'76 Egg Harbor 41' Motor Yacht - Renovations

[melaniem67]

Hi Group

I found this forum while searching for information on staining and varnishing the woodwork on a boat I'm considering buying. It's a 76 41' Egg Harbor Motor Yacht.

The current owner stripped all the old finish off the woodwork in the pilothouse / aft deck area, and it's been sitting like that (covered) for a little over 6 months.

The boat has a fiberglass hull and glass over wood superstructure. First, I was hoping for some feedback on general maintenace for this vessel, and second for more specific advice on how to finish the bare woodwork.

Any help would be appreciated I'm attaching a picture.

-Melanie

[Ed Harrow]

Brightwork, a book by Rebecca Wittman, is an excellant source of information re care and application of varnish. Woodenboat Magazine also publishes a book on the subject of finishes.

There are those who swear by Smith & Co product called CPES. Others, notably Ms Wittman, refuse to have any truck with the stuff, LOL.

Rebecca, and others, swear by foam brushes. I hate foam brushes, period. I use brushes that were my great Uncle's; they are so well trained after a 100 years of varnish application that all I need do is whisper the magic incantation and they get straight to work.

Suffice it to say, when it comes to brightwork, there are probably nearly as many opinions as there are applicators, but a reading of either of the above books will get you on the right course.

[melaniem67]

Thanks for the speedy response, Ed. I know what you mean about foam brushes... I once used foam brushes to apply polyurethane to some furniture - on someone else's advice - and I hated it. Haven't used them since.

I'm going over to Amazon.com right now to look for the books you mentioned.

Do you use Epifane varnish? Seems like many people do.. Jamestowner has instructions on their web site for applying Epifane in a 7 coat process... It all seems rather straight forward, except that I'm concerned about the wood having sat for months like it has.. it's very dried out. I read that the primary ingredient in varnish for penetrating the wood is China Oil... hopefully that will do the trick.

[Ed Harrow]

I've used a number of different varnishes, having applied some for others I've used what they provided. My favorite, tho it's probably not what it used to be, is what has been used by several generations of my family, Man-o-War. I've not done testing to confirm, but it seems likely that Epifane, and others, have more sun tolerance than does M-o-W. I note that there's lots of wood within the boats superstructure. There's no sun issues there, so sun tolerance wouldn't be an issue. M-o-W has a really lovely mellow glow (ALIMHO), tho some will insist that, since it is a spar varnish, it is not sufficiently hard to be used in counter-type applications where things will be scuffing on it, etc. I've not noticed that to be a problem in any sort of major way.

RW talks about "wetsanding" with boiled lindseed oil. It creates a really wonderful surface for varnish, and would seem appropriate with respect to dried wood. When varnishing, scotch-brite pads do a nice job scuffing the previous coat in prep for the next coat. Going crazy with sandpaper can easily take off most of the coat you last applied. Nylons (Gal? hmmm, do you have a ready supply, LOL) make good strainers for the varnish. Penetrol will help to keep a wet edge.

[Captain Dave]

I know this boat, and it may need a lot more work than what you've determined. This vintage Egg with the glass hull, wood deck, and wood deck house is pretty but prone to a lot of leaking. The wood develops rot and fungus in the the worst spots. Repair of the smallest areas sometimes turns into huge projects, often requiring dismantling of sections of the deck house. Proper fabricating and blending of these sections can be very difficult and best left to professionals. I have had to do it before. It never ends! If you can find one a little newer with the all glass deck house, you will save yourself a lot of unforeseen work. The boat will be more rigid and more watertight.

[pungolee]

Originally Posted by melaniem67

Hi Group

I found this forum while searching for information on staining and varnishing the woodwork on a boat I'm considering buying. It's a 76 41' Egg Harbor Motor Yacht.

The current owner stripped all the old finish off the woodwork in the pilothouse / aft deck area, and it's been sitting like that (covered) for a little over 6 months.

The boat has a fiberglass hull and glass over wood superstructure. First, I was hoping for some feedback on general maintenace for this vessel, and second for more specific advice on how to finish the bare woodwork.

Any help would be appreciated I'm attaching a picture.

-Melanie

First of all,soak that bare wood with raw Tung oil,nothing else,not products that contain Tung oil,pure Tung oil, thinned a little with turpentine,pure gum turpentine.Do it over and over with a rag head mop until the wood won't take no more,than let it dry for a few days until the surface is flat looking.Then begin varnishing with Flagship Varnish by Z-spar,second choice,Captains, then Man o war by Mcloskey.Tung oil is the uv master,I know,I work for dow corning and we mix it in products strictly to offer uv protection.Linseed smells good but is a fire hazard and wimps out quickly.Listen to the Captain in another post, varnish techniques may be your least concern with a glass sheathed yacht, though she looks good in the pictures.And that Brightwork book imho is for weanies,I didn't get any useful info from it,just a lot of "enjoy the sensation of varnishing blather"