Varnish or paint in bilge
Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 9:49 am
Hello!
I just joined this forum after Andreas informed me of its existence on another forum.
Thank You immensely, Andreas, for pointing me here. I was looking for a Cruiser Inc forum for a long time but never thought of Thompson.
I am in the middle of renovating a 1962 Cruiser Inc 202 and a 1962 Kiekhaefer Mercury 700 70hp outboard. I am not rying to do a perfect restoration, but renovate it so that our family can use it for fun. I would like to keep the outward appearance as original-looking as possible.
The boat and outboard was given to me by a co-worker. The boat has been out of the water since 1994 but stored indoors in a barn.
I have been reading the forum postings on this site for the last few days and it's apparent that the members know a lot more about my boat than I do!
The previous owner has confirmed that there is a leak at the outer keel. I have removed the windshield, floor, engine splash shelf and exterior trim. Also the outer keel and stem are removed.
Here is a picture of the bilge after some light power-washing:
It looks pretty good in general, the plywood is solid but the top layer is checking in a few places and a few rib ends are suspect. See the closeup below:
After I removed the outer keel, the plywood under it was very solid, but there might be some rot in spots at the bottom of the inner keel:
I have two questions right now:
1) Should I varnish or paint the bilge/underfloor area. I want the visible area above the floor to stay varnished, but I don't care if the underfloor bilge area is varnished or painted. Would it be easier (less preparation) to paint or varnish? Pros and Cons of each?
2) I was thinking of sealing the inner keel/garboard joint with epoxy (turn the boat over and fill the joint) and letting it cure. Then I would seal the outer keel to the joint later. It seems that this would create a "double seal" to prevent leaking and also fill any voids with epoxy. Bad idea or good idea?
Thanks
Steve
I just joined this forum after Andreas informed me of its existence on another forum.
Thank You immensely, Andreas, for pointing me here. I was looking for a Cruiser Inc forum for a long time but never thought of Thompson.
I am in the middle of renovating a 1962 Cruiser Inc 202 and a 1962 Kiekhaefer Mercury 700 70hp outboard. I am not rying to do a perfect restoration, but renovate it so that our family can use it for fun. I would like to keep the outward appearance as original-looking as possible.
The boat and outboard was given to me by a co-worker. The boat has been out of the water since 1994 but stored indoors in a barn.
I have been reading the forum postings on this site for the last few days and it's apparent that the members know a lot more about my boat than I do!
The previous owner has confirmed that there is a leak at the outer keel. I have removed the windshield, floor, engine splash shelf and exterior trim. Also the outer keel and stem are removed.
Here is a picture of the bilge after some light power-washing:
It looks pretty good in general, the plywood is solid but the top layer is checking in a few places and a few rib ends are suspect. See the closeup below:
After I removed the outer keel, the plywood under it was very solid, but there might be some rot in spots at the bottom of the inner keel:
I have two questions right now:
1) Should I varnish or paint the bilge/underfloor area. I want the visible area above the floor to stay varnished, but I don't care if the underfloor bilge area is varnished or painted. Would it be easier (less preparation) to paint or varnish? Pros and Cons of each?
2) I was thinking of sealing the inner keel/garboard joint with epoxy (turn the boat over and fill the joint) and letting it cure. Then I would seal the outer keel to the joint later. It seems that this would create a "double seal" to prevent leaking and also fill any voids with epoxy. Bad idea or good idea?
Thanks
Steve