Big Wooden Launch Gets A Face Lift

Big Woody Gets A Face Lift

The 1965 Salthouse built woody – Trinidad is currently tucked up in the Greg Lees Boatbuilder shed at Sandspit getting some botox i.e touch-up coats to the coamings and wheelhouse and a re-paint of the topsides.

Yesterday, the brains trust from the yard + Akzo Nobel (AWLWOOD MA & International Paints) + AWLWOOD MA Guru (Uroxsys founder) David Waddingham met to discuss the upcoming work on Trinidad, she is a bit like their in-house model. It was interesting to be a fly-on-the-wall and hear about the latest thinking on application / thinning / primer techniques and their newish line extensions eg the Multi-climate gloss finish. The product has come a very long way in the last few years.
You can see from the last two photos that the GL’s boys only just manage to get the doors closed when Trinidad visits, very cozy.

While there, foreman Dale Collins, flipped the covers on his recently completed clinker dinghy (photos below) – stunning and woodys its 4sale 🙂

WOODYS LUNCH CRUISE TO RIVERHEAD TAVERN – TIME TO RSVP

If you are planning on joining the fleet for the cruise up the Riverhead river to join fellow woodys for launch on Sunday November 8th – drop me a quick email with boat name and approx crew numbers waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Arohanui Restoration – Watch it ‘live’

 

Arohanui Restoration – Watch it ‘live’

The above video records the renovation of the classic 1965 Lane Motor Boat Co. built launch Arohanui. The refit work was undertaken in 2015 at the Sandspit yard of Lees Boatbuilders for owners Fiona Driver & Rod Marler. Greg Lees & his team have established themselves as the go to yard for the application of Awlwood MA (Uroxsys) the flexible polyurethane marine clear coat finish. But I have to say that the yards craftsmanship & attention to detail prior to the final applications was second to none. Lees is a very classic friendly yard & whether the vessel is sail or motorboat, large or small its in good hands.

The short film was produced by Gareth Cooke (SubZero) who also filmed the restoration of Trinidad at Lees, refer below videos.

 

Video footage of the varnishing of Trinidad with Awlwood MA (Uroxsys)

Video

How did Trinidad get that look?

If you have seen Trinidad in the last few months you would have gone………….. WoW……………… thats amazing. Well now thanks to the wonders of modern technology (a time lapse camera & Gareth Cooke’s photography & editing skills) you can watch how the team at Greg Lees Boatbuilders, working with Awlwood MA (Uroxsys) achieved that amazing finish on her topsides.

The process went like this –
1. Old coatings removed
2. Yellow primer applied
3. Two coats rolled / brushed on
4. Three days of heavy ‘wet on wet’ spray applications, with a good block sanding between coats
5. Final coat applied as a single coat to achieve best leveling

Now this is all stunning but do not think its a pro-only product, the results us amateurs can achieve with 6 > 8 coats using a hand brush is pretty wow.

The classic wooden boat maintenance myth

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The classic wooden boat maintenance myth

Every time I talk to a potential (first time) buyer of a wooden classic the one thing I hear again & again is the worry about the time required on maintenance. Yes they require constant TLC but the days of sanding & varnishing, sanding & painting etc etc have been significantly reduced with some of the new (ish) products in the market place. But if working on your boat does not appeal – buy fiberglass.

I believe in beating the drum for good, make that great, products – one of which is Uroxsys (now marketed / sold as AWLWOOD MA) this product has revolutionized the maintenance of exterior clear coated timber. There are boats in the CYA fleet that are in their 6+ year of Uroxsys protection + it looks a million dollars & its easy & quick to apply.
In the marine game you generally get what you pay for, Uroxsys / Awlwood MA not found in the bargain bins at marine chandleries & has recently undergone an international price alignment, but if your are looking for cheap, again maybe that fiberglass boat is a better option for you 🙂
Read the report above from the UK Classic Boat magazines long-term performance test – enough said !! AH