The last three nights at the hospital were the busiest we've seen in quite a while! Normally, we have a certain amount of "down-time," no problem taking time to fix up a little dinner and sometimes, enough time to actually sit down and enjoy it.
Not last night!
Got home with a "zero energy level." But I did stop and pick up a new pad for the R/O sander and some finer sanding disk. I've decided against taking the boat out for a couple of more trips, I'm going to use the entire 4 days to do all the finish work, instead.
I could not find a 1 1/2 X 1/2" or even thicker piece, so I settled for a 3/4 X 1/2" one, and it is a full 16 feet long. (Tied it to the passenger side of the pick-up truck.) Tired as I was, it didn't occur to me to get a much larger piece and simply rip it down to size.
But I'm thinking that oldsparkey was right about the width of this runner not being particularly important for what I want it to do, and confident that Mick is right about the 1/2" depth being enough to provide the lateral resistance needed, without presenting too much extra depth for hanging up on stuff. And I'll certainly remember to remove the sharp edges, as suggested.
And, after looking at the piece, I think Mick's also right about not bothering with the FG tape, just saturating the daylights out of it with epoxy, as the wood seem quite light and will soak up a lot of it. The runner will go on first, then the graphite coating to the entire bottom, next.
Should it need replacement one day, it will be easier without that cloth, or if I eventually decide it needs to be bigger, or removed completely, I'll be able to do it without a major struggle.
As for the finish, the Home Depot did not have what I'd call "real spar varnish." Again, I may have been too tired to think properly, so I opted not to make a later trip to a marine supply, and brought home a can of what Minwax calls their "best" clear finish, polyurethane, with their highest level of UV protection. They say it's good for outdoor furniture, windows, etc., and I hoping it was the best choice from some poor options. We'll see.
I am convinced that a combination of paint and clear finish is the way to go with this particular boat. The wood it's made with was chosen for another project some time ago, one that was to have been mostly all fiberglassed and painted, with a minimum of brightwork. It looks good from a distance, but the closer you get, the more you see. . .
A smaller amount of clear-finish wood looks very good when seen against a painted surface. Kind of like chrome on a car, too much can look as bad as too little.
So, the bottom will get the graphite finish (the sanded version,) with a stripe of it brought up to the rail, fore & aft, like TradGlenn did with his Pirogue. The sides will be a dark green on the outside, against the clear finish rub rail.
Inside, I will be leaving the sides clear, as well as the ribs and in-whale. But the inside bottom will get painted a "deck gray" with a little non-skid read: fine-grain sand,) mixed in. One redfish in the boat leaving some of it's slime coat on the bottom, on a varnished surface, combined with one fool standing up to fish or poll the boat, equals one swimmer in the water!
The little bit of decking fore & aft will remain clear, as well. And I have a special little bit of work to do on the foredeck that will really "make the boat." (A little mystery, here!)
It all starts this evening.
Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL
