1951chriscraft

I’m ready to start the stain-this boat has two colors. The first thing I have to do is mask off the first color. I then apply a sealer before the stain; this helps make the stain more uniform. After I have applied the stain, I wait twenty four hours before I apply two coats of varnish to seal the stain line from the next color. Yes, the blond stain looks brown until you have at least ten to fifteen coats and then it will turn the blond color. After waiting for the varnish to dry, I will tape off the newly stained and varnished first color. Next, I will seal the other half of the boat, apply the second stain color and add two coats of varnish. After all is dry, I lightly sand the whole boat and apply ten coats of varnish. Yes, I have a very nice expensive varnish that allows me to add ten coats in one day before I have to sand. This boat has twenty five coats on it. I know I have enough coats when I can see myself in the wood. Coming next, we’ll start the chrome, interior wood and dash board.

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After I plugged and sanded the back and sides of the boat, I had to replace the top rail. It was just too weathered and rotten for me to salvage. I have never had to replace them before; just a little nerve racking when you’re cutting and planing on a two hundred dollar piece of wood. It makes you think about it and double check everything a lot! Next, we move on to the top deck. I just love the look of this model’s top…just sweet looking. Just wait till you see it with the stain, which is the next step.

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Just like the bottom, I have to rough cut the side planks and then soak them for two weeks. After that, I steam and fit them to the boat. I have to wait for the planks to dry before I can permanently fasten them to the boat. While waiting for them to dry, I cut out plugs from scrap mahogany for all the screw holes I’ll make. When dry and fastened, I’ll glue them in by hand, one at a time. Yep, it is very time consuming. When the glued plugs are dry, I then have to cut them flush and sand them smooth. Next week, we start the top rail on the top deck.

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There’s five coats of paint on the bottom to give it a good stable bottom that will last for years. The paint is an anti-microbial base paint which keeps fungus from growing on the bottom. I then turn it back upright, level the boat to keep it true and straight, and install the front stem. Next, it’s time to start cutting and fitting the side planks by steaming them to fit.

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Now the fun part-recreating old rotten parts. I like the challenge and the gratification. Next, I fill all the screw holes in the bottom and start sanding it nice and smooth. I just love the look of a nice smooth mahogany boat before paint and stain. Next week bottom paint.

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After roughy cutting the bottom planks, I have to soak them for 10 days before steaming them. One plank take one to two hours to steam. It’s a slow process, but very rewarding in the long run. After I have all the planks bent, I have to let them set for two weeks to dry out before I sand them to fit. I then dry fit the entire bottom and pre-drill all the holes. Next, I remove the bottom and add a layer of 5200 to water proof it, in-bed the bottom planks and screw them all in. There are a lot of screws; the average bottom takes approximately 2500 screws. The last step requires the bottom to be sprayed with water and covered to keep it wet for a week.

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