Ensign Restoration

[ensign001]

I am just starting the restoration of a Pearson Ensign, hull #1. I have no experience with this sort of thing, therefore I have been relying on various forums, like this one, websites such as Interlux and West Systems and books like Don Casey's Sailboat Maintenance Manual. Tim's websites dedicated to his projects have been very helpful as well.
Last fall I stripped 45 years of bottom paint using a variey of methods. (You can check the photos to see the results.) The boat is new to me so I wanted to start with a clean hull to see what kind of condition it was in and to make every attempt to prepare it properly before painting. Aside from one relatively large repair, the gel coat is pitted, crazed, and has a small gouges here and there. I think it looks pretty good, but what do I know. After all the work on stripping the bottom, I want to do everything right. Unfortunately, all of my research has left me somewhat confused and unsure of the proper way to treat the bare hull. At one point I was sure I was going use Interlux 2000. Now, after reading posts on this site, that doesn't sound like a good idea. I'm kinda thinking an epoxy barrier coat is the way to go. I just ordered some manuals from West Systems for additional info on that. I'd appreciate any thoughts you have. And, if you do have recommendations, please be specific as possible, as I am a beginner and somewhat unfamiliar with the jargon that is spoken here.

This is what is looked like before:



This is what it looks like now:



A close-up of the gel coat. The previous repair is peeking out behind the jack stand:



Details at the rudder (with the rudder removed):

[bcooke]

I want to do everything right. Unfortunately, all of my research has left me somewhat confused ...

Join the club :-)

There is a lot of bad information out there. Cyber-space is full of uneducated opinions and the product advertisers don't help much.

The manuals you ordered are a good step. Take your time and your common sense will eventually sort out the good from the bad.

As for barrier coating... that is a pretty hot topic on this forum so if you do a search you will find lots of comments. Personally, I think your boat survived this long without one so I don't see the pressing need to add one now.

Congrats on owning #1. There is some good heritage there and I am sure you are feeling a certain responsibility not to hurt the very first Ensign off the block.

-Britton

[Tim]

Barrier coat in your situation would be a waste of time and resources. My reasons are well-established elsewhere on this forum. You simply don't need it here. You mention that you want to use an "epoxy barrier coat" instead of Interlux 2000...well, they're the same thing. A barrier coat is a barrier coat. Interlux 2000 is an epoxy barrier coat product packaged and engineered in an easy-to-use and convenient way that makes application easier than using plain epoxy resin, but both methods accomplish exactly the same thing.

The question here isn't which type of barrier coat you should use; it's whether you should use it at all. I say no. This is the Chicken Little issue of the boating public, and in my opinion too much time and money has been wasted on these products by unsuspecting individuals, and banked and boatyards looking for quick and easy profits.

This is not to say there is not a place for barrier coats: there definitely is, but as part of an osmosis repair process--not in a generally preventative manner, not on boats with no blistering, and certainly not on unblistered boats in northern climates that spend more time out of the water than in. Note also that not every boat is prone to blistering. Some resins (and manufacturing processes) render laminates that are undeniably more prone to forming osmotic or hydraulic blistering or related problems; other laminates simply do not.

In any case, if you barrier coat the manufacturers recommend maximum 6% moisture level in the laminate. This is very, very low, and in fact is a level virtually never satisfactorily achieved without external influence (i.e. heat, etc.), so it's critical to ensure that the laminate is at least this dry before applying epoxy barrier coats, whether Interlux 2000, West System, or other. Any boat owner thinking about barrier coating needs to have the moisture levels of the bottom checked before proceeding.

One needs to make their own decision on barrier coats, of course, but be sure you know what the situation is and what the purpose is before making a final decision to suit yourself. There's a lot more to the choice than just thinking it's a good idea "just because". If you do use a barrier coat, be sure to apply it correctly...and that means ensuring the appropriately low moisture levels in your boat before proceeding.

The small pits in your gelcoat are common in older boats, particularly the 60s vintage Pearsons. Assuming you'd like to stabilize and smooth the surface before paint, I'd suggest fairing with epoxy-based fairing compound. If any of the pitted areas feature loose or badly-cracked (not crazed) gelcoat, you may need to grind away to reach sound material; this is something you have to address on a case-by-case basis. What I see doesn't look bad at all, and it appears that the gelcoat is basically sound. The pits, other than being a visual irritation, are of no consequence to the boat's integrity at this point. Basic filling and fairing will help you smooth and stabilize the surface, which makes sense.

[Rachel]

Ensign #1 -- cool!

So am I interpreting the photos correctly and seeing that your "deadwood" is actually.... wood? (Deadwood being the skinny part of the hull that is what your rudder attaches to, but which is generally fiberglass in a fiberglass boat.) You say the rudder is out (I see the empty hole in the heel fitting).

I know that in the early days of production fiberglass boat-building many things were basically fiberglass repeats of wooden construction methods; if so this is definitely one of them.

More photos?

Looks like a worthy project.

Rachel

[LazyGuy]

Tony,

Great start. I agree with Tim. Barrier coat is like aspirin. Why take aspirin if you don't have a headache. It won't hurt you. It may even prevent a headache. I also understand that if you have the bottom down to bare glass it is the time to do anything you can to make her faster while never having to strip her down again.

I would consider using penetrating epoxy on the deadwood. That way you can make the boat faster by faring it in anyway you want. The product is called CPES and is available at Jamestown Distributors. A friend of mine used it on a boat built by Pete Culler (probably in the 30's or 40's and owned by one of the Crosby's of cat boat fame on Cape Cod) we were all impressed with the result. The 16/17 foot boat sucked up almost 4 gallons of the stuff.

Keep us posted.

[sal's dad]

Very Very Nice!

Have you met other Ensign owners? There used to be a couple fleets in Casco Bay, there are still a bunch in the Sheepscot/Boothbay area.

While it doesn't look like you have a problem, take a close look at the ballast cavity - I think I posted a link to an Ensign article in the Keel Doctor thread.

I'd love to see you sailing, the big "1" on your sail should be distinctive!

[ensign001]

Thanks to everyone for your input. Let me address the barrier coat issue one more time by this post I found in "Questions & Answers" under the subject "Naked Bottom":

Assuming by barrier coat you mean something like Interlux 2000, don't do it. All you need to do to talk yourself out of it (aside from reading everything on here when you search for barrier coat), is to call Interlux and ask questions.

The moisture level they expect is not attainable in any reasonable amount of time. Pyxis was out of the water for 10 months and still was a little high on their scale (can't remember the exact number tonight). I used a real moisture meter. The boat never had blisters and probably never will. I filled and faired, rolled on two coats of epoxy and painted. She's happy. I'm happy.

I was, thankfully, able to return all of the supplies for the barrier coating to Defender for a full refund.

Just my .02.

I'm still confused as the method outlined above says do not apply a barrier coat and then goes on to say that two coats of epoxy were applied after the filling and fairing. Two coats of epoxy sounds like a barrier coat.
Can someone clarify this.
Thanks-

[bcooke]

Ummm... not really.

Two coats of epoxy is a barrier coat.

Just some of the interesting things you read that require your critical analysis skills. Sounds like you are on your game :-)

Edit: I went back and looked at that thread. There were two different posters that you may have mixed up. One decided not to barrier coat and returned the materials. The other decided to barrier coat and used WEST SYSTEM.

[Rachel]

Maybe Pyxis will chime in here, but I think she meant that she filled and faired where necessary, then rolled on two coats of (neat) epoxy over the fairing compound (only). It did read kind of contradictory though.

R.

[Figment]

(Deadwood being the skinny part of the hull that is what your rudder attaches to, but which is generally fiberglass in a fiberglass boat.)

Deadwood is any wood of the keel which is not a structural component of the backbone of the boat. The vertical member which secures the rudder is generally the "stern post". Yes I'm a nerd, how are you?

The product is called CPES ... The 16/17 foot boat sucked up almost 4 gallons of the stuff.

cha-CHING!!! wow.

[Rachel]

You know, I had a feeling I should have looked at a nautical dictionary before I typed "deadwood." Oops.

So, is that an actual wood stern post I see there on Ensign #1?

I don't have to turn in my nerd badge, do I?

R.

[bhartley]

In response to Rachel's question...

I rolled on unthickened over all of the area which had been faired and filled as per West System's instructions. Their reasoning is that the faired epoxy is porous and not waterproof. The two coats of epoxy were to seal the filled areas not seal the gelcoat.

I returned the Interlux 2000 barrier coat "system" which requires multiple coats over the entire bottom.

Clear as mud?

Bly

[ensign001]

That makes sense. I'm starting to get it now. Thanks for the clarification.

Yes, that's a piece of mahogany. It seems to be hard and solid.

Thanks again for the responses.

[hebert01]

Congrats on hull #1...I'm envious. Interesting that your stern post is actually wood. That's definitely not the case on my boat (998), but I imagine that since you're hull #1, you'll probably encounter a few unique things along the way.

I'm in the process of stripping my bottom as well. What techniques did you use to get all the paint off? what was most successful?

[ensign001]

I started the stripping process unintentionally when I was cleaning the hull with a pressure-washer. The thicker areas of bottom paint began to peel away from the high water pressure, so I began to concentrate on the removal of the paint instead of cleaning. That method removed less than ¼ of the entire area of paint. I than began to “chisel” the thicker/cracked areas with a 1” putty knife. This was after a paint scraper that I had on-hand did not work very well. The putty knife method was slow but effective, but only in the very thick areas. When I gave up on that I was close to having ½ of the paint removed. At that point I decided to try a chemical stripper. I first tried Captain John’s Boat Brite because it was less caustic than other strippers. It also proved to be less effective than the Interlux stripper that I tried next. The Interlux stripper worked pretty well and I had about ¾ of the paint removed when I completed that process. I went back to the paint scraper to clean the rest. I tried a different scraper manufactured by BAHCO this time and that scraper did an exceptional job. This scraper has a 2-1/2, reversible, straight carbide blade. It not only worked well with removing thick and thin paint, it was great as an overall “clean-up” before sanding. You have to be very careful with the direction you pull the scraper across the hull. It is easy to catch an edge of the blade and put a shallow gouge in the gel coat. If I had it to do over again, I would have skipped the strippers and gone straight to the BAHCO scraper after the pressure-washing. I didn’t like using the chemical strippers. They are caustic and expensive. The final step was sanding with a random-orbit sander with 80 grit sanding discs. I was pleased with the results.

[Peter]

This scraper has a 2-1/2, reversible, straight carbide blade.

Ditto on the carbide blade scraper. I got a similar one at Rona Building Supply, with a reversable/relaceable blade. I very lightly rounded the blade corners on the grinder to eliminate it digging in and scratching the gelcoat. I did the whole hull with a couple of blades. Hard work, but very satisfying results in a short time.

I also use the same tool for epoxy cleanup and leveling.

[hebert01]

Thanks guys...just ordered a Bahco carbide scraper!

[Onrust1368]

Congrats on the Ensign #1 project!

There are other good resources out there you might want to know about -
The guy that's building the new Ensigns is Zeke Durica of Ensign Spars in Dunedin Florida - www.ensignspars.com - I'd guess that no-one knows more about this boats than he does, and he's a really helpful guy -
Another person that has restored 2 boats that won the "Most Beautiful Ensign" award is Gary Woodruff in Niantic CT -
He posts a lot on the forum on the Ensign class web-page - www.ensignclass.com -

As far as barrier coat goes, I'm sure others here have more expertise than I do, but when I got my boat 7 years ago, I too stripped off 40-ish years of paint and other stuff - then I faired the hollows and dings with West System, then barrier coat, then VC17, with plenty of sanding between each -

What can I say, it worked the boat looks fine -
I also epoxy-filled and coated the rudder (after it was really dry), then barrier coat and VC there too -
It's held up very well -

Maybe it wasn't necessary, but my feeling at the time was better safe than sorry -

Wes