Trimaran - Especially Searunner - Owners

[Jmolan]

Well...got the name and graphics done. Not exactly how I wanted but it is done just the same. Have been sanding and prepping the insde of the cabin on the walls where the window are.... to recieve a new coat of paint before I set the windows...(in the pics here they are the old plastic set to allow the painter to judge the cabin sides line....That is about it so far. Too many other parts of life come crowding in. I did get the bow and stern pulpit all cleaned up. Getting stainless cleaned off is anoth subject everyone has a method or two for.
Hey Roy! How do you prep plywood inside to come out real smooth on a paint job? I want to fill in all the little imperfections and downrite scabs on the areas I am sanding now. I am going to have to brush on the paint, but I am willing to sand and fill and primer and sand and fill and ....well what ever it takes as I will spend many hours looking at it after it is done...what is your method?....Looks like you sprayed originally I bet...any one else?....:-)

[Roy M]

Jmolan, you are too kind about the interior paint. The only secret is how much sanding and priming and painting I did. I'm too embarrased to admit it. If you have a rough substrate, go ahead and use Hi-build primer, then sand it down quickly. Throw on two or three coats of Brightside, and voila! I have to do this now to my aft cabin, where I used vinyl wallpaper to cover a lot of sins after building. Now, I have payback time. Lots of elbow grease will be consumed in the process. Oh well, I'd otherwise be wanderingthe docks or hanging out at the yacht club bar. Hmmm, that's not a bad idea. See you later! By the way, nice manta graphic.

[rossad]

Jmolan
Thats one nice job. Im impressed. Very much so.
Would be a privilage to see the real thing

I am looking forward to seeing this site finished also......
Searunner Trimaran and Searunner Catamaran owners list web site

[Jmolan]

Rossad, thanks for the encouragement....any boat owner knows sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees..:-)

I had no idea they are restarting the Searunner website, that is very cool. Maybe we can get a forum going over there. Just a thought.

Here are a couple shots just for fun of my boat out in front of the house here in Mexico. The Osprey's will use it for a perch to wait for the fish to swim by. I did not mind untill I started finding bones and gill plates and crap on my deck...:-)

[Rann]

Jack,

Wow am I impressed as well! Fantastic job on the graphics and paint. If I get ETAK to your level of beauty, it will take lots of work! Getting her down to San Carlos to have the work cosmetics applied will have to be the answer.

Roy's advice about hi build primer is the way to go for the finish you want inside. I had a friend some decades ago who did that, then rolled and tipped Sterling on the interior, and you would have sworn it was sprayed.

IT is getting cool here in Oregon, right on schedule, but the rains have been rare, so my neighbor and I have been jamming on getting a retaining wall and fence built across the back of our lots. We have poured lots of cement, moved lots of dirt, and still have tons (literally) of jobs to do. I was hoping to have ETAK's rudder replacement built by now, but there have been too many home chores, having been away in Southern California almost five months working on ETAK this part year. Stuff builds up at home!

On an unscheduled trip to SoCal two weeks ago, I popped in to a metal supply yard I had used in the past. I learned they have 3/16" and 1/4" 316 stainless strap at the best price I have found so far. I will be getting some for all the chainplate replacement I will be doing in December. If you get a chance, take a measurement of the shroud plate to see how much wider it needs to be to have room for deadeyes for the synthetic rigging. If you need any 316 plates, I can get them for you at the time I buy my flat stock.

Rossad, the new Searunner/Seaclipper/Constant Camber web presence is what we need. Bob Wilson's site has been inactive since December of '05, so getting one going again would be a great thing for us Searunner, et al, crazies.

So, how do you keep the Ospreys off the spreaders (without taking the mast down), Jack?

Fairwinds,

Rann

[Jmolan]

I guess I made the mistake of doing a google search on painting systems, brans etc. for the interior of a boat! Roym I like your take on it. Britesides after some primer. Sounds good. The stuff is $65 a quart down here in peso land. I don't care really, as I will only be doing the panels the windows are mounted on for now.
Rann I will try to get some shots today of the chainpate with the fittings attached and take some measurements.
Got the newly fabricated trim tab and shaft back, have to fair the tab it with some epoxy and glass. 1/2" SS shaft about 6'6" long with threads and a Tab 5" x 30" or so. Cost 1000 peso's (at today's rate it is $70 something) Better hurry down Rann the peso is loosing value and the dollar is going farther!
So Britesides it is? Save me from my ignorance, I only want to do this ones in a great while!....:-)

[Roy M]

I started using Brightsides when I learned that the "solids" component is polyurethane, and is quite abrasion resistant. I used it in the head compartment, that gets scrubbed out. Originally, I had intended to use LPU, but the toxicity of trying to apply it in an enclosed space seemed too suicidal. I have been very pleased with the outcome.

[Jmolan]

Roy, I have another question (if I may).....I see the interior of my boat has various ages of paint. The older stuff has very even and very ugly "checking" Mostly the over head where the heat has done a number on it.
As I removed a lot of the paint from the side panels that will recieve the windows. I am now looking at some of theses surface's are painted, but sanded smooth along with bare pywood. My question is: Will I need to epoxy the bare wood to prevent future checking? Or will I be in trouble since the older painted surface does not have an epoxy base also? Near as I can tell as I mowed through the old paint, I never hit an underlayment of epoxy. To match a surface of bare wood older sanded paint does not look like a smart idea to me with epoxy, as I will have to come back and sand the epoxy, and it will be a differnt hardness then the old paint, making a tough match. Would I epoxy coat the whole panel?
Do you see the britesides primer being able to make a good seal before the top coat that will remain smooth? Or wil I still get the dredded "checking"
Thanks a lot for your help. It dawned on me last night next time I am going to use a good paint remover to start with. I will not be attacking the overhead until next shipyard time...but I better get trained before that!

[Roy M]

First off, the checking is only the expansion and contraction of the old substrate, in this case, paint. While the ideal would have been to have the plywood completely encapsulated in epoxy, the reality is that it wasn't, and the boat still survived. So, because it's the interior, and not really subject to UV rays, just sand it with the roughest paper you can tolerate (because we are talking only of cosmetics), then follow it with 120 grit to smooth it out. Then use fillers (Bondo, etc.) to patch the big problems like knot patches or really ugly surfaces. Sand and feather the patches, then coat with undercoat. Sand again (oh God.......) then follow up with as many coats of Brightside as you can tolerate, sanded in between coats, first with 120, then all succeeding coats with 220. It's possible to go bonkers here, so if you have any friends or folks needing work, this is an opportunity to do the job nicely and live to tell about it. You won't be doing this for a great many years, and the result will transform the interior. It's not something most folks notice, but, then again, it's something they can't miss, they just can't put their finger on why it looks so nice in your cabin. I decided long ago to simply install insulation covered with 1/8" mahogany ply faced with Formica on the overhead. I'm not unhappy with that decision.

Try to avoid the paint remover. First, it's dangerous to roll or brush upside down, it ruins anything it falls on, it's very toxic, especially in a cabin space, and if there is any warm sun outside, and it may be unnecessary if you use 60 grit paper to smooth out the lumps and cracks. When I built my boat, I covered all the underside surfaces with epoxy while they were still lying on the ground. In my float, on the underside of the deck, are the paw prints of a friendly and curious dog who helped determine when the epoxy had gone off. I had used white epoxy coloring paste, so I didn't feel the need to paint those areas. After thirty years of heat and cold, there are some checks, and the white has turned slightly yellow, but it's the interior of the float and I'm not that insane to sand and paint it. Besides, I'd have to "frame" the dog prints.

[Rann]

Jack,

I have the same issue inside ETAK, and our boats are about the same vintage (same as Roy's, as best I remember). The Doug Fir is notorious for that checking. It ain't no fun sanding all that, especially overhead. I have been putting some very light fiberglass cloth on some of the vertical surfaces a(e.g. the area that is the inside of the cockpit wall that serves as the galley wall too). I have used peel-ply on it and the resultant finish is quite nice, especially with a hi-hide builder/primer on top of that. I did sand down to the old epoxy to get a good substrate surface. The edges are always a problem, however, due to the proximity to corners, raw edge of glass, etc.

Your question about preveniting the cracking with a paint or just epoxy resin is a good one. I was told by an experienced multihull builder that unless you put on some cloth, it will just happen again.

It will be interesting to see what others have to say on the subject.

Rann

[Jmolan]

See I can sit here and read the computer rather than go get sand all over me....:-) That is just what I needed Roy thank you. The mess and danger you saved me from on the paint remover is well appreciated.
One last question for today ( I have hit my quota right?) If you could give me a quick run down on your brushing method on the britesides. Foam brush? Good bristle brush and tipping? Tipping with solvent? Do I have to have brite sides solvent to clean up or thin it?
I should be spreading the primer today.

Rann I promise today I take some fittings and a camera to the boat and get some measurements for you....been covered in sanding dust last few days....:-)

[Randy]

I've just joined the forum. I owned a Searunner 31 for fifteen yrs. I bought it in Maui where I sailed & lived aboard for a couple years before sailing to the Puget Sound area then to San Diego when I was in the Navy as a quartermaster. The Searunners are a great combination of livability and seaworthiness. I've got the plans for the Constantcamber 35 but don't have a place to build it.

[Roy M]

All painting follows the same basics: prepare the substrate so that it provides a stable, flat and smooth base. Brush or roll some primer, which is little more than a very fine, easily sanded filler in a vehicle that dries or cures pretty quickly. Sand the primer with 120 grit, preferably on a block sander where it's flat, and gently by hand where it's curved. Then thin a coat of oil based paint with the thinner it calls for on the side of the can, make it slightly thinner than you would want the final result to look like. The function is to grab hold of the base, reveal any gross imperfections, and get you excited enough to keep doing more prep. Fill any holes, cracks or other imperfections with Bondo or other fast-curing fillers. Sand with 220 grit, wipe with thinner. Wipe againwith a tack rag. Thin the next coat of paint by 10%, roll it on with a fine foam roller if the surface is big, use a 3 inch natural bristle brush (clean the loose bristles out first) and brush vertically to stop the runs and quickl, horizontally to spread the paint out further. Let it dry overnight, sand the drips and goofs with 120 grit, then finish everything with 220 grit, wipe with thinner, wipe with a tack rag, then repeat with a coat of paint with just enough thinner to make it flow. Keep an eye out for runs and holidays. Repeat one more time if it's a critical place. LPU is a different story. Play Mozart or the Rolling Stones to keep moving fast.

[Jmolan]

Roy that is just what I needed......thanks a bunch. I feel Like I am in paint school and am trying to do a good job on this stuff so I can know how to tackle the rest as it comes up. Speaking of which I had a neat thing happen today. The previous owner had painted over the tang bolts ont the inside up above inside the sterncastle. I forgot to take them off as I was painting. I told my self DO NOT PAINT OVER ANY BOLTS, WASHERS, or anything....SO at the end of the day I removed the nuts and drove out the bolts and sanded the block it was mounted to...Lo and behold look at what I found under the paint. Figure I will leave it bright, makes a good story....:-)....oh and did I mention I have to do the overhead..yea? No kidding!

[Jmolan]

Looking today at my shroud set up and look what I found! Looks like I am not only too narrow on the strap, I am also looking at the fittings are too shallow by a little bit.
My chainplate is 3"x18" and the holes are 1/2" on 1 3/4" centers. I have forgotten a few other measurements as I am a bit rummy. I can get those tomorrow. The fitting is 1 1/4" deep. The guy who makes these fittings will be here this weekend and he and I will have to discuss what my options are.