Nauticat 52 Refit

[minaret]

Last coat is sprayed with flattening agent. Also fast reducer and accelerant. This is full flat, not satin.

[minaret]

Tape pulled.

[minaret]

New main and mizzen.

[IdoraKeeper]

Ultimately, it would be interesting to hear a summary of improvements you have made and your comments on how they affect the function/utility of the boat.

[Andrew Troup]

Boggle boggle boggle

(hush my mind !)

[Andrew Troup]

That's a nifty arrangement with the hidden leech and luff lines. Proprietary to Schattauer?

[minaret]

Originally Posted by IdoraKeeper

Ultimately, it would be interesting to hear a summary of improvements you have made and your comments on how they affect the function/utility of the boat.

We'll get there-eventually. Still a couple thousand more pics to go...

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Andrew Troup

That's a nifty arrangement with the hidden leech and luff lines. Proprietary to Schattauer?

Those guys are way too nice for proprietary. If they do it and it works, they'd love for others to follow suit. But I doubt many do. Really really well built sails. See how the UV protection and even the leathering match the color of my trim? Lots of little details to notice there.

[Saltyhog]

Originally Posted by Andrew Troup

Boggle boggle boggle

(hush my mind !)

Truely! To anyone who has not done these kinds of projects before, Minaret is making this look almost too easy. IT-IS-NOT!! The real danger for me here is that I look at his results and start thinking how I could apply his techniques to my own project. Then I have to pull myself out of the clouds and remember that I am but a mere mortal DIY boat guy and not a master craftsman in the trade.

With that in mind I have a question for Minaret. Clearly you prefer finishing the deck in gel (vs. LPU paint). Overall I agree as it is more repairable, and minor scratches can be buffed out. However, I'm not sure I could achieve your results. Our deck needs some work. Scratches, dings, thin/worn gel-coat, and a number of stress-riser cracks at tight corners. Plan is to fix cracks, dings etc. The question is what to do next. Paint is (I believe) a bit easier for DIY to achieve acceptable results. Gel, not sure I could do well and would likely be a lot more work. I don' have your arsenal of tools or a large enough compressor to spray gel. Given that most horizontal areas will be some form of easily repairable non-skid (likely Kiwi-Grip but still undecided), the shiny parts are not big areas, but do tend to be complex shapes. Would it be at all reasonable to spray gel on the shiny parts of a deck using preval sprayers? Gel has another advantage that it can be applied in sections (since the overlap can be later polished) whereas paint needs to be (mostly) applied in one shot. I'm trying to come up with an approach that is reasonable and doable, but also must be repairable because this *IS* a deck and is going to get beat up. We'll be living on this boat and my dog's nails are tough on anything. In a nutshell, what's the best thing for a DIY guy to do for the deck. Also, given that Awlcraft 2000 is repairable / buffable, would spraying that with preval sprayers be reasonable? That may be the best of all possible worlds for me. Easy to apply, easy to fix, and I can keep touch-up materials on board.

[laika]

Minaret, I will be putting down 407 soon and will be longboarding to fair. If you had only one basic longboard to buy for a single bottom job on a 30' boat, what would it be?

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Saltyhog

Truely! To anyone who has not done these kinds of projects before, Minaret is making this look almost too easy. IT-IS-NOT!! The real danger for me here is that I look at his results and start thinking how I could apply his techniques to my own project. Then I have to pull myself out of the clouds and remember that I am but a mere mortal DIY boat guy and not a master craftsman in the trade.

With that in mind I have a question for Minaret. Clearly you prefer finishing the deck in gel (vs. LPU paint). Overall I agree as it is more repairable, and minor scratches can be buffed out. However, I'm not sure I could achieve your results. Our deck needs some work. Scratches, dings, thin/worn gel-coat, and a number of stress-riser cracks at tight corners. Plan is to fix cracks, dings etc. The question is what to do next. Paint is (I believe) a bit easier for DIY to achieve acceptable results. Gel, not sure I could do well and would likely be a lot more work. I don' have your arsenal of tools or a large enough compressor to spray gel. Given that most horizontal areas will be some form of easily repairable non-skid (likely Kiwi-Grip but still undecided), the shiny parts are not big areas, but do tend to be complex shapes. Would it be at all reasonable to spray gel on the shiny parts of a deck using preval sprayers? Gel has another advantage that it can be applied in sections (since the overlap can be later polished) whereas paint needs to be (mostly) applied in one shot. I'm trying to come up with an approach that is reasonable and doable, but also must be repairable because this *IS* a deck and is going to get beat up. We'll be living on this boat and my dog's nails are tough on anything. In a nutshell, what's the best thing for a DIY guy to do for the deck. Also, given that Awlcraft 2000 is repairable / buffable, would spraying that with preval sprayers be reasonable? That may be the best of all possible worlds for me. Easy to apply, easy to fix, and I can keep touch-up materials on board.

Preval is for touch ups only, even if you know their secrets.


DeVilbiss 802342 StartingLine HVLP Gravity Spray Gun Kit:Amazon:Automotive


Campbell Hausfeld HU502000AV 20-Gallon ASME Air Compressor:Amazon:Home Improvement


That's all you need. You can probably find a better deal at your local hardware store for a 30 gallon compressor in the 5-6 hp range. The starting line kit is great for spraying primers and gelcoat, also excellent for shooting nonskid. Don't try to topcoat with it though.

In between coats now, I'll comment more on this post later.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by laika

Minaret, I will be putting down 407 soon and will be longboarding to fair. If you had only one basic longboard to buy for a single bottom job on a 30' boat, what would it be?

Jamestown Distributors


The flexi, but you really need one of each.

[laika]

Originally Posted by minaret

Jamestown Distributors


The flexi, but you really need one of each.

Thank you once more

[minaret]

Originally Posted by laika

Thank you once more

Anytime! If you are on a budget, buy Indasa Rhynogrip for it. It's cheaper and almost as good.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Saltyhog

Truely! To anyone who has not done these kinds of projects before, Minaret is making this look almost too easy. IT-IS-NOT!! The real danger for me here is that I look at his results and start thinking how I could apply his techniques to my own project. Then I have to pull myself out of the clouds and remember that I am but a mere mortal DIY boat guy and not a master craftsman in the trade.

With that in mind I have a question for Minaret. Clearly you prefer finishing the deck in gel (vs. LPU paint). Overall I agree as it is more repairable, and minor scratches can be buffed out. However, I'm not sure I could achieve your results. Our deck needs some work. Scratches, dings, thin/worn gel-coat, and a number of stress-riser cracks at tight corners. Plan is to fix cracks, dings etc. The question is what to do next. Paint is (I believe) a bit easier for DIY to achieve acceptable results. Gel, not sure I could do well and would likely be a lot more work. I don' have your arsenal of tools or a large enough compressor to spray gel. Given that most horizontal areas will be some form of easily repairable non-skid (likely Kiwi-Grip but still undecided), the shiny parts are not big areas, but do tend to be complex shapes. Would it be at all reasonable to spray gel on the shiny parts of a deck using preval sprayers? Gel has another advantage that it can be applied in sections (since the overlap can be later polished) whereas paint needs to be (mostly) applied in one shot. I'm trying to come up with an approach that is reasonable and doable, but also must be repairable because this *IS* a deck and is going to get beat up. We'll be living on this boat and my dog's nails are tough on anything. In a nutshell, what's the best thing for a DIY guy to do for the deck. Also, given that Awlcraft 2000 is repairable / buffable, would spraying that with preval sprayers be reasonable? That may be the best of all possible worlds for me. Easy to apply, easy to fix, and I can keep touch-up materials on board.

I gotta say, the whole point of this thread is to help amateurs achieve pro results. With modern materials, this is fairly easy to do. Check the Compass 47 refit thread, they brushed gel in the slip and got a finish on their deck. Awlcraft is an excellent product, and very repairable. But it requires much more skill to do so, and more equipment. No Preval touch ups there. It is also much much thinner than gel, as is any other finish. This makes a huge difference when blending repairs. It's just much more forgiving. Less toxic too. Kiwigrip is eminently not repairable, at least not in a fashion that is acceptable to me. Griptex is very easy to repair. The ability to apply gel in sections with totally invisible blend lines is priceless, it can be a huge deal, especially on big jobs. If you decide to go gel, know that you can indeed do it. It ain't rocket science. Just chemistry. I guarantee you can achieve my results if you follow the steps I've laid out here.