Fairing CS20

[brigait1]

Hi all,

I just wrote a somewhat lengthy blog post on the fairing process for GoodFoot (CS20 #63).

It's my first big fairing project and I'm pretty much winging it, so any feedback on what I'm doing right or wrong would be a great help.

Here are a few pics to give a general idea. The blog has more pics and a fairly detailed description of my process.

The blog is here: http://goodfootsailing.blogspot.com/2011/08/fairing.html

Thanks,

Pete

[Ray Frechette Jr]

Looks incredibly painful to me.

[brigait1]

You got that right Ray! Just today we hit our 40th consecutive day of 100+ degree temps. This is not the right time of year for this kind of work, but at least I have decent shade.

Pete

[hokeyhydro]

Try a notched trowel. It will leave ridges of fairing and they are easy to knock down with serious grit sandpaper. #40 grit for me. Then you can fair again to fill the leftover grooves. The goop only needs enough viscosity to spreads so I mix a lot of micro-balloons in the epoxy = thicker than peanut butter.

Of course before setting out on the fairing adventure I eyeball the hull very closely to see if it really needs fairing. Unless you're building a racer or a show boat a little wookie in the surface isn't going to do squat far as the get-`er-wet and go sailing drill.

[John Burritt]

I'd coat the boat again w/ unthickened epoxy to seal the fairing material. Before this, though, I'd go back over the hull w/ the longest sanding board I could handle. RO sanders will give you a lovely smooth finish, but not necessarily fair. I'd use this last epoxy coat to develop my "rolling & tipping" skills to thoroughly coat the hull w/out being so thick it runs. Once this hardens, sand it again w/ your long board, looking for undiscovered dips & hollows. Repeat as necessary (where have you heard that before) until either you're satisfied, or someone takes the sand paper away from you. Doing this sanding, I wouldn't use much finer than 120 paper. You're smoothing, not polishing.

With what are you planning to paint the boat? If you're planning a 2-part finish like AwlGrip, they make an excellent epoxy primer that makes a good transition between your initial coating and the finish paint. Don't be surprised if you discover "new" hull imperfections when you sand the primer. That first coat can be a bit discouraging. Repeat as necessary until you're happy w/ the primer.

We can start a whole new discussion about whether you should spray the boat, or roll & tip it. That's up to your preferences & skills.

I guess this is a long answer to a short question. Good luck. Try to stay cool.

[brigait1]

I'm planning to roll and tip an oil-based porch paint. I used this on my centerboard and was pleasantly surprised at how well it self-leveled. And after curing it seems to be pretty tough stuff. So that is why I'm wondering how far I need to go with the fairing and surface prep. I know if I were spraying a two-part linear polyurethane I would have to get the hull MUCH smoother. But with porch paint maybe not so much, right?

[John Burritt]

Fairing is more important than smoothing. A painted surface really shows the dips & hollows. As you've discovered, the paint will smooth itself if its reasonably applied. The way to decide if the hull is fair enough is to apply a coat of paint & decide how you like the results.

[Terry Dunn]

Hi Pete,

My hat is off to you guys that have the energy and desire to fair and paint the hull so it looks nice. When I got to that point I decided to skip all of that work and just put a few coats of clear Urethane on to protect her from the sun. It is harder to see the hills and valleys on the hull when the grain of the wood shows.

Will you be doing the t200 in her next year?

[brigait1]

Hi Terry,

I'm undecided on whether I will do the entire TX200. Most likely I will head down there that week and cruise around a bit with the intention of hooking up with the 200ers at some point. I'd like to spend a little more time exploring Matagorda Island perhaps over by Army Hole. I will be posting here when it gets closer and the plans firm up.

Pete