 1966 Islander 21! Like you I am going to be restoring her. My question to you is how you handled the spider cracks. I read that you just primed over them and then painted. How is this holding up? Did the primer fill in the cracks nicely to provide a smooth surface to paint? Thanks and I am a big fan of your work!!

Osprey410 wrote:Hi Chuck! I am making the transition from power to sail and just picked up my first sailboat; a 1966 Islander 21! Like you I am going to be restoring her. My question to you is how you handled the spider cracks. I read that you just primed over them and then painted. How is this holding up? Did the primer fill in the cracks nicely to provide a smooth surface to paint? Thanks and I am a big fan of your work!!

Well, the paint's only days old. So far it's holding up beautifully. :-)

As for the spider cracks, I did a couple of things. The gel coat is a thicker putty colored layer on top and a black layer underneath. It seem that the cracks are really only in the putty colored layer, so in several places I just ground out all the putty layer in the area around the crack. Some cracks I "scored" with the corner of a carbide scraper. Just to clean them out mostly. The smaller of the cracks pretty much worked themselves out as I removed the old paint. A lot of the really ugly stuff was actually just the old paint cracking.

Now here's the thing, my goal for this project is to improve the look and get a paint finish that maintains integrity. I'm not trying to achieve a perfect factory finish. There's plenty of "surface" showing through the paint, but I'm just looking for something serviceable. That being said, the primer did fill all of the cracks. Most of the smaller ones are essentially gone. The larger ones are visible. Folks say that the cracks will just come back if you 'fix' them so I decided to not spend too much time on it.

Let's see some photos of your boat.

I'm hoping to wrap up two more coats of deck (smooth) and hull today.
chuck.

Click the Pic for a slideshow of her as she stands now:

Super.

I've still yet to see one with a galley like mine. I wonder if that was done after production.

Thanks,
chuck

Yesterday we put on two more coats of crosslinked deck (smooth). I think we'll call that good. Certainly no factory finish, but it seems to be stuck on quite well.

This was a particularly ugly spot, see below:


Before, no duh:


Sorry about the quality:








http://s738.photobucket.com/albums/xx22 ... e/?start=0

Wow that looks great! I suspect you won't notice the little flaws from more than a few feet away.

I can't wait to get started painting again.

Doug

I'm in between coats on the hull right now. Looks kinda blotchy. I may eat my "easy to please" words.