Old Boat - Fresh Perspective - Critiquing my early work

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[@DickvanZanten]

Hi Marc, that varnish degradation is due to the trapped air in the planking heating up and wanting to expand. That causes more pressure at the more open grain sections and causes those pores to open up a bit. When that hsppens regularly the varnish starts to give. That's what shows there. Repairing it works best with sanding, then opening the cracks with a fine wirebrush. Then warming the canoe up to push thair out. Give it a HEAVY layer of thinned varnish and LET IT COOL. That will aid in sucking the varnish i to the pores.

[@rancherbuck]

Fascinating how your revisit of an old project brought back all the decisions and trade-offs inherent in boat-building . I built a Seabright Skiff from Chapelle's offsets of the original Seaman -built "Lizzie" in the early 90's using Thomas Hill's method. As a first -time boatbuilder, a major simplification involved replacing the original rabetted stem design with a laminated marine ply inner stem and laminated ash strip outer stem (cutwater) capped with a bronze half-round. The flat bottom and 2 lowermost strakes were joined with the aid of fiberglass cloth and the entire bottom to that point covered with dynel cloth/epoxy before proceeding with planking. The upper 9 mm planking was coated inside and out with epoxy (no cloth) and finished with UV resistant 2-part polyurethane clear coat. It has a centerboard and sprit-sail yawl rig. The boat has always been stored in a garage or shed under a canvas cover , has seen relatively little use as a trailer-sailor and is in virtually as-built condition.

[@Nomadboatbuilding]

That's fascinating Mark, If you have a few photos to share, I would love to include them in my Catalina Wherry (Seabright skiff) build series as it is also built on the Tom Hill method. There's an email address on my "about" page of the channel.

[@til7545]

Thank you Mark for this honest review of your work, we all learn from others but most of all from our own experiences. The approach of opening the fissures with the steel brush and following up with rubbing in thinned varnish is a great idea, I would have never come up with it. Thank you again!

[@Nomadboatbuilding]

My pleasure!

[@ingtam]

I so appreciate these videos. Thank you.

[@Nomadboatbuilding]

You are so welcome!

[@mainetripper]

I often find myself providing plenty of criticism for my own work during canoe builds and canoe restorations however this particular craft was beautifully done and not many would have noticed. Your experience brings out the best in you and your work is exceptional. Thanks for the great message. Enjoy your videos immensely! Happy New Year!

[@Nomadboatbuilding]

The key is “constructive” criticism. That’s the really hard stuff to get and so I offer up my own so that others may benefit.

[@CrimeVid]

She is a lovely little boat, a pleasure to see.

[@SmallBoatSchool]

That was super interesting. Makes me want to do a similar critique of some of the first boats I built!

[@Nomadboatbuilding]

You should!

[@MikeAG333]

Interesting critique. I have occasionally taken apart pieces of furniture I made decades ago, and it is quite a revelation every time it happens. It's good to realise that I have got better over the years, and that much of that improvement has come with reducing the amount of machine work, and increasing the amount of hand-tool work. But there are certainly cringe moments....... One thing I know with absolute certainty is that I would NEVER consider doing a self-critique on KZbin, and I applaud you for being much braver than me. Add an oil to your mix and that's precisely how I finish most of my furniture these days: a thin mixture, wiped off after less than 10 minutes. It's a brilliant, foolproof way of building up thin layers ......and lots of thin layers is way better than a few thick layers.

[@Nomadboatbuilding]

I too mostly use oil varnish mixes on much of my furniture work and often on thwarts and floors and such on boats.

[@soylentgreen326]

Felicitations ❤ Still looking great after 30 years 🤸‍♂️🕺💃

[@rozinant1237]

Thanks for discussing that grey area; varnish vs. epoxy coating. I have arrived at the same conclusion after many years of maintenance, but always helpful to get someone else’s perspective on it.

[@Nomadboatbuilding]

I’m sure there are certain products that out perform others but the only way you find out what outlasts the competition is by applying it as recommended and then ignoring it until it doesn’t. Staying on top of it is the only real option and I prefer any product that is easy to refresh. Catalyzed products are a bit notorious for not being very friendly in that department.

[@rozinant1237]

Well said!

[@makingwavesslowly]

I wonder if the varnish damage on the outward side away from the house could be due to daily condensation evaporation leading to cooling causing the wood to shink after expansion in morning sun? I learnt a lot about varnishing from this episode. Thanks.

[@Nomadboatbuilding]

I doubt that. The canoe that sits right below it hasn’t suffered in any similar way. I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. I switched to a light coloured breathable fabric cover. I’m sure that will improve the situation.

[@petevonschondorf4609]

another great video! I laughed that I have both books you mentioned, but never built the lapstrake boat. Rushton's book I just picked up at the Boat Museum of the Finger Lakes (NY). a 50-cent bargoon. No more new boats, just restorations or sometimes bastardizations when things are too far gone. Happy Holidays.

[@bartpijpers3844]

At 11min. The planks being wider at the front than in the middle give an interesting suggestion of speed. So that is certainly not all bad.

[@scotthepworth5976]

Shes a beauty, self criticism is always unforgiving.

[@rick91443]

Beautiful. rr Normandy, Fra.

[@catsupchutney]

My first thought was about the water dripping down my arms, but fun nonetheless.

[@symbolsandsystems]

time for a bigger workshop.

[@Nomadboatbuilding]

I won’t argue with you there but that’s a tall order around these parts.

[@chrisp308]

Have you done a personality test? You shit excellence by the way Merry consumers day or whatever 🍻👍

[@Nomadboatbuilding]

I’ll leave the personality tests to the court ordered authorities.

[@chrisp308]

@@Nomadboatbuilding 🤣

[@chrisp308]

@@Nomadboatbuilding I bet you a beer you are an ISTP or INTJ and you don't give a shit from that response 😂

[@Nomadboatbuilding]

Yup. You pretty much nailed it.

[@mb97355]

A previous owner of my Taiwanese trawler thought epoxy was the way to go on all the external teak. I've been sanding and varnishing for 3 seasons and it's starting to look decent. I did have to go over the worst with paint but it's a nice accent color in the best place for it.