HELLO ALL- newbie owner has dumb questions

[bparker]

This summer I finally went and did it. Yep, I bought a classic mahogany boat. Life's too short and I've been drooling over these beauties from afar too long. It took me awhile to narrow my search on a favored model, but I arrived at the 18' Continental. I lucked out and found a real nice original boat close to home. It's a two owner 1958 job that has been well cared for. Never been wooded. still sports mostly original stain, and no damage, repair, or rot ever. It's had a few coats of varnish over the years, but never stripped and refastened and so on.
Now come the dumb newbie questions:
How often do y'all put refresher coats on these things? After only one summer, the decks are beginning to dull a bit and I want to keep them in top shape.
Do I finish right over all the seams and then re-stripe them white? Every time? How about caulking the live seams that have opened a little? And is it necessary to strip the boat of all it's trim for a quickie?
Don't get me wrong, I know the work is part of the love, and I'm committed to doing it properly, but I'm just wondering if I'm going to have time for a life outside of maintaining this floating coffee table. Thanks for any input.

[Al Benton]

Bruce, welcome to Boat Buzz.

ACBS has two classifications for historic, antique and classic boats. The first is "Preserved" and the other is "Restored". From your description you have a well preserved classic.

These old wood boats do require maintenance coats of marine varnish in order to maintain a good level of UV protection. The UV inhibitors added in varnish doesn't last as long as the varnish itself.

I would recommend that you read "Brightwork - The Art of Finishing Wood" by Wittman. Others here may have other recommendations of good sources as well.

Al

[bparker]

Al, thanks for responding. Actually, I have some experience with finish work as I am a cabinetmaker by trade and used to finish or paint most of my own work before taking a job at a place where someone else does it. Though most if not all of my wood experience has been with interior items.
A boat in my eyes is essentially a (motorized) piece of furniture that is kept outside and in the water. Go try that with your dining room set. Obviously the art of maintaining these beauties has been perfected and shotcuts/tips/techniques abound.
What I'm most curious about is the typical maintenance schedule of a nice mahogany boat. The finish on my boat has deteriorated somewhat (still OK though) in only one season despite good care. Is this the norm? Is re-varnishing an annual event, or can it be stretched to five or ten years with semi-annual polishing, quickie coats, etc?
Again, any input is appreciated.

[steve bunda]

Bruce, I also welcome you to a very special and exclusive group of woody boat owners / caretakers. In order to answer your questions, could you post some pictures? this would help. thanks, steve , posted picture,,Today we were cleaning the shop and found a nice Chris Craft 18 footer like yours,not the same year build,but close,I have my arm on it, steve

[Al Benton]

Steve,

I was cleaning my shop the other day and found an old screwdriver that was missing for quite some time. It was a big one but it wasn't 18' long. Just how do "find" a whole boat in your shop??? Your shop is always so clean you could serve lunch right on the floor.

Bruce, with your experience finishing furniture there's not much to add if you know how to spread varnish. I have found that it's an acquired skill based mostly on trial & error. I've found that it's good to add a maintenance coat prior to or at the end of each season or two if all is well under the varnish. First, carefully sand it flat with fine sandpaper, then lay on a fresh coat.

My boat lives outdoors and needs more maintenance than a well cared for runabout requires though. She's in a covered slip but catches morning and evening sunlight.

Post some photos if you can. We would like to see her.

Al

[bparker]

Al, as soon as I can figure out how to post a picture, I'll gladly share a few. I'm not sure if I have any close ups showing the condition of the finish, but I do have several of the boat in general. Be patient, as I'm a slow learner when it comes to the computer stuff.
Also Al, on your boat do you re-stripe the seams every year after the maintenance coats or just tolerate yellowish lines? Thanks, BP

[steve bunda]

Hi Bruce and Al, We were cleaning the shop to get ready for the big winter push of bottoms and restorations. Had all the boats in the middle of the shop while Laurie scrubbed the corners. Thought it was a neat picture. Bruce, if you keep your boat out of the sun and elements your varnish will last many years,. White lines on decks and boot stripes are allways refreshed after maintance coats. steve

[Al Benton]

Bruce,

Mine is a cruiser and doesn't have caulked seams. Keeping up with the brightwork on her is an endless task. I have runabout being restored now. We'll need to re-stripe the seams on it but hopefully not soon.

Steve, that is a neat photo. Appears that your winter months are well booked.

Al

[bparker]

OK, I think I got it now... submitting a couple pictures for your perusal. As was stated earlier, boat has never been stripped before (according to 2nd owner). Has had a few coats of varnish and some touch ups from docking boo boos, but never wooded.
Question: Can I successfully scrape the caulk out of the seams for a re-do without harming the stain on adjacent deck boards, or should I just leave it be what it is for a "preserved" boat?
Thanks guys, B.P.

[steve bunda]

Hi Bruce, Very nice boat, You should restore the dried out seam caulk. This hull design has a tendency to have rot problems in and around the covering boards. The water comes in the seams and rests on top of the pine framework under the thick covering planks, thus giving mold spores a perfect area to grow. I can go into more detail if you wish, steve

[NSJA]

Bruce,

Welcome, it looks like you made a very nice purchase - congratulations! What lake are those photos taken on?

NSJA

[bparker]

Heck, Steve, I'll take all the free advice I can get!
My first concern is preservation of the decks. I would hate to wreck the stain near the edges while raking the hardened caulk out. It's only original once. Agreed? Do you think this is possible?
Obviously, the varnish will be freshened, but I'd rather not touch the color.
Speaking of color, do they make seam caulk in blond?
Thanks, B.P.
P.S.- Here is another shot picked out of a video showing the dry seams.

[bparker]

NSJA, Bass Lake, CA. Just below Yosemite. We were up there in early August.

[NSJA]

BP: I thought that it looked familiar; I am in Yosemite hiking as we speak!


NSJA

[steve bunda]

BP, removing deck seam caulk without damaging the stained planks can be tricky. I use mahogany Life caulk for deck seams, a few coats of varnish over the decks,and follow up with white painted lines.In the blond areas the planks are usually installed tight together thus no need for blond caulk.In the deck seam between the mahogany colored plank and the blond plank I use white caulk when the seam is old and jagged.I noticed your boat is very dried out,now is a good time to remove the old caulk,but you should humidify the boat prior to recaulking. Heck bring it over and I will show you how to remove the caulk fast. steve

[bparker]

Steve, thanks for the generous offer. If I load 'er up and head out right now and make good time, (I would have to average about 700 mph) I should be there before dinner.
The boat had not been wet for couple of years before I got it. I soaked it for a few weeks with a hose and then put it the water for 8 days. The original bottom sealed up pretty good by about the 2nd day. The deck seam gaps have never changed a lick.
It's pretty dry out here on So Cal, so how to go about humidifying before re-caulking? Wouldn't it just shrink up again? Or would the new flexible caulk be able to handle the movement?
Also, the rear deck is all blonde. White caulk here at live seams?
Thanks, B.P.

[JimF]

Here in Texas we have the same problems you have with deck seams in boats that arrive from states where it rains. Those seams are probably not going to close. You can lay wet towels over them but they will open back up. At this point I would recommend masking off the live seams in the deck and filling with Boat-Life or Sikaflex. Do not use 3M5200! It expands when it dries. (Learned the hard way!) If the old caulking is not crumbly and falling out, don't bother trying to dig it out as you will probably mess up the planking. Just lay a small bead along the seam to fill the gap, press in with your finger. There will be excess on the tape. Take a putty knife to pick up as much as you can. After an hour or so, try lifting the tape. If it comes up without pulling the caulk out of the seams, you are good to go. The critical thing is the timing of pulling the tape. You will have to experiment. As far as the blonde seams go, you probably have to go with creating white seams using masking tape. (3M Blue tape, Delicate)Just follow the above procedure. If you are stripping and re-finishing, and you are very sure the seams are not going to swell closed, I have had good luck mixing a thickened epoxy, with white micro-balloons and filling the seams. After the filler-stain and 10 coats of varnish, the seams are barely visible. Of course, nothing takes the place of new wood and tight joints. It is just a question of how far you want to go.

[Brian Robinson]

Bruce,

Jim's advice is good. However, like he says, if your current caulking is dry and brittle (which it likely is) you will have to carefully reef out the old stuff and re-caulk. I am about 100 miles from you here in So Cal (Fallbrook) and humidity is 11% right now (even lower in the mountains). Humidifying the boat first is not the way to go for the reasons Jim describes.

Jim, Bruce is referring to the blond area of the aft deck on his 18' Continental, one of the few C-Cs with white seams going through blond all the way across - so white lines here are correct. It is not like the tight fitted blond planks under the windshield.

[steve bunda]

Brian has a good point do not humidify your boat over your regional average before caulking the deck seams. Here in the Midwest we have an plenty of humidity,sometimes too much moisture. When planks are to tight they will buckle, see example picture.Live seamed board and batten boats that are assembled tight and boats that are glued together with hard epoxy just come apart in the midwest after a few seasons of expansion and contraction.For example Chris Craft bottoms that were encapsalated with a hard epoxy or fiberglass worked for a few years,but once the hard surface cracked and allowed water to seep in it was trapped. The bottom never dried out because of the cimate thus resulting in promoting wood rot. Restoration practices are diffrent based on the region of the country.What works in Southern Cal. will not allways work in northern Michigan. steve

[Brian Robinson]

Agreed, Steve.

While we don't have nearly the rot problems here in California as in the mid-west and other parts of the country on boats that were 'raised' here, boats that come in from the mid-west, after living there for all of there lives see serious contraction during acclimation to our drier air.

The funny thing about the As-Delivered standard at shows here, is that these boats started to dry out from the day they arrived here in the train car. It is fair to say that it was not uncommon for a 'new' boat in California to show plank seams and an open deck seam or two from the get-go before the days of glued-up hulls.