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The experts reckon we lose the equivalent of two coats of varnish a year to UV  rays even with UV protected varnish so you'll need to be looking to put at least two coats on a year just to keep up. 

Always be prepared to remove deck fittings, hand rails etc to maintain varnish levels underneath them where moisture can hold on. You also get to re seal them properly - prevention is better than cure. 

Investigate leaks and black areas as soon as possible, I have seen missing chines and bulkheads with the bottom rotted away because of a leaking handrail that was deemed unimportant and left. 

Wet sheds are a bit idealistic though a boat badly stored in a wet shed can deteriorate faster than a boat stored well in the open. Ventilation is key. Let your boat breathe both inside and out and give it a chance to dry out when it gets wet. You always leave the fridge door cracked open when you leave a boat, think about windows, cupboards and drawers. 

Cracking boat Ray. There will be a lot of pleasure to be had varnishing that little lot.

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The best advice I can give where any boat is concerned be it Bio degradable or tupperware is to get onto any small / little / insignificant issue immediately (I'm not talking upgrades here - Purely maintenance) that way those small / little / insignificant issues stay that way before they become major and very expensive in the blink of an eye.

Winter protection - Not something we get involved in as wet sheds are the very best.  You should seriously consider weighing off the extra cost of an all year round wet shed berth against an outside berth with the consequences thereof.    Wet sheds save huge amounts of maintenance / time caused by both the winters and summer uv damage.  They give you the opportunity of all year round cruising as well and not having to bother with winterising.  'B.A' does not have a closed season, she is available and ready to go 24/7/365.

As for porotecing the timber, go for lots of coats of the best anti-uv varnish your budge will stretch to.  We have a set method, 5 x coats of Ravalak followed by 1 x coat of Brava - That's after all the prep work of course.  Works for us

Griff

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17 hours ago, Ray said:

I'd be very interested in how you care for your wooden topsides Poppy.

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I agree with Marshy on this - Poppy goes into a big dry barn in November, and there she stays until the following March or April.

The winter frosts can play havoc with varnish unless really dry.  If that isn't an option, are you sure that the covers are truly breathable ? PVC or similar is not, and in fact will make things worse!

The secret is 'preventative maintenance'. As soon as you notice damage to the varnish, patch it. I keep a small jar of varnish on board for thaat purpose.

Plan your maintenance too !

This winter I,m stripping back the toe rails and rubbing strakes to bare wood, and they will be then coated with at least three coats of 50/5 varnish and turps. At least another three coats of neat varnish will follow - more if time and temperature permits.

Elsewhere a light rub down followed with one varnish coat will keep things looking good.

Inside there is less to bother about, lust keep an eye on things and theat accordingly.

Before finding inside winter storage for Poppy we chose to keep her afloat, planning for some time afloat. In all reality it wasn't worth it ( and we live locally ! ) The extra work which ensued, balanced with the number of opportunities to take her out mad the decision a 'no brainer'.

We have even noticed that the fibreglass hull has benefited from drying out too.

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I should have added - stay clear of two pack varnish and one pack polyurethane !

It's almost impossible to make a good repair to damage, additionaly although very durable, it's susceptible to cracking and UV damage, much more so than conventional yacht varnish.

Also when buying your varnish , beware of some of the 'big named ' brands which, believe it or not are labeled as not suitable for external use :default_huh:

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14 hours ago, BroadAmbition said:

The best advice I can give where any boat is concerned be it Bio degradable or tupperware is to get onto any small / little / insignificant issue immediately (I'm not talking upgrades here - Purely maintenance) that way those small / little / insignificant issues stay that way before they become major and very expensive in the blink of an eye.

I totally agree with this advice my boat being as you  say Tupperware, but even these boats suffer from neglect more so in the winter season, chips in the gel coat water getting in freezing expanding and causing damage, In the height of the summer ultraviolet damage to internal furnishings etc by forgetting to draw curtains before leaving boat Until next visit, be vigilant protect your investment :-)

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Thank you guys.

So if out and about on the water it's a good idea to apply varnish as soon as a problem is spotted, that makes sense. With that sort of running repair I take it that just clean and dry the area will do or is it a good idea to carry some fine grit paper as well to make as best a job possible out of it considering the circumstances?

When it comes to annual or biannual maintenance coats, is it enough to sand the old varnish only before the first coat or between every coat however many it may have had over the years?

 

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1 hour ago, Ray said:

Thank you guys.

When it comes to annual or biannual maintenance coats, is it enough to sand the old varnish only before the first coat or between every coat however many it may have had over the years?

 

Now you have opened a can of worms :facepalm:

 

Put 30 regular varnish users together and you'll get 30 different answers to that one. :default_biggrin:

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22 hours ago, Ray said:

I'd be very interested in how you care for your wooden topsides Poppy. I have just become the proud owner of just such a boat! I knew what I was taking on in respect of the care needed, she is in lovely condition and I want to keep her that way.

She comes with good quality covers for the fore and aft wells (both have varnished interiors) plus a full all over cover which is a nice fit and allows a good air flow.

I intend to use the all over cover, when she's not in use during the winter and at anytime in the summer if/when we get those strong sun with no shade days.

We like the odd off season cruise and inevitably she will get rained on at times and sometimes it's likely to happen several days in a row - this is probably my biggest concern.

I'm fully prepared to maintain her and will enjoy doing so but good tips and tricks would be very welcome at the start of my learning curve!

 

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This is the sister ship to Maffett Cruisers Kingfisher which i hired many times. She was a really lovely boat, very well built, and very comfortable and easy to handle. If you need to know anything about this boat, it`s worth giving them a call to see if they can help. 

What i DO know is that this boat was built by and on hire from Bounty Boats at Brundall, and was called Bounty Bandit, which was then changed, but i can`t remember what to. Later, she was in "Paul Pleasurecraft" s fleet from Beccles, where i looked over her, and not in a good state, plus they painted the topsides white, with blue coachroof.  She was then sold into private ownership, and became "Goodall Gal", owned by Mr Goodall, and was for some years moored on the private moorings on the North side of Beccles Yacht Station.  I did`nt see her for some years, but last time i saw her, she was moored in one of the marinas on the Ant at Stalham, and was still i think called Goodall Gal..

I hope this helps?.

 

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Interesting background, thank you for that. The owner before last gave her a complete refit and being a publican I believe, named her Sir Losis of the River lol. Which ties in nicely with what you,ve been able to tell me as I think she was at Broads Edge then.

I have to admit I'm very proud to be her custodian :12_slight_smile:

 

Edit to say I misunderstood, Goodall Girl was the sister ship!

 

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17 hours ago, Ray said:

When it comes to annual or biannual maintenance coats, is it enough to sand the old varnish only before the first coat or between every coat however many it may have had over the years?

 

Well that depend ... as they say in Norfolk.

There will be on every tin details of maximum and minimum overcoating times, which will largely be dependent on temperature.

Sand between each coat if going over that time.

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Sincerest apologies Ray, i misinformed you. These boats were built by Bounty Boats, but it appears two were either sold, or purposely built for Swancraft, and called "Swan Regent".  They  differed from the Maffett Cruiser and Paul Pleasurecraft variants, in that the Swan Regent versions had alluminium window surrounds, whereas the other two i mention had just varnished wood. I checked on Craigs Data Base, and put in E469 (your boats reg no)  and it comes with some nice pics, and Goodal Gal is N695, and Kingfisher N694.

Once again, sorry for the misinformation.

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1 hour ago, FairTmiddlin said:

Is that the account or the boat name?

Well we love the name she has lol but maybe in small print underneath we should add money pit like all boats seem to be! 

Her name is Luna Aurora - a Broom Skipper

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Why would you sand between each coat? varnish isn't thick a coat so why put it on then sand it of. i denib between each coat than flat down with a rubber/cork block soap and water, wash clean then dry with chamy, then tack rag just before last coat, lot less work with thicker/less coats and good depth of shine.This is how Green King delivery lorries were done in 60s-70s. John

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2 minutes ago, annv said:

Why would you sand between each coat? varnish isn't thick a coat so why put it on then sand it of. i denib between each coat than flat down with a rubber/cork block soap and water, wash clean then dry with chamy, then tack rag just before last coat, lot less work with thicker/less coats and good depth of shine.This is how Green King delivery lorries were done in 60s-70s. John

Thanks for that advice, sometime ago a relative was varnishing internal house doors from bare wood up and made a point of sanding between coats so I thought it was worth checking whether this was always necessary.

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