Opinion on just painting rough surfaces?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by bil56

no sanding, no good paint job...
the main problem with painted interiors without insulation is condensation and damp walls

Its already got an inch thick foam insulation as the core.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

Some sanding will be required to get just about anything to stick, I think. Mind you, we're not talking a big sanding project. So someone to do a little sanding for you could have it done pretty quickly. Hand sanding over tarps and then vacuuming for any stray dust should do the trick, as the surface will just need to be scuffed up for adhesion.

It’s a peel ply surface mostly. Everything will stick to it.

[neilpride]

Originally Posted by Chotu

It’s a peel ply surface mostly. Everything will stick to it.

Its Epoxy, right?
Amine blush?

Peel ply, could be the blush stick to the plastic, but make a adhesion test before.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by neilpride

Its Epoxy, right?
Amine blush?

Peel ply, could be the blush stick to the plastic, but make a adhesion test before.

No need.

Just asking about the aesthetics here. Don’t need help on how to work with epoxy and peel ply and whatnot.

[Bill Seal]

Zolatone spatter paint. Make you think you're inside a giant jon boat.

[Matt Johnson]

Look at Dazcat and TS (now ORC) boats. They have the furniture molded, but all the hull sides - called a ceiling - and overheads are just roller painted fiberglass with all tape lines showing through. I didn't mind it, but my wife hated that raw finish.

Voyage catamarans had a very textured surface to cover all the glass work. It's almost like the popcorn ceiling in homes.

[marcjsmith]

Originally Posted by neilpride

BTW, In photo number 1 you can still see the marks of a grinder or sander..

Neil,



I did do some light sanding and knocking down of the of more egregious spots, to the point that I can safely run my hand over the painted surfaces with out fear of slivers. I was looking for a quick sensible livable cover, mostly to appease SWMBO. The boat was never going to be a pebble beach concourse winner



I didn't want to put up another layer of headliner, yet. Have not had any major issues with condensation.



If I was chotu's shoes i would cover/paint/coat areas behind cabinets if you've got the spaces open. just for the simple fact. you'd be able to encapsulate some old boats smells. and being able to clean up and wipe down areas will be much easier. If its easy to do.


I'm doing more brightwork sanding down below right now and its a huge PITA i don't relish the task of getting rid of all the dust...

[Chotu]

Actually I would be getting rid of some new boat smell. Ha ha.

But I’m not going to paint the back of the cabinets at all. Nothing. They’re going to just be raw fiberglass. I’d like to be able to look at the core.

My bilges are also not painted. So I can see everything down there. If I ever grounded the boat hard, I could take a visual look and see what happens structurally without having to do anything. Just shining a light or poking my head under the floor to look.

With all the disadvantages of building your own boat, there are also a few advantages. Ha ha

Also, every pound counts.

Luckily, I built the boat so there are no sharp parts of the glass. It’s all done properly. But it has a rough texture to it. And there are a couple globs here and there.

[JPA Cate]

Why paint it at all? (unless you want a particular color there) What's wrong with seeing the "bones" of the boat? [I like being able to see my timber through the glass and expoxy.] As long as the present surface is easy to clean and keep mold-free, why paint? Besides, it is something, if you decide to sell the boat on, later, that the new owner could customize to suit him/herself, without adding the weight of paint.


Ann

[thinwater]

Liners add weight.


Liners add insulation. If you are thinking about AC this really matters. So do window covers. If you have mold problems, you need to consider (plan on) AC.



Mold should be no more of a problem than it is in your home ... if you run a dehumidifier. Yeah, some folks say it is enough, but I have some mold allergies, mattresses can get nasty (and your face is in the pillow), so I always run a small dehumidifier. Unless the boat leaks, the cabin should stay BONE DRY.


The liner must be properly sealed so that moisture cannot get behind it.


---


Plain paint? Most race boats are that way, and it used to be common for performance cats, until they all turned into either condos or Gun Boats.


Some boats take a middle road, finishing the glass to some extent.
https://www.edwardsyachtsales.com/bo...cat/9-7/13518/



Personally, I like liners because I sail all winter and it gets cold here. They are also cooler in the summer.

[nwh10]

Of course you're keeping the boat, says the long-time lurker.

Is there a small area kind of out of the way that you could experiment with some paint? I figure you have nothing to lose. Just a little time and a quart of paint. If you hate it, you can cover it. If you like the paint, but not the roughness, you can fair it.

[ahun]

Mildew / mold will love your rough surface. You less likely when trying to get rid of it.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Liners add weight.


Liners add insulation. If you are thinking about AC this really matters. So do window covers. If you have mold problems, you need to consider (plan on) AC.



Mold should be no more of a problem than it is in your home ... if you run a dehumidifier. Yeah, some folks say it is enough, but I have some mold allergies, mattresses can get nasty (and your face is in the pillow), so I always run a small dehumidifier. Unless the boat leaks, the cabin should stay BONE DRY.


The liner must be properly sealed so that moisture cannot get behind it.


---


Plain paint? Most race boats are that way, and it used to be common for performance cats, until they all turned into either condos or Gun Boats.


Some boats take a middle road, finishing the glass to some extent.
https://www.edwardsyachtsales.com/bo...cat/9-7/13518/



Personally, I like liners because I sail all winter and it gets cold here. They are also cooler in the summer.

I was initially going to do liners. But not thick insulated ones. My hull is already 1” thick foam insulation. I feel like that’s enough. I’m not going to overwinter in this boat. And if I do, I’m going to be blasting some heaters in here. To heat the whole area. My air conditioners work OK. They were tested out this week. And yes, I have definitely put up some window panels. This thing is a green house. It’s all windows. It’s definitely a copy of a gunboat 48. In the hot Florida sun you can overheat very quickly. On the other side of things, when it’s cold out, it stays nice and warm in the boat.

That said, I have incredible ventilation in this boat. As long as it’s at anchor. Or on a mooring. I have found that I did not design the ventilation as well for being on a dock. Oh well. One of the biggest parts of my ventilation is that the front windows open.

Because of the really good ventilation I have absolutely no mold in here. It’s somewhat incredible. I had some items that got moldy in storage and I just brought them in here. Fearing the worst. And because the ventilation is so good and it stays so dry in this boat, the mold on these items basically deactivated. They just stop smelling like mold and they are dry and they are done. Spores don’t seem to be able to grab hold and grow in here. It’s really something.

The surfaces I’m talking about are already rough. No mold. So, I don’t think paint will cause them to mold up.

And I agree the cabin should be bone dry. And the cabin should never leak. Leaks and water in the bilge? Not on my boats. Never. I don’t permit water to enter the boat. From above or below. Ha ha

The one place I do have a liner is in the shower area. I put that together and used some of that 25 year caulking in there. Came out really nice. Looks great. It’s all anti-mold and anti-mildew and very shiny and perfect. I would love for the rest of the boat to look like that and I could do it. But it adds weight. And takes time. Although come to think of it, I could always paint these areas for now and if I really didn’t like it and it was really bothering me, I could put the liner over that.

But I’m imagining making the cabinetry really perfect. And then just letting those bones of the boat show through the white paint.

Oh yeah. Also, I definitely have dust mite allergies like crazy. I have figured out how to take care of those. First, I use inflatable mattresses (saves hundreds of pounds). Modern ones are just as comfortable as regular mattresses to me. Second, I have pillow covers that are airtight. No more dust mite problems.

[Benz]

I have unfaired fiberglass surfaces in my boat, painted over with one-part primer and gloss Rust-oleum. Bilges are Bilgekote, but I didn't break my back fairing all that. You can still see the weave patterns, but it's shiny. I like it.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by nwh10

Of course you're keeping the boat, says the long-time lurker.

Is there a small area kind of out of the way that you could experiment with some paint? I figure you have nothing to lose. Just a little time and a quart of paint. If you hate it, you can cover it. If you like the paint, but not the roughness, you can fair it.

Thanks for the comment. You’re definitely not wrong here. And thanks for commenting in general if you have been lurking. Ha ha.

You knew I couldn’t stay away. Wish I could have seen in the future that well. Ha ha. It’s just too nice of a living platform and traveling platform. Very hard to resist the lure.

I mean what is the alternative? RVing? I did a lot of that recently and it has its own advantages. Provisioning is really easy.

But, you never really feel at home. You always feel like either you shouldn’t be somewhere or your time is limited somewhere.

On the boat, I truly feel at home.

I think making the boat life work is more a matter of trying to solve the minor annoyances that start to add up.

* having to fix things all the time.
* dinghy rides to shore.
* Being stuck at the shore and unable to travel inland easily.
* provisioning.
* nervousness in large storms.
* being too hot, too cold, too wet.
* Loneliness and isolation.
* rolling, rocking, hobbyhorsing, bouncing around

Once you solve most of this stuff, you end up feeling pretty good on the boat actually. Because I have a lot of this already solved, the boat is just so comfortable. It really really feels like a home and there are separate rooms for everything. I forgot how much I missed that with an RV. The bridge deck is the living room. The galley is down. There are separate staterooms. Separate bathroom. Even the shower is in its own room. Everything is a different room. It’s so nice.

And aside from all that internal stuff, the outdoors has shown me a lot of beauty lately. Yes, the mountains are beautiful also. And you do end up missing them when you are on the water all the time. But the water is feeling pretty good.

A lot of rambling I guess, but I just wanted to share all of that because that’s where things are going. It’s hard to see why I would want to give this up. During the major construction phases of the boat and all of the hardships, I definitely lost sight of why. Why was I even doing this? Now that it’s being lived on, the why is starting to become apparent.


And yes. Testing a small area might be a good idea.