Barry Pyeatt

Simon, I used Behr Exterior gloss Latex on the interior of my Weekender. I primed it first with three coats of Alkyd Primer, wet sanded between coats and allowing each primer coat to dry for 24 hours before wetsanding and recoating. I applied two coats of the Ultra White Exterior Latex over that allowing the first coat to dry for 48 hours at about 70 degrees so that it was completely set up before recoating. I scraped off the paint and primer where I needed to attach the shelves and the shelf for my battery in the forepeak before gluing in place.

Hey Jake, I like it. I think I have a couple gallons of a nice Royal Purple High gloss enamel that you could use for your hull and a quart or two of Traffic Orange and Traffic Yellow in High gloss that could be used on the cabin. :roll:

Yes, we are trying to displace water with air to provide a positive buoyancy and two one gallon milk cartons will provide enough positive buoyancy to keep a two hundred pound person neutral to slightly positive in salt or fresh water. No...it will not float them above the surface. We are trying to provide enough flotation to keep the boat from sinking, it doesn't take all that much to accomplish that. In an emergency a pair of pants with the legs tied in a knot at the ankle and simply pulled tight at the waist with air inside will support the average person and keep them from sinking. This is one of the life saving techniques taught in many areas. The amount of air captured in the pants isn't much more than provided in a pair of milk cartons and fortunately the air stays in the milk cartons better than in a pair of pants upended. These boats will sink because of the added weight of the glass, paint and the extras that are added to them. But the boat itself is relatively positive in its ability to float, even when filled with water. Add something such as a closed cell foam or even several sealed bags of air and the boat will stay afloat even when filled to the gunnels with water. Enough to support a person, but not keep them high and dry. Just remember that any foam has to be closed cell, not open cell. I have seen lots of people use upholstery foam and think it will provide flotation, but it is open cell foam and it soaks it up like a sponge. Same with most of the foams used in packaging. The best flotation comes from a closed, sealed area without anything in it. (A flotation chamber) Ice chests when empty are wonderful, and in an emergency, empty the contents and close it up, it adds a lot of buoyancy. Even closed zip-loc bags filled with air help. I saw one small 16' glass sailboat boat floating at its rails and when pulled out and the water dumped out of the boat the chambers under the edges of the deck had been filled with foam peanuts from packaging, and they were packed with them in plastic bags. The total amount of area was roughly equavalent to 4-5 milk cartons worth of area. It provided enough additional buoyancy to keep the small cabin top and hand holds above water and the three persons alive until they were picked up.

Tim, The eyes are getting better every day. Double vision is nearly gone with corrective lenses. Healing is progressing nicely. The warm air and tropical waters don't seem to be doing me any harm either. Will stay here thru Feb and part of March and come home then. Thanks for asking.

Johannah, I was just catching up on my forum reading and I came across this thread. Have you figured out a solution to your top rail yet? If it might help, I posted a couple photos of how I did my top rail. I captured the ply between the outer rail and an inner (rabbited rail) and then rounded them both over with a router. The ply is sealed inside the two pieces and it adds a considerable amount of strength to the top rail. The photos are in the MSN Albums in the Weekender portion of this site. The album is "Saga of the Spirit Wind". Pages 3 and 5 have photos of the process and the finished rails. I cut the rabbit in the inner rail piece of 1X2 with a table saw, but it could be done with a router table just as easily. I have 3/4" above the ply and on either side of it for a total rail profile of 1 1/2 X 1 1/2 with both top edges eased with a 1/2" round over bit. The lower edges are eased with a 3/8" roundover bit. My ply was quite uneven along the top edge and I kept the maximum height I could manage when I trimmed it. I used the Urea/resin glue and staggered the screws on 4" spacing, one from the inside out into the top rail piece and the next thru the rail and ply and into the outer rail. I then filled the countersunk holes with epoxy wood filler and the slight gap on the top edge with the same. It is being finished brite. I used Vert. grain Doug Fir for my rails and scarfed shorter lengths together to get the length I needed. You can hardly tell where they are joined, it worked out quite well. I would post a drawing of it or the photos themselves, but I haven't figured this new format out yet. :roll:

Interestingly enough, two-one gallon milk jugs will provide flotation for a 200 lb person. It doesn't take that many to provide neutral/positive flotation in a boat the size of a Weekender or even a Vacationer. Lots of the caps are screw on, but for those that are press on, just use a little duct tape around them and they will stay put. I have seen them used rather extensively in small boats for just that purpose. In an enclosed area they stay put pretty well if the area is filled with them, ie. behind the seat backs or in the lazerette. We never crushed or disposed of the empties on any of our larger boats, we just put the tops on tight and stowed them for additional flotation for the duration of the cruise. They also came in handy to store fresh water. One liter soda bottles work quite well in smaller areas. If you want a heavier duty container, then use liquid laundry detergent containers, they have good tops and hold up well. They can be taped together with the good ole standby (Duct tape). :wink:

Tim, The spray can foam is a real problem in this application. One of the easiest things to use is plastic milk cartons. They are essentially free and they can be shaped (to a degree) to fit in the areas and obviously they are an enclosed air chamber that will float. If they are punctured, then they obviously won't work any longer but they are easily replaced. I would personally use the "Blue-board" closed cell insulation board and cut it to fit against the bottom (underside) of the deck in the forepeak and attach it with velcro. If you need to remove it then it comes out easily, but it isn''t going anywhere when it is wedged inplace. Layers of it can be cut to shape for the area behind the seats and in the lazerette. Small pieces of velcro will hold them together and still allow them to be removed if you need to work in the area. Another area that can use it is the side decks inside the cabin area. It can be covered with other material to finish it off and secured the same way (with strips of Velcro to the underside of the decks. I have also seen pieces cut to fit between the rafters and covered with material and then placed against the ceiling. You wouldn't even know they were there until told. Same thing with the hull sides, the foam can be cut to fit and covered and fitted into place. It also adds a great deal to the sound deadening and thermal insulation qualities of the hull. The bottom (floor) of the cabin can have closed cell pads covered and placed down on the floor. When "camping out", it will make it a lot more comfortable, and if the boat needs some flotation, it will help. I would be very reluctant to permanently adhere it to any of the plywood surfaces however. Hold it inplace with straps or velcro or wedge it to fit. :roll: : Just something to think about.

This plywood is available from other dealers around the US. I have talked with a couple builders that have used it in fresh water applications. They were pleased with the workability of the wood and its ability to finish out nicely. They both glassed over it and reported that they had no problems with it at all. Neither have had any length of time to evaluate its maintenance characteristics but they liked the way it held fasteners.

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