pirogue refurb

[jdupre']

Hi, guys. I haven't been posting much, but here goes.

Piper and I have been paddling and fishing a couple times in the last month. He built a fine SOF kayak. It's a blast to paddle and light too.




We've been talking about our next boats. I started listing the things I want in a boat and, what do you know, I convinced myself that the pirogue I have is THEE one I need!

So, I figured I'd start back with it on a positive note and give it a make-over.




I'm adding a 3- for- one carry handle, tie off rail and jam cleat on each side of the seat area.


Oh, by the way, do yourselves a favor and get some of this sandpaper. It cuts so well and lasts so long that after passing the scraper on the gunnels and the inside of the boat, I hand-sanded the whole inside and both gunnels with a quarter sheet of 220 grit. This was a piece that had been used on some other projects before!! Great stuff.


It's a little expensive, but is the best sandpaper I've ever used. It's actually a pleasure to hand sand with this stuff.

Joey

 

[Kayak Jack]

A PLEASURE to hand sand? Oh, Joey; I fear you may have gone soft in the noggin. ;-)

But, I'd sure like to see the finished product.

 

[jdupre']

Yep, Jack, HAND sanding. Seriously, with this sandpaper it is a pleasure. One thing I learned the hard way is too not use much pressure when sanding. The natural tendency is to press harder to make more progress. With this paper, you use just enough pressure to make dust and no more. If the surface in not showing much sign of progress, you should be using a heavier grit first.

Scrapers don't get much press nowadays. I find they are a must in boatbuilding. Mine is a piece of steel banding material about and 1 1/2" wide.

It's ground to a different shape on all four corners and has a turned up burr all the way around. I've scraped off one wayward brush hair from a finish coat of varnish without touching the surrounding finish. Try THAT with sandpaper.

 

[Kayak Jack]

One hair from wet varnish! Joey, you have the skilled hands of either a brain surgeon, or a lover. And with that, we'll leave the subject lie.

 

[jdupre']

No, Jack, dried varnish. To sand out a dried in hair, you would disturb quite a bit of the surrounding finish.

I have my carry handle/tie-off rail/jam cleat all built and fitted. I just have to epoxy it in and add a few SS screws.

 

[Wannabe]

I love scrapers. In a bind you can make scrapers our of a lot of stuff. You can use banding straps like Joey said, worn out but not bent sawzall blades, little ones from hacksaw blades, ect. Sharpen them at 90 degrees and burnish a hook on it. That is rather simplistic. The internet has lots of instruction on scraper use.
Bob

 

[beekeeper]

Where did you buy the paper?

bee

 

[jdupre']

Bee, I just bought another pack at Sears, but it was the last one and they didn't have much of a selection. I think Lowe's would be your best bet. The hardest thing to do is to NOT press harder. That just gums up the paper faster and makes deeper scratches. Just use the weight of your hand and forearm.......nothing more.

 

[beekeeper]

Thanks,I'm going to check Lowe's again. Besides not bearing down too hard, I like to wrap the paper around one of the sponge sanding pads/blocks. Seems to help keep the paper flat, but will follow the contour of the wood where needed.
Recently bought a B&D Mouse sander. It works really well for sanding items to final shape, and fitting into tight places.

beeleeper

 

[jdupre']

Bee, I went to Lowe's in Gonzales and didn't see the "3x longer" paper. I did see some "7x longer" ( bought some) and some "15x longer". :shock: I'm withholding the Boat Science designation on the "15x". " Yeah, Bubba, this is the last sheet of sandpaper I'll ever have to buy." :mrgreen:

 

[beekeeper]

I have checked 2 Lowe', 2 H.D., and 2 or 3 hardware type stores. No luck. I recall having some years ago but don't remember it as being outstanding. It may have been and I just thought sandpaper today does not work as well as it used to.
Have you tried it on different surfaces/finishes? Some seem to clog the paper worse than others.

 

[jdupre']

Bee, I found it at Lowe's in Gonzales.

It sands wood very well and old, DRY paint incredibly well. I put a coat of oil based paint on the pirogue Saturday and the sandpaper does tend to clog on that surface. It's rained 6 or so inches in the last couple of days. 100% humidity is not conducive to the drying of oil paint.

 

[beekeeper]

Bee, I found it at Lowe's in Gonzales.

......... 100% humidity is not conducive to the drying of oil paint.

I will try to check there next week or ask Mawmaw Bee to when she goes to the Outlet Mall. No telling how much that will cost me. :roll:
Humidity not very friendly to drying marine varnish. I have been tying to finish some paddles and it is taking forever.

 

[oldbuffpilot]

No, Jack, dried varnish. To sand out a dried in hair, you would disturb quite a bit of the surrounding finish.

I have my carry handle/tie-off rail/jam cleat all built and fitted. I just have to epoxy it in and add a few SS screws.

Let's see if this old thread will open. Is the jam cleat a simple v groove or is there something exotic hiding there? I've put v's in pvc pipe, like the wood idea.

 

[oldsparkey]

I just recieved a quart of Captains Spar Varnish from Jamestown Distrubators so I can re-varnish the rub rails on the Sasquatch Canoe.

 

[jdupre']

It's the simple v groove on the left. The rope comes in over the gunnel on the right, goes under the grip and comes up through the v groove. A sharp tug to the right secures the rope. A tug to the left releases it. The handle is at the balance point. It''s a "three-fer"........ jam cleat, tie off point and carrying handle. Not bad for about 4 ounces of wood.

 

[oldbuffpilot]

It's the simple v groove on the left. The rope comes in over the gunnel on the right, goes under the grip and comes up through the v groove. A sharp tug to the right secures the rope. A tug to the left releases it. The handle is at the balance point. It''s a "three-fer"........ jam cleat, tie off point and carrying handle. Not bad for about 4 ounces of wood.

Thanks I knew there was some knowledge there!