Joe Nelson CS#35

I thin mine. Here is my recipe; 8 oz paint 2 oz epoxy 2.5 oz water 1.5 oz rubbing alcohol You gotta go light or it will run. This is light body paint and you may need 4 coats of primer (I did). You can shoot back over tacky paint, so you can do multiple coats in an afternoon. I shot 7 coats of topcoat in a weekend. Hope this helps.

I hope you guys know that even in periods of heated discussion that I appreciate your comments and we can choose to disagree and still be friends. I am wondering about thinning epoxy a bit and then spraying it? The epoxy I am currently using is from Greer. It is pretty thin. Just cut it a little and it might spray pretty good. Have to be careful about the sprayer you use and how hard it is to clean. Then I would not care about how many coats it took.

I think a lot of you guys are in the text books too much (and I have them all). I understand that to make plywood waterproof enough to keep water out of below water surfaces that you need 3 coats of epoxy. I even am a fan of using glass on all exterior surfaces to assure a complete encapsulation. I will even most likely glass the interior surfaces of the hull. But I have had a cedar canoe that had one coat of epoxy to seal the wood. Some areas mat looking and some areas glossy, due to the varying degree of absorption and wood grain. It sat in the shop for two years without any ill effects. In the same time, Okoume plywood has molded on the surface and turned black. So you cant say that the shop is low humidity. I think we use too much epoxy on interior surfaces just to be sure. I cant imagine that one coat of sanded epoxy and then sprayed with epoxy primer and paint would not be sufficient against the elements of boat cabins. I wont use fir plywood, so checking will not be an issue. I am not sure where I will head with this. But I will look for shortcuts. I spray all my System 3 primer and paint. I have brad guns with stainless brads. I tend to not clamp much, but rather shoot things together with brads and epoxy glue. I don't sell my boats, I use them. Resale on these boats is ridiculously low anyway...even with craftsmanship quality work. So forget the idea of resale. Better off getting into emu's if you want to make money :grin: CS 20 Welsford Sherpa 18' Tolman Standard with cuddy 20' Cedar Strip Canoe

[quote author=Hirilond

I don't see why you couldn't leave the cabin interior unfinished. I'd want the hull , stringers, cabin sole to be epoxy encapsulated, but I don't see any need to put anything at all on the berths, cuddy sides, or ceiling other than for looks. I think if I were to cover the interior at all I'd use a val spar polyurethane and be done with it. just my opinion. Sounds like something that would come from a Tolman guy :grin: We are a different breed. I was kinda thinking about just spraying val spar on the interior. Do a quick sand and recoat again.

So you think that one coat of epoxy and a quick sanding while flat on the workbench will be satisfactory as a base to spray primer and paint after the cabin is complete?

But, the first coat of epoxy raises the fibers on the plywood surface. This would need to be sanded and then recoated with a second coat to get a shiny finish. I think one coat of epoxy would be about as ugly a solution as one could find. In respect to the first reply, how can you spray on epoxy? If you cannot, it is not as easy as spraying varnish or oil or paint. What about just spraying the interior with epoxy primer and paint without pre-coating with epoxy?

Looking for some ideas to quicken the Princess 22 build process. I am first wondering if the interior could be oil finished to speed up the process? Obviously everything below the berth tops in compartments should be sealed with epoxy. I am wondering about spraying the rest of the interior with some kind of oil. So much time can be spent on interior finish details. I would think that all the hull panels should be epoxy coated inside and out. But the berth tops, inside cabin roof and side panels, inside companion way bulkhead above the cabin sole, etc. seem to be good candidates for this type of treatment. Heck, so many boats get launched without finishing the interior of the cabins at all. Looking back in history, this was a common procedure. Or would you be better off to spray varnish to the subject area without coating with epoxy? The Wagner HVLP $100 sprayers handle the system 3 paints very well and they are made for light viscosity material such as varnish. Lee Valley also sells a cheap ventury feed compressed air sprayer that uses a glass jar for a reservoir and is easy to clean. http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=20048&cat=1,190,43034

Charlie, You ready to come home yet to start on my Princess? Probably getting bored by now. :shock:

Nice job! If the foot of the sails wont fill, the snotters are too high.

Yeah, Baby!!! I knew there was other interest in the idea. :-D

I seem to remember a larger cabin and smaller cockpit modification of the Princess 22. Any help with that info?

Norman, Got any pictures of your boat recently? I like the color scheme. I like sailing pictures. Have lots of them saved of Pilgrim.

I guess all you guys are gunna make me build a Princess 22 then.

Hard to say? I know I would be interested. I like the aesthetics of the Core Sound/Belhaven boats over the Princess sharpie look. Would be nice to get to an 8' beam for better interior volume and layout options. There might be a lot of people out there that prefer a modern design over the historical sharpie design. I just have not found a modern design in the size range we are talking that is simple and has the performance of your boats. Also good headroom would be desired. Obviously not standing, but a slot top would be cool. I am using a slot top on my Tolman standard 18' powerboat with a cuddy. It is nice to have unlimited headroom when the conditions are appropriate. Good amount of ballast to keep her on her feet and a generous sail plan. I will be like Obama and ask that everyone send Graham an e mail and tell him that he should design the boat. Seriously, if there is other interest, acknowledging it here would be appropriate and compelling.

Where is Brent? We need some pics and drawings. He had a drawing up at one time, but I cant find it anymore.

Since the Belhaven is an easier and faster build than the Princess, would there be enough interest to enlarge the Belhaven design to say around 22-23'? Since the Belhaven cabin is roomier, a 22-23 foot version should be cavernous. Allow for some decent headroom too. Keep the Core Sound aesthetics.

I am getting ready to do a major retrofit of my CS20 on the sail controls. Here is what I am thinking. * Topping lifts for both main and mizzen. * Main sheets through rotating blocks on the thwart instead of outboard jams. * Reefing lines lead to cockpit for main. * Double ended uphaul so that the main can be pulled down from helm Things that work well. * Main snotter and downhaul lead to cockpit. * Brent style mizzen sheeting. * Main uphaul lead to cockpit. Things not sorted out. * Staysl controls for single handing. Some kind of track to pull the fore end from side to side when jibing. The all you would have to do is douse and pull it around the main mast and re-deploy. Suggestions welcome.

Charlie, Before you leave, can you quick build me a Princess 26? All cash up front. Have a great time! Just popped my stipper canoe out of it's moulds. She looks big right side up. Keep us informed. Sounds like a great adventure!

I started a thread earlier about mizzen sheeting, but this is a different issue. How do you guys deal with the batten pocket strings? What kind of knots do you tie? I once had to reduce sail area in a blast of wind and lost two battens in the process. Been wondering if some kind of clips would be a better solution than string ties. I also wonder how much air turbulence is created by the knots and string ends flying.

[quote author=Hirilond

Howard, I didn't consider that...but now that you mention it, I am sure that is the problem.

Will going to a smaller sheet make the mizzen respond easier to playing out the sail? I find that the system takes a lot more wind and sometimes manual manipulation to get the mizzen to move into its downwind position.

Twist is one thing, but you have a bag in the sail about 3/4 the way up. Yes, if you don't want to reduce the sail draft, raising the sprit will put more down tension on the sail. If you go to the point of being too far up the mast, you will not tension the foot. I would say about a foot higher? BTW...beautiful boat!

I think I would try moving the point of attachment for the sprit up on the mast a bit or tighten the snotter. Leach is too loose on the main. Nice pictures. Those sloops look to be in good sail trim.