Don Silsbe

You nailed it! She floats perfectly on her lines. What a sweet boat!

From this, I have decided to thin like a maniac. Next time , I will boldly go beyond 40% for the reducer. It bears repeating that I refuse to tip this paint. The best bet is to roll it and leave it. I am committed to using this brand! The durability is awesome, and the cost is more in line with my economic situation. If money were no object, I would love to give the Alexseal system a try. Using their rolling additive just looks so convincing, at least when applied by this guy: In the meantime, I’ll plan to buy a gallon of the off-white Devthane this summer, to repaint Local Honey this fall. Of course, if someone would step forward to give me a spray painting 101 lesson, that would be a game changer. Spraying isn’t something I can learn from YouTube, I believe.

I have a rack on the truck. Do you you want to do the lifting?

I would, except two are on trailers. Now, if I can devise a way to cartop the 14 rower…

No, I used T-0031, per B&B’s recommendation.

In a moment of clarity, I went back and checked the numbers for my second coat. I was nowhere near 40%, EVER! So, in the interest of science, I did an experiment. Working with only the forward half, I tried three techniques: 1. Brush only on the starboard side, diluted to 30%. 2. Roll only on the port side, diluted to nearly 40%. 3. Tip and roll the forward face (transom?), diluted to 40%. I hand-sanded with 3M 220 grit sandpaper, and used my 3” Corona Urethaner brush. It is a natural bristle brush with flagged ends. The brush-only section flowed out better than the original paint job, but still showed too many brush marks for my liking. The rolled-on section flowed out well, only creating a small amount of orange peel. It still covered well, too. The rolled and tipped section was the worst of the lot. This surprised me. I used very little force, when touching the brush to the surface. This is what the brush was designed for, and I expected better from it. So, there it is. It was a fun experiment. I will sand everything down that was brushed, and roll (only) them when I sand and repaint the aft half. I’m glad that I did this with Devthane rather than Perfection, Awlgrip, or Alexseal. If I had used those products, I’d be busking at a bus station right now. I hope to bring Two Bits to the Messabout this fall, so y’all can take a closer look. Speaking of that, I’d love to bring my Duckling 14, just for the fun and novelty of it. Should I leave Local Honey home??? That’s a hard decision.

Farmers Insurance has provided us with both liability and replacement insurance on my “homemade boat” (as it appears on the policy), along with the motor and trailer. No inspection was required. It costs about $150/year

The second coat looks better. There are a few spots begging for a third coat, so I will do some sanding and apply a third. This week is a cool one, which will work in my favor. One thing I noticed— I painted the forward section after the after section, and I did not thin the paint between sections. There was a noticeable difference in the orange peel between the two, the bow being lumpier. That tells me that I need to pay closer attention to maintaining my paint to a 40% thinned point. The fact that Devthane is an industrial polyurethane hints that it may start out thicker than our marine paints, hence the high dissolving ratios. One more thing. There was a little part I missed on the forward bit of Two Bits, so I dabbed some paint on with my brush. I didn’t spread it out very much, and the brush was a low-to-medium-priced brush. The paint laid down, and was the smoothest of the whole job! That said, I would love to learn how to spray paint boats, but I have no tutor.

It looks to me like a dodger is the best solution. But a simple spray cover would also work. There are several options for the attachment method. I have my eye on the Loxx Pull It Up fasteners, although I have no experience with them. Other possibilities are the ubiquitous Lift-the-Dot and Twist-Lock fasteners. Simple snaps are also possible, but are notorious for ease of un-snapping. They are all available through Sailrite, if you are a do-it-yourselfer. I’ve included a link to the Loxx page on their website. While you’re at it, look at using Top Notch 9 for the fabric. https://www.sailrite.com/search?keywords=Loxx

Do anything possible to make it fun for the kids.

Midday Report Well, it was an ambitious plan, anyway. And a but naïve. I made a batch of paint, and thinned some of it 20% after the induction time. I painted the forward half with this. I found the paint to be still thicker than I expected. For the aft section, I thinned it to 30%. Better, but still a little heavy. I think I’m gonna give it a second coat this afternoon (thinned to 40%), and let it harden a couple of days. If need be, I’ll sand it with 320, and try a thin coat on top of the other two. It is still better than what was there before. The roller worked great. I rolled it on masking tape to remove any lint. It held up to the job, only giving up one tuft of mohair. FORWARD HALF AFTER HALF

Today’s the day. I will apply three coats without sanding in-between. I will allow each coat to dry, but re-coat as soon as possible, while the poly is still green. I will be generous with the T-0031 reducer, thinning to around 20%. I’m adding the thinner just before use. I have some 4”, 3/16” nap rollers that I got for the job. They were recommended by a professional shipwright from Wisconsin (on YouTube, Boatworkstoday). The temps are not supposed to go above the mid-70’s. Fingers crossed!

I took a design of experiments class once. The teacher told us to write down our expected results before we ran the experiment. If the results weren’t in line with our expected results, we should consider the results as “learning”. I suggest that you do the same. You might learn something. From what you said, you sort of already admit it. My wife loves the high sprit, since it doesn’t come close to her head. She says my cat ketch is the best boat I’ve ever had.

@Paul356— In the 60’s??? I think you’d better break out an actual thermometer. Better question: When was ice-out? Whatever the answer, you beat out Ted Johanson. Way to go!

OK, boys and girls, I have repented for past sins. I believe my mistake was not paying attention the the evaporation of my thinner. I think the paint simply got too thick for the final coat. To quote Peter Noone, “Second verse, same as the first!” Today, Two Bits got sanded down to a smooth surface. This afternoon, I dabbed gray primer where needed. That’ll get a second coat tonight. Tomorrow calls for fair weather. (Meaning, I’ll fair any holes and spots that look needy.) By then, my rollers will have arrived. Monday and Tuesday are booked, so maybe Wednesday is the big day to roll on a couple of thin coats of blue. Let’s do this! Get this— I put on a long sleeved tee shirt and bibbed overalls to do the sanding. Then, I put on my respirator and gloves, rolled up my sleeves, and got to work. Rolled up my sleeves??? Doh!