Yep, I know what you mean, but don't worry, I've been making plenty and learning lots...you'll get to see some of them in the next few posts.IF YOU DO NOT MAKE MISTAKES, YOU WILL NEVER LEARN.EL CAPI
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Yep, I know what you mean, but don't worry, I've been making plenty and learning lots...you'll get to see some of them in the next few posts.IF YOU DO NOT MAKE MISTAKES, YOU WILL NEVER LEARN.EL CAPI
Hi Smithy, thanks. I've recently been checking in on your build of Alert, also very well written with good photos...that solution to clinkering the planks was something I'd not seen before. And, I think you're right about my plank soaking, seemed like a good idea at the time, but I've learned a lesson there and will do it differently next time. The silver-lining is that I've now got a model that will be stronger in the long run and I've learnt how to 'glass a hull...so no loss.That was a very clear and enjoyable log. A good read on a dull afternoon. Thank you.
That lateral splitting along some of your hull planks - I suspect that the long soaking of the wood later led to a powerful shrinkage side to side. I've had similar problems after gluing down damp planks. (Sorry if that was all discusses in the auxiliary thread on fillers.)
Prime coat
...
View attachment 480148
… a bit of fibreglass/filler and some patience. I’m happy with it…
Painting the lower hull
Finally, I hear all say…it does seem to have taken a while to get here. So, what colours will be used? I like the colour used on the hull of Billing’s example model…above the waterline. I call it duck-egg blue, a very light blue. I’ll be painting the hull using rattle spray cans, and I was lucky enough to find a very good match to that colour. It is from the Montana Gold brand range, and it’s called Polar Blue. These paints are rated for indoor/outdoor, and it will be getting an acrylic exterior clear matt coat later as well.
But the lower hull, below the waterline, was a minor problem for me colour-wise. I didn’t like the dark brown as used in Billing’s example and I was considering a rusty red at one point, but they didn’t seem appropriate for a timber vessel and would have detracted from the subtle upper hull. In the end I settled on a dark-ish grey, it looks good against the upper colour and provides a purposeful looking base to the boat when she is out of the water. Finding the right grey, in a spray can, was a bit of a challenge (I now have a selection of cans in the workshop for future jobs!) but I settled on a White Knight Rust Guard colour called ‘Ironstone’…that’s a standard Colorbond colour (they do metal roofing in Aus). All through the painting process I kept a small piece of offcut pine (about 150mm square) that I sprayed each filler/primer/colour onto before I started to coat the boat. It was good for checking colours, but importantly I could check that the paint chemistry of each coat wasn’t going to cause a problem with the layer beneath (cracking, wrinkling etc)…they’ve all been okay so far.
The hull was given a good wash to remove any contaminants and wiped with turps on a clean rag (recommended on the can). We’re doing the lower colour first, so the hull was inverted and sprayed on a warm spring day. It sprayed very nicely from the can, so I’m happy with the job. It looked very glossy while wet but dries to a nice satin finish. I let it sit overnight and gave it a second coat next day, also without any problems.
It looks a bit ‘orange-peel’ when freshly sprayed, as in the photo below, but that settles out and it dries very smooth…
View attachment 483050
I decided to let it dry and harden up for a few days before marking the waterline and adding masking tape etc. While that was happening, I built a simple cradle (shown in a future post) and at one point I had the hull sitting in the cradle with cloth between the surface and the four weight bearing points for an hour or so…oops. Even though everything seemed nice and cured, I ended up with four imprints of the fabric weave in the paintwork. I was not impressed! But, with these things you just have to turn around and set it right. The surface was lightly wet sanded with 600 grit to remove the imprints, and the entire surface was recoated…I also extended the paint a little further down the sides as the trial watermark showed that I had only just covered. It.
Now this time I’ll give it a little longer to cure and I’m giving it some short bursts out in the morning sun to get a bit of UV and mild warmth to help the curing process (the paint is designed for touch ups on metal roofing). This has also allayed any fears about how the hull would fare in warmer weather after the problems I’d had earlier with plank separation…very pleased to see that it seems rock solid.
The log is being written close to real-time at the moment, so if everything dries off okay, next time we will be masking-off and painting the hull above the waterline.