Trojan Boat Forum

LOL, that's awesome, I'll keep that one in mind!

Hi all, I’m back!
I’ve been putzing around with a few things on Project Tri Fly, nothing really worth noting except hand rails.
All the wooden rails were in pretty bad shape but being as frugal (read cheap) as I am I thought I could salvage them.
So I spent 2 weeks sanding filling and staining the rails
I first sanded them down to fresh clean material, and then I put on dark stain. After that I put a coat of polyester resin on.
There were low spots where they were badly worn, so I built up those areas with fiberglass mat.
The biggest problem with my rails is they had been over sanded and were smaller than the hinge and latch hardware, so I wrapped the whole works in 3 layers of cloth to build them up.
I’m thinking they are indestructible now.

Just make sure all your screw holes are well sealed with lots of sealant, and if you ever get a crack or chip in the glass, fix or seal it.

I know someone at the marina (sailor) who had his wooden mast glassed over years ago. Apparently water found its way in, and couldn't get back out... He discovered that when the mast snapped while under sail. While the glass shell was looking good, everything inside it was mush. Now, that took years or decades... but still... water has weird and wonderful ways of getting where it wants to go, and if it can't get back out it will just eat away...

Oh! good point Captain
I've seen that type of thing before when I cut the fiberglass top off a couple stringers to find mud where wood once was

Thanks

Pretty impressive

Rails that will stop bullets! How is everything else coming?

Misty wrote:Rails that will stop bullets! How is everything else coming?

Thanks for asking Misty
I really haven’t done any one project lately that looks like anything is getting done, but many small ones.

Painted bilge, floors top and bottom, bulkheads, floor framing, aft locker
Tidied and organized all the AC wiring, labeled and loomed
Installed all 4 side window frames, tracks and glass. I used butyl tape caulking under the frame and caulking around the edge.
I pulled the cruiseair unit out and sent it to my wife’s work were they service walk in coolers and refrigerators for a free tune up . They’re going to install and charge it for a small cruise!
I’ve been cleaning and straightening all the stainless rails and hardware, previous owners were hard on it
I’m about to paint the fly bridge and all the decks that I already resurfaced, then wrap her up for the winter.
I also scored some black bottom anti fouling paint on kijiji and will be applying that before winter
This winter I hope to work on the interior and have it ready for good times in the spring!

Sounds like you've been plenty busy. Its the small, niggling projects that really take time. Feels good to check them off the list. My top rebuild is a big glamourous deal but I'm slacking on the other stuff!

I really like your tops
I went to Quebec from my place near London to pick up a fly bridge top. The previous owner changed from navy blue to black and I got a free top out of the deal.
I didn't get the frame, but I took some measurements and a video
I'm planning to put a hardtop from the fly bridge back
Yours look navy, maybe black, I noticed that the tops add a lot of extra space on those cool or rainy days

Mine is black mustang or "top gun". Acryl poly I think. Im going to post a pic once done. And since everything out west is 10x the cost and a year to schedule I tip my hat to anyone who can score a free top!

Got the bottom paint done, finally. 8 hours sanding and 3 coats on most areas.
I like the look of the black a lot better than the blue that was there. I think the black makes the boat look a little newer, if that’s possible.
I got 7 quarts of interlux for a deal on Kijiji, it had settled quite a bit and required about 10 minutes of stirring to get it all mixed, there is a lot of solids in that stuff. I added just a couple drops of thinner to help it roll out. That stuff sure covers well.
Holy cow sanding, 10 minutes in, I wished I had a much smaller boat. By time I had it all sanded I couldn’t lift my arms or do a sit up. I was using a 6” electric random orbit with 80grit paper which knocked ofF the lose paint very fast.
Of course a full face respirator is a must have, just shaking the dust off my coveralls without it had me gasping for air, the copper in the anti fouling I assume.
Here’s some pics

Looking good!

When I sanded my bottom, I started with a sander that caught the dust in a bag and quickly realized that I was making a big mess. I bought a Bosch sander with dust collection (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000VUN7Y/re ... sch+sander). What a difference it made with a vacuum connected for dust collection! There was virtually no dust escaping except when sanding the edges of the chines. The only downside was the mess it made inside the vacuum, and I certainly had to wear a respirator when cleaning out the vacuum.

When I did mine I wasn't wearing a full respirator - just a simple mask. Ended up blowing blue snot for about a week.

I really think the black bottom looks good. I changed mine from "matching paint" to black last time as well.

For the look I went with black too. Well, thats what Delta yachts ("the" delta) recommended, as they have been guiding the restoration, so I didn't protest, although you lose the ability to dive and see fouling, damage, etc etc if your boat stays in the water all the time like mine. So I also think like delta did that you are adding more value