Restoring Aslan

[Brucel]

I should do this in the two piece dingy I built. I painted the bottom without nonskid of any kind. You can hardly stand up without slipping all over the place. I designed it to fit on the bow of a Catalina 22 to be kind of a lifeboat. You would throw both pieces of the dingy over board, jump in the water, put the boat together, climb in and paddle away. I tested it in a swimming pool and it could be done without too much trouble. I'll post a picture when I get a chance.

[Oyster]

My go to non-skid is the Awlgrip Griptex  brand. It works great in enamel paints too.  I blend it accordingly to my needs and let it sit for around 20 to 30 minutes, stirring the mix on occasions. When you are mixing it into the paint, take a look at the stir stick and you can tell about how your surface will look with what amount of Griptex you are mixing in your paint.

 

It comes in course and fine.  I roll on the first coat and work the texture evenly after you have put the fresh mix in the surface.. Then let it dry, then topcoat it without sanding and with any non skid in it.  The non-skid takes the color and wears down without any problems like some of the previous produces used for non-skid applications. You can use a donut roller to apply. Tape off any pattern that you would like and just apply the non skid to the surface. Then pull the tape after the area dries and roll your topcoat on the entire surface.  Of course prep the entire area first before you apply any mixed or topcoat paint. 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Awlgrip-7301344-Griptex-Non-Skid-Coarse/dp/B001H8WBJM/ref=sr_1_2?adgrpid=1331509142860097&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1eypOG9b7VWyYr4-1G-9u7WnEtUgme7JM5hmAoZOAG1rGmELbE7Fj00YV_6iLRKHZQSg7kTSHzUlek51Yg2YxJxov7MXNAscJxekHk9sYh8ITqd24cPZANaN7JJ__r5eGBcoDLK6NcmsH7JYdqW3O-XRNqSNpArDpD7CLTOVTlqGuDGws1bA0vNFYmleF41K6-wLT-XdeRiwxA17HhCeAel6B1G8Nq6yvhpzKAJuX0GZpoOs5K_6tKRaLW_IDQ_adUXYhOcJO2IpBBk-oFimTxxWoW4lOpekODJM5F6slSw.rviZ75A18LQC_vY_8kD-U-jd6Ye6uxkl_BBpd0W3wuQ&dib_tag=se&hvadid=83219392239130&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=56187&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-83219658260537%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=9437_10835988&keywords=awlgrip+non+skid&mcid=9bfb86c7b06b3dde9ded0690231a4c26&msclkid=b1bd12e9cd1a13b61c687bc2c120e3d3&qid=1764428866&sr=8-2

 

 

 

[Brucel]

That's the disadvantage of walnut shells; the particles of brown walnut shells shows as the top paint wears out. Aslan's non skid is all walnut shell so I'll have to use shell to match the existing. I imagine you could use the white play sand that they sell at the big box stores. Mix it with paint and paint it on, you might get away without putting a top coat over it.

[Brucel]

I couldn't stand it any longer, I had to paint the bow. I used Kilz primer and a chip brush. I wanted to see how the bow would look with those two boards attached to the sides. I think I can live with that look. When I remount the tail boards it might not seem like such an obvious patch. On the backside of the bow the wood that looks rotted is still hard as a rock. I can't really dig it out with my little oscillating saw; I would have to use my 4 inch grinder. I think I'm just going to cut off the peeling fiberglass and re-glass it. It's above the waterline and under the deck so it won't be visible or exposed to weather.

[Brucel]

I can't believe my luck. I was looking for a piece of 3/8 plywood (for the deck repair) in my garage and found an almost full gallon of hull paint. Not sure when you bought it Frank but I stirred it up and it seems to still be good. I had to test it for color correctness and here's the result. There is a swatch on the blue part of the hull next to the lower swatch in the white area; you can see it in real life. I'll test the swatches after it dries but it looks to me like I'll be able to touch up the bow without having to repaint the whole hull.

I also found a pint of spar varnish and the trailer spindle you gave me. I'm going to test the spar varnish also. It was a never opened can of varnish so hopefully the self life is as long as the Behr hull paint.

[Frank Hagan]

 

2 hours ago, Brucel said:

I can't believe my luck. I was looking for a piece of 3/8 plywood (for the deck repair) in my garage and found an almost full gallon of hull paint. Not sure when you bought it Frank but I stirred it up and it seems to still be good. I had to test it for color correctness and here's the result. There is a swatch on the blue part of the hull next to the lower swatch in the white area; you can see it in real life. I'll test the swatches after it dries but it looks to me like I'll be able to touch up the bow without having to repaint the whole hull.

I also found a pint of spar varnish and the trailer spindle you gave me. I'm going to test the spar varnish also. It was a never opened can of varnish so hopefully the self life is as long as the Behr hull paint.

 

The "hull paint" was just outdoor paint from Home Depot, I think. Maybe an aklyd enamel or something. It's at least from 1998 or 1999, so that paint's older than my grandchildren in college. It works well enough for an ACX plywood boat that lives on a trailer most of the time!

[Frank Hagan]

On 11/29/2025 at 7:36 AM, Brucel said:

That's the disadvantage of walnut shells; the particles of brown walnut shells shows as the top paint wears out. Aslan's non skid is all walnut shell so I'll have to use shell to match the existing. I imagine you could use the white play sand that they sell at the big box stores. Mix it with paint and paint it on, you might get away without putting a top coat over it.

 

Sand is very sharp, so it can really tear up your skin if you're barefoot. MIght hurt so much that you jump in the water. But it works to keep you from slipping. The non-skid they usually sell is usually like a crushed up rubber material; the best stuff is white so it doesn't show like the brown walnut shells do.

 

The advantage of the walnut shells was that you could sand it to get the amount of friction you want without the "peaks" that tear up your feet and knees. But it all works the same to stop you from slipping. 

[Brucel]

Oh-oh, I didn't think of the sandpaper aspect of that. Think I'll just stick with walnut shells as the boat is already covered with it. The real bad spot is the cockpit floor. I think I'll use slightly thinned paint on those walnut shells so I don't loose too much texture.

On the back of the bow I think the wood is in pretty good shape, I've just got some delamination  between the three original keel boards. I'm planning on re-gluing and sistering a permanent wooden clamp around the three keel boards.

I need to find a good bedding compound that will glue and water seal the deck patch. Something flexible and paintable. With the possible flexing of the bowsprit I think glassing the bow under the deck patch would be too brittle. I intend to make leaks around the bowsprit and bow impossible; this is the only area that has water damage.

[Frank Hagan]

3 hours ago, Brucel said:

I need to find a good bedding compound that will glue and water seal the deck patch. Something flexible and paintable. With the possible flexing of the bowsprit I think glassing the bow under the deck patch would be too brittle. I intend to make leaks around the bowsprit and bow impossible; this is the only area that has water damage.

 

The hull has a large quantity of 3M 5200 sealant used to seal the seams. That was in the original plans, and it works really well. It's waterproof, seals really well, remains flexible (you can check inside the cabin along the floor edges to see if its still pliable) and takes paint. A lot of guys used it without glassing the hulls. You could also use thickened epoxy. 

[Frank Hagan]

I found the crushed walnut shells; I'll bring them down at Christmas. 

 

I also found some epoxy fillers. These would only be good if you plan to buy some epoxy and need to thicken it for filling gaps, making fillets, etc. There's some fumed silica,  micro glass "balloons" and some maple wood flour that makes a dark brown fillet. It's small quantities of it. 

 

Let me know if you want the epoxy filler stuff. 

[Brucel]

I'll take anything Aslan related, can't wait. I might have to replace the bowsprit. I used the old spar varnish on the bowsprit to test it and it really magnified the rot right in the middle. The end hole (white area) is for the jib stay and the middle hole (rotted area) is the hold down (club foot) point. I'm worried that if the jib stay is stressed the bowsprit will break. I could use more bolts on the sprit and make more water ingress points, or maybe make a new sprit. I do have a full size model.

[Brucel]

In looking at the pics you can see the the damage I've inflected on the bright work. The portholes is why I was looking for 6 inch wooden rings (see my post in mast hoops). Wood rings are measured on the outside diameter, 6 inch OD equals 4 inch ID. I thought I could stand the rings up and slice them in half for porthole trim rings. My better judgment kicked in and I bought a 4 inch hole saw. Cut a 4 inch hole in a board and trim the OD with my bandsaw, much safer.

[Brucel]

Ok, deck patches are fitted and first coat of primer is on. The two strips in the second pic are going to be joiner pieces, they'll be primed times two also. They'll be screwed to the existing deck and three pieces screwed to the patch under the bit, then screws all around. Still have to do the repair work on the backside of the bow and paint before the patches get installed. Also spread some bondo on one side of the bow to see if I remember how to do it. I do remember, but mainly I remember how much I hate sanding bondo.

[Frank Hagan]

I'll bring whatever I have on Christmas. The repairs are looking good. The bowsprit really isn't under a lot of tension, so it's way overbuilt. I think the original was a 4 x 4 with the edges cut off at a 45, then the end rounded down for the tip. 

[Brucel]

Had some successes and a fail today. Got the second coat of primer on the deck patches, spread more bondo, and did some sanding on the bow. The bowsprit is 2 1/2 inches across the flats. No wood at Home Despot is 2.5 inches square. Wait a minute, tree poles (for bracing newly planted trees) are 2.5 inches in diameter, they're 8 feet long, and they're only $ 9!!! I paw through a pile of poles and find a straight one with small knots. Score! I rush home and spend two hours sanding off the green stuff, cut it to size and put some stain on it. Dammit. To make the wood bug resistant they cut a million little slits so the green stuff will soak in. Those slits were not visible until the stain penetrated them. Now it looks like my bowsprit was wrapped in bob wire (barbed wire). Sigh. My choices now are paint it a solid color, laminate something up and trim the corners, cut down a 4x4, or build a 6 foot lathe and machine 1/8 inch off the diameter. Trimming off corners or cutting down a 4x4 will require a table saw. My table saw is under that pile of stuff over there in the corner, I can't even see it right now. Guess I should have cleaned up the garage before I started all this.

[Brucel]

Finally some visible progress! I decided to do something other than the bowsprit. I know, I'll sand bondo! Woo-hoo! That 3M purple sandpaper is amazing, bondo doesn't clog it up like sandpaper in the olden days. Three hours later the bondo is sanded enough to put a primer coat so I can see what I need to touch up. One hour later I can see a couple of areas I'll have to re-bondo. Wonder what it would look like if she was painted? One hour and twenty later I achieved TA-DA! She looks so much better without all the fiberglass and wood showing. I'll give the paint a day or two to cure then touch up the bondo and put on the second coat. Still have to do something about the bowsprit, finish up the back of the bow, and patch the deck. Then I get to start on the bright work I let get so bad.

[Brucel]

Here's a blast from the past, 8/28/2009. The lake is Lake Mission Viejo, a man made city lake almost a mile long. Had to dig through the archives for this one. You'll notice she is still wearing the hollow mast you made. I also found some pics of my mast lathe (12 feet long!) that I built to turn the solid mast. I'll post those pics when I get them loaded on my laptop. If I had to do it over I would make an octagonal tapered mast. It took me 3 days to turn that stupid mast.

[Brucel]

Here's how she is going to look with my "bob wire" bowsprit and the original trail boards. I don't know that the trail boards really camouflage the reinforcements on the bow. It had to be done and I'm glad my son did the fiberglass work. The fumes from resin makes me nauseous and gives me a headache. I'll never be able to do stitch and glue boats. That can be really limiting for me these days if I ever want to build a boat, so many cool boats are stitch and glue.

[Brucel]

I finished the inside of the bow, I forgot to take pictures. Basically I covered the wood with Locktite PL Marine adhesive. I used the Locktite to glue and screw the joiner on to the deck, glued and screwed the aft patch, glued and screwed the forward joiner, and finally glued and screwed the forward patch. Looks like I'll be making shims for the bow point and bit. The bowsprit doesn't lie on the deck like the original probably because the forward keel extension is on a different angle since the rebuild.

I'm also trying to save the scarf joint on the starboard side, it was sticking out about 3/4 inches. I glued it with Titebond II. I was afraid it was going to break when I clamped it but it seems to have survived. The scarf on the port side won't be so scary.

I'm glad to be saving stuff on Aslan instead cutting off pieces and tearing stuff up.

[Frank Hagan]

If you get me the dimensions of the original bowsprit I can make one up and bring it down to you. It was made out of a 4 x 4 that Dad had bought for the patio cover on Parkview street, one of his last big projects, I think. I need the overall length, the length of the white tip (I think it is 7"), and the dimensions of the "hole" in the bits that it will have to fit through (I think it is about 3" x 3", but I'm not sure). 

 

Repairs are looking good so far. I think those scarf joints were held together with Weldwood Wood glue and not epoxy. They should have not separated in any case, so we'll have to blame the shoddy workmanship of that original builder guy!