Posted by Awakening Chi (Awakening.Chi@…>)
Our F-33 is in the mid- phase of her extreme makeover. Among other
things, I am responsible for the bright work. I made the mistake of
removing the handrails on another boat, thinking this was the easiest
way to do a good job revarnishing…BIG MISTAKE!..it developed leaks. I
highly recommend leaving the rails in place and taping the heck out of
the deck when sanding and varnishing. If you are VERY careful, a heatgun
and paint scraper is much quicker at removing old varnish, than is
sanding. A heat gun is also good at igniting wood and discoloring gel
coat…just ask me. A soft cover copy of Rebecca Wittman’s book
“Brightwork, The Art of Refinishing Wood” was essential and well worth
my reading time. I recommended soft cover because you can use it at the
work site without too much guilt about dust and goop. I am following her
method and the results are worthy of the time it is taking.
Now for headliners. The guy from whom we bought the boat is a heavy
smoker. The once white headliner was a tobacco gold and had to go. It
was sagging too, so that cinched the decision. We carefully removed all
the headliner (I recommend a dust mask and goggles as this was a very
messy process . Your eyes and lungs will thank you). I emphasize
carefully as our old liner was used as a pattern for the new. I numbered
all the batons and panels, then made a quick, but useful schematic
drawing of which panel & baton went where. Using a black marker directly
on the fiberglass, I also numbered the cabin overhead with corresponding
panel number. One of the carpenters (surgeons) assisting us with this
make-over showed us a ceiling which he had installed on a power boat. We
loved it! The material was wood paneling with grooves every 1-1/2" to
replicate strips of wood. The paneling came in 4x8 sheets ($9 each) and
were cut to the size of our ceiling, using the old panels as a pattern.
They were then installed with and held in place with the batons. The
challenge was that the original panels were only 1/8" thick and the new
paneling was 1/4" thick. The carpenter ground down the edges of each
piece where it needed to fit in a narrower space. The whole process took
2 men, 3-8 hr days. The labor for grinding increased the cost
significantly. If you have the tools, skill and time it could be done
much more economically. We had none of the above. We are thrilled with
the results! I plan to paint the ceiling gloss white and leave the
batons with their wood finish. The vertical lines of the paneling
(running fore and aft) visually elongate the interior resulting in a
sleeker look and feel without losing any room below. Some have suggested
we just varnish and leave the wood look. Too much wood for my aesthetic
comfort. Also, the white paint will reflect light.
Removing the overhead panels gave us free access to all the through
bolted fittings. We changed our winches for larger ones (bought on eBay
for less than half their original price), we inspected and replaced
fittings, added large backing washers where needed, added handrails,
checked wiring for the cabin lights…all the things we could think of
before we hid this space for another 20 years. We now know how
everything is attached and what wires are where. The veil of mystery has
lifted and we are becoming well acquainted with our vessel.
We are documenting the process and will post our photos when we stop
spending every weekend working on her. We made our first sail this
weekend with our new sail. The wind was light, 9 knots, and we had our
rigger as crew. He tweaked and photographed and will be making some
adjustments, but overall he is pleased with the results. We are getting
closer…
Heather Carlton
L’Audace F-33
Hull # 66
Posted by mike cunningham (seychellois_lib@…>)
Heather,
strongly agree on not removing the handrails just to
varnish. I did it because I already had leaks and took
the opportunity to varnish while I was at it.
Mike Cunningham
Jacqueline
F30#3
— Awakening Chi <Awakening.Chi@…> wrote:
Our F-33 is in the mid- phase of her extreme
makeover. Among other
things, I am responsible for the bright work. I made
the mistake of
removing the handrails on another boat, thinking
this was the easiest
way to do a good job revarnishing…BIG MISTAKE!..it
developed leaks. I
highly recommend leaving the rails in place and
taping the heck out of
the deck when sanding and varnishing. If you are
VERY careful, a heatgun
and paint scraper is much quicker at removing old
varnish, than is
sanding. A heat gun is also good at igniting wood
and discoloring gel
coat…just ask me. A soft cover copy of Rebecca
Wittman’s book
“Brightwork, The Art of Refinishing Wood” was
essential and well worth
my reading time. I recommended soft cover because
you can use it at the
work site without too much guilt about dust and
goop. I am following her
method and the results are worthy of the time it is
taking.
Now for headliners. The guy from whom we bought the
boat is a heavy
smoker. The once white headliner was a tobacco gold
and had to go. It
was sagging too, so that cinched the decision. We
carefully removed all
the headliner (I recommend a dust mask and goggles
as this was a very
messy process . Your eyes and lungs will thank you).
I emphasize
carefully as our old liner was used as a pattern for
the new. I numbered
all the batons and panels, then made a quick, but
useful schematic
drawing of which panel & baton went where. Using a
black marker directly
on the fiberglass, I also numbered the cabin
overhead with corresponding
panel number. One of the carpenters (surgeons)
assisting us with this
make-over showed us a ceiling which he had installed
on a power boat. We
loved it! The material was wood paneling with
grooves every 1-1/2" to
replicate strips of wood. The paneling came in 4x8
sheets ($9 each) and
were cut to the size of our ceiling, using the old
panels as a pattern.
They were then installed with and held in place with
the batons. The
challenge was that the original panels were only
1/8" thick and the new
paneling was 1/4" thick. The carpenter ground down
the edges of each
piece where it needed to fit in a narrower space.
The whole process took
2 men, 3-8 hr days. The labor for grinding increased
the cost
significantly. If you have the tools, skill and time
it could be done
much more economically. We had none of the above. We
are thrilled with
the results! I plan to paint the ceiling gloss white
and leave the
batons with their wood finish. The vertical lines of
the paneling
(running fore and aft) visually elongate the
interior resulting in a
sleeker look and feel without losing any room below.
Some have suggested
we just varnish and leave the wood look. Too much
wood for my aesthetic
comfort. Also, the white paint will reflect light.
Removing the overhead panels gave us free access to
all the through
bolted fittings. We changed our winches for larger
ones (bought on eBay
for less than half their original price), we
inspected and replaced
fittings, added large backing washers where needed,
added handrails,
checked wiring for the cabin lights…all the things
we could think of
before we hid this space for another 20 years. We
now know how
everything is attached and what wires are where. The
veil of mystery has
lifted and we are becoming well acquainted with our
vessel.
We are documenting the process and will post our
photos when we stop
spending every weekend working on her. We made our
first sail this
weekend with our new sail. The wind was light, 9
knots, and we had our
rigger as crew. He tweaked and photographed and will
be making some
adjustments, but overall he is pleased with the
results. We are getting
closer…
Heather Carlton
L’Audace F-33
Hull # 66
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