Varnish Heresy?

[FlaMike]

I was looking around for a small sailboat that I might add to my "build list" and found one that had some possibilities. But the designer, also a builder, said something that caught my interest. Not real sure if its a good idea or not, but he does make a case for it, on the other hand, it might get one burned at the stake for heresy. . .

"I varnished the interior with no sanding between coats so the interior has a dull natural wood finish. No slipping on the bottom and doesn't show dirt or mud. Since it is best left rough for footing, refinishing the inside bottom is a breeze - just sweep out the big chunks and add another coat or two of varnish. I'll add that varnishing a natural wood boat all over might be the very best camouflage scheme."

Anyone heard about doing this? Or willing to confess to having committed such a sin? :shock:

Actually, I'm finding it to be an interesting idea. Just not so sure how I'd like finding out it isn't, the hard way. The idea of having to strip out that much varnish, even from a very small boat, would be some kind of nightmare! But if it worked, could be real good. If it makes a difference, I think some of his designs are finished with just paint on ply, some build them with epoxy/glass. Not certain what the actual plans specify.

Anyone?

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[Kayak Jack]

Even with careful sanding, my varnish finishes look muddy. :cry: On the bottom of the inside, one could mix sand with the varnish for better footing?

 

[oldsparkey]

I have applied varnish over varnish without sanding , especially on the inside of the boat. Can't see where there is really any difference between sanding it and not sanding it.
I don't make my boats for resale or shows just for myself to paddle and enjoy.

Chuck..........

 

[FlaMike]

Hmmmm. . . Kind of expected at least one "R U outta' ur MIND?????" reply. :lol:

I might have read another statement by the designer somewhere, as I have the impression that this was not done for a "showboat" appearance, but done instead of paint, as it would show light scratches from sand & mud being tracked in the boat, less than paint would show it, or the sand & mud itself for that matter. I *think* I can see his point there.

As for the non-skid effect, varnish has always had a softer feel to it than most paint jobs, so I can see where it shouldn't feel a slick as a painted deck. I do believe he did mention that he could also keep something of a watch on the condition of the wood through the varnish. And keeping it up was no big deal.

I'm still not convinced I'd want to try this on the 14" marsh pirogue at this time. But, since I am very likely to build a Flats Rat, a flats-fishing variant of the Mouse series of boats as sort of a "scout boat" that I can just toss in the back of the pickup when looking for likely launch sites for the pirogue, I will try the varnished insides on that one.

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[mike]

After reading this, the thought comes to mind, what if?

What if one applied a good final coat of varnish to the inside bottom of the boat and immediately used a sifter to sprinkle sand on top of the varnish? That could give a good non-slip surface.

Mike

 

[Kayak Jack]

DAMN! I wish I'd thought of that.

 

[mike]

DAMN! I wish I'd thought of that.

Well, you pretty much did. The only difference was you mixed the sand with the varnish, while I sifted the sand on top of the varnish. Both methods should probably work.

Mike

 

[Kayak Jack]

You Cracker Barrel guys think of everything. I'd think that you will enjoy the sail boat a lot. I'd be interested in what boat you're thinking about. Small sail boats intrigue me. Water here are more flowing than flat. So, I pretty much just look at pictures.

 

[FlaMike]

A salt shaker of sand, as well as other materials is a very old traditional method of making "non-skid." Just sprinkle it onto the wet paint. Many found that using sand did work, maybe too well. Then they just put one more coat of paint on top of that, and it was a lot easier on bare toes! Others used salt, itself. Into the wet paint, let it dry and then rinse the salt away. This gave a stipple finish that was sort of non-skid, but not abrasive. I read several references to finely crushed walnut shells.

On a small aluminum boat that I decided to paint, I mixed in some rather fine pumice. Worked just fine.

My requirements for a sail boat is that it must accommodate 2 adults, be suitable for solo sailing, and small enough to transport in my pickup with a bed extender. 15" would be about the max. For use in sheltered water, but a short run out in the Gulf on a really nice day.

What I'm looking at is the Surf, aka: Crab Skiff, designed my Bolger. It's described in Payson's first "Instant Boats" book and on the web site by the same name.

Other candidates are on DuckWorks, so far all are Jim Michalak's, his Mayfly 14, both of his Piccup designs, but others to be considered.

This is what one comes to while waiting to be able to start building! (But I love it!)

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[Wannabe]

Putting sand in paint brought back some old memories. When I was running tow boats in the oil field my decks were getting pretty slick. I came by a couple of gallons on epoxy paint. I went up on the drilling rig and got a bag of Nut Plug (crushed walnut shells). Mixed crushed walnut shells in with the epoxy paint and had non skid on my decks. The bad part was that you could not walk on the deck bare footed. If you did bad things would happen to the bottom of your feet. Live and learn. Save the walnut shells to use in your case tumbler.
Bob

 

[Kayak Jack]

I suppose that an Italian would use garlic salt. :wink:
And, a Cajun would use cayenne pepper mixed with salt.
sigh

 

[oldsparkey]

I did one boat ( a aluminum 12 footer ) that Dad and I used for duck hunting , painted the inside olive drab and sprinkled some good old Florida sand in it while the paint was wet. Worked like a dream , no slipping and sliding around.