After fairing the hull surface is ready to prime. These pictures are a bit misleading....in order to break up the work I have only faired the port stern quarter, so three-quarters of the boat still remains to be done. But as it is best to prime sanded timber as soon as possible after sanding I have marked the waterline and applied the first coat of primer above the waterline, plus on the transom. The primer is International Yacht primer. I will prime below the waterline in a day or so with International Primocon. The whole of the Port stern quarter is plugged. There is a short video of this process on the Ian Smith Facebook Page, and I will be adding that footage to a longer video on plugs and gravos (graving pieces) soon. I used a method that Larry Pardey showed me 30 years ago where you drill the plugs in a line on a thin strip leaving only a millimetre or less of wood connecting the plugs. You dip the end one in glue and tap it into the hole, lining the strip up so the grain follows the grain of the planking. It's a little quicker, less messy and more accurate (with regard to the grain) than cutting and fitting individual plugs. I use WEST epoxy glue with Microspheres to thicken it. This mix is not as strong a glue as with Microfibres, but that is a good thing, it is well strong enough to glue in the plugs but soft enough to sand easily. The Facebook post certainly brought out the plug Nazis! Laser levels are brilliant for marking waterlines! I set it up to do the transom and the Port aft quarter and ran masking tape along the bottom of the line. When the topside primer is dry enough to take tape, I will retape above the line and prime the bottom. There will be only one coat at the moment, the rest of the priming will have to wait until the seams are fully caulked and payed.
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AuthorIan Smith, Boatbuilder (ret'd) Archives
January 2024
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