Nothing. We go directly from scrubbing to sanding.

Thank you, Don. Actually, Amazon offers several non-commercial laser strippers, but I suspect they are very limited and designed to clean up small parts.

Yes, long ago, we tried media - corn - blasting. OMG!!!! How it tore up the wood's surface! Imagine gulleys.....

I wish, and we did test this method using TotalBoat Total Strip, which is a very effective commercial stripper. We slathered a test panel, covered one-half of the area with a plastic drop cloth, and came back the next day. Not only did we have a gooey, soaking wet sheet of plastic on our hands when we released it, the uncovered portion released exactly as much finish as did the covered one. Yes, that's a very small sample, but we just asked, "Why?" We've also tested infrared stripping guns. Yes, where you do not burn the wood, they do work, but OMG! You might as well be holding a large planer against a vertical surface, and not producing charcoal is at least a challenge. Finally there is the new frontier, laser stripping I believe there are several boat shops who have invested north of $20,000, bought high-capacity machines and are now advertising stripping services. Here is one example: fitzkeboatworks.com/laser-stripping

@@snakemtboatworks I guess there's only 1 way to to things "right." The laser stripping is intriguing, but I imagine it would take some time to recoup the investment? Labor being the largest component of the job, is it worth it? Quite an impressive machine. Would it allow you to handle more restorations? Does it leave the wood in as "dependably" ready to refinish as all your hand work does?

​@@snakemtboatworksI watched the laser stripper vid's and it certainly looked impressive. Also the finish before sanding was excellent. Surely the future for boat stripping.

@@ianturpin9180 Impressive for sure, and we'd put one to work, but the $19,000 price tag for other than a toy is at least daunting.

@@jerryq1000 From what I've seen so far, laser strippers do no damage to the wood. Indeed, because leaving scratches is not possible, the laser probably leaves a sanding-ready surface. Is it worth the cost? Not in a shop of our scale for sure. Were I 30 years younger, I'd likely set up a satellite operation offering home-restorers a stripping seervice.

Yes. A belt sander would create a moonscape.

I've seen floors done with a hand held belt sander sure wouldn't want that on a boat. Don from Michigan 😢

@@ghostboatsofsouthernmichig3773 Been there; done that, and I agree totally! Besides holding one of those 100 pound beasts turned 90 degrees against a hullside is all but impossible.

No. We have no pecuniary interest in any product we use. Indeed, one major goal of these "how-to" videos is to inform and educate the community around products we use and how we source them; and, thereby offer and share with all aspiring home-shop woody restoration a aspirants how to achieve the best possible, most historically-correct outcomes from all the hours they devote to "one day getting her back in the water for all our joy." Or, you can simply go away since the video content is clearly inserting burr after burr under your saddle and you refuse freely shared knowledge and information.

​@@snakemtboatworks thank you for keeping us informed of "the Best Proven Products"

Yes, as you see in the video, Rick and we reach for our mid-range torque impact guns as Rick is using. Of course, that’s all well and good until you encounter a screws with missing or damaged heads.

Screws used in marine applications are Reed & Prince, AKA Frearson: The Frearson screw drive, also known as the Reed and Prince screw drive, and specified as ANSI Type II Cross Recess, is similar to a Phillips but the Frearson has a sharp tip and larger angle in the V shape. One advantage over the Phillips drive is that one driver or bit fits all screw sizes.

Sorry Don, I cannot do without him. I strip varnish and paint, and he strips bottoms. :)

Absolutely! You cannot see it, but Rick tosses every released fastener into a one-quart plastic paint cup. We also save and recycle stainless fasteners and all of waste metal, and then take them to the Wyre Wheel Inc. , a scrap yard in the next town.

In our shop testing, all of them produce a gooey mess that never cures, but have at it.

I have run an experiment comparing CPES with MAS epoxy and total boat penetration epoxy. We cut 9 identical 3 inch blocks of marine 3/4 ply and coated then with 1, 2 and 3 coats of each with a day to dry between coats. We then immersed them for a week and then measured moisture with 2 different meters. Total boat, 25 % MAS. 30%. CPES. 90 to 100 percent I suggest others run the same test perhaps based on water weight gain instead of a meter and report the findings. I find his insistence on CPES suspect .

Yup, ran identical tests myself and, guess what? My result, as well as those reached by Don, were diametrically opposed to your failed claims. Of course Don used a proper Don Danenberg ran months and moths of the same and similar tests in laboratory settings. He also spent extensive time working with Steve Smith, who invented CPES. I'll trust our results, but, what is more, I will surely trust Don Danenberg, as you should as well you might if you are able to read his seminal article on the topic that appeared in "Classic Boating." Despite your silly Hollier-than-though attitude, you already did read it, didn't you? Isn't it curious that you appear to have copied /claimed the copy on pages 2 and 3 of Don's article as your own? Here is the link to Don's article.: snakemountainboatworks.com/vintage-boat-preservation-how-to/how-to-apply-true-5200-bottom/#article Be sure to click on the pagination arrows at the lower left of each page to advance through the article.

Here is your answer: snakemountainboatworks.com/stainless-steel-fasteners-below-waterline-verboten/ Don Danenberg’s seminal piece on 5200 bottoms, “What is a TRUE 5200 bottom,” Classic Boating, September/October 2014 is a must ready for anyone undertaking replacing an antique or classic wood boat’s bottom. The section on fasteners is particularly apt in this setting: “Stainless steel was invented in 1913. The 300 series (302-316) includes 18-20% chromium and 8-12% nickel. (316 has 2-3% molybdenum, which makes it slightly less susceptible to crevice corrosion.) In the presence of oxygen, the chromium and nickel form a surface coating that protects 70% of the material is mild steel. If you bury them in the hull, covered with putty and paint, they are cut off from oxygen and will soon corrode like mild steel. Only silicon bronze is long lasting here. The only apparent reason some use stainless steel is that, coming from Taiwan, they are cheap!"

Stainless steel fasteners degrade in the absence of oxygen as when buried in the wood with layers of sealer. Always silicon bronze below the waterline.

Here's your answer: snakemountainboatworks.com/stainless-steel-fasteners-below-waterline-verboten/ Don Danenberg’s seminal piece on 5200 bottoms, “What is a TRUE 5200 bottom,” Classic Boating, September/October 2014) is a must ready for anyone undertaking replacing an antique or classic wood boat’s bottom. The section on fasteners is particularly apt in this setting: “Stainless steel was invented in 1913. The 300 series (302-316) includes 18-20% chromium and 8-12% nickel. (316 has 2-3% molybdenum, which makes it slightly less susceptible to crevice corrosion.) In the presence of oxygen, the chromium and nickel form a surface coating that protects 70% of the material is mild steel. If you bury them in the hull, covered with putty and paint, they are cut off from oxygen and will soon corrode like mild steel. Only silicon bronze is long lasting here. The only apparent reason some use stainless steel is that, coming from Taiwan, they are cheap! “It doesn’t matter if they are advertised as ‘marine grade.” That only applies in the presence of oxygen. Please see this website (sic) link: www.stevedmarineconsulting.com… This clip illustrates exactly what Danenberg asserts. These fasteners have been in the chine planks for fewer than eight years, and have already failed completely. Please insist on silicon bronze below - or near - the waterline. In fact, Snake Mountain Boatworks will not fasten anything but hardware with stainless. Yes, the silicon bronze, Frearson head fastener is much more expensive. Here once again is a prima facie example of how eventual cost being seldom equals the initial price. Chines should not fail in fewer than eight years, and replacing them is far, far more expensive than the original cost differential between stainless and silicon bronze would have been had this owner insisted that only the latter be used to fasten her new chines.

Thank you, and neither can her owner! :)

Those registration letters, though hideous, are required by NY, and every other DMV in the country. Happily, they are gone as the boat is now registered in RI.

No. One winch pulls it all the way over - Joe's on the right. The other winch - Rick's on the left - acts as the controller or brake for the speed with which the boat rotates.

⁠Ah - got it thanks. I’ve got an old mahogany sailboat I need to flip for some bottom work. Luckily it’s only about 800 lbs but still - that’s still a chunk if it gets away from me on the way over.

And safe for the boat, but, most importantly, the people involved. Thanks Dan.

That's not kidding. My real fear, however is scoring any of the incredible amount of chrome on the engine. Restoring and replating all of it set the wallet back $12,000! Ouch!

@@snakemtboatworks That is a hefty price tag, but it is a huge motor for a mammoth boat! The motor even twisted the platform it is on when the guys revved her a bit! It is quite a site!

Hmmm.... The horse power is 225, displacement os 687 CID, but the weight? I am still searching for an answer, but the V-12 weighs in at 1,885 pounds.

678 CID - 225 HP

See: ttps://www.google.com/gasearch?q=scripps%20208%20marine%20engine%20displacement&source=sh/x/gs/m2/

Fred, bring her to us and we will preserve her in time for next summer’s boating season. We will never replace a single stick of original wood that can be saved when we do because an old boat is old only once.

@@snakemtboatworks I know you are the BEST but I need to try myself. It only needs a bottom.

@@fredburban8219 Fred, here is the link to the Trued 5200 Bottom section under "HOW-TO" on the SMB Website: snakemountainboatworks.com/vintage-boat-preservation-how-to/how-to-apply-true-5200-bottom/. Be sure to read the detailed article at the end of this section by Don Danenberg that answers the question, "What is a True 5200 Bottom?"

Chris-Craft and all other marques worked with jigs that afforded production-line milling of all such parts.

@@snakemtboatworks I didn't think I was going to get one but Thank you for the reply!! You learn something new everyday...

@@fredliperson9171 My pleasure! If Chris was still building wooden boats today, my guess is that we would see C&C machines all over the plant floor!