Category Archives: How To

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

How to – hints on removing bottom paint off a wooden hull

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How to - hints on removing bottom paint off a wooden hull

Hints on removing bottom paint off a wooden hull (ex Baden Pascoe – MV John Dory)

The best time to do a major paint job on the bottom of your boat is when you have it out for a major or minor refit. Just wait long enough and the timber will shrink from under the years of paint and become very easy to remove. Leave this job to the very last as the paint also holds a little moisture in the planking while you are doing the endless list of other jobs.

I started off by placing tarps under the boat to catch all the old paint and then three of us used Linbide (spelling?) scrapers. My friend Jim Mateer has put a long pipe handle on his with a plug in the end and as you scrape, most of the paint flakes run down the centre of the handle. Just empty it every 5 min or so. He sometimes attaches a vacuum cleaner via a soft vac tube, I tell ya, it works very well, I think with the three of us it took about 6 hours work.
I took 23 kg off John Dory and I am very proud to say none of it went into the sea, I disposed of it at Trans Pacific for about $50.00. Then I sanded the surface and gave it 3 coats of International Primercon, one very diluted coat so that it went into the timber, one medium dilution and them a fairly non
diluted coat. The bottom looked so smooth, not bad for an old fishing boat!!
Then I gave it two hard anti fouls in blue and covered it with two soft antifouls. So, when I go to repaint, I just scrub or wet sand off until I see the blue paint. That way I hope to never have to do this again.

JD and Jack Taylor

Photo shows  Jack Taylor now 92 (going on 60) & Jim Mateer, in his late 70’s working on John Dory.

How To Get The Most Out Of waitematawoodys

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After numerous phone calls & e-mails from people that are enjoying waitematawoodys but are not to sure how to interact with it e.g. search or find pervious articles, comment on articles, get advice on updates, I thought it might help if I posted a few blog tips.
Firstly to get the most out of the waitematawoodys you need to be a follower, relax its not some new cult, all you have to do is click on the ‘Follow’ tab  (see example below) that appears at the bottom of you computer screen on the right when you have waitematawoodys open. You then enter your email address in the box that appears  (see example below)  & now you will be able to:
(a) receive an email advising you when new articles have been posted or updated. Means you no longer have to check in all the time.
(b) allows you to make comments on articles that have been posted   (see example below)
(c) search for arcticles by almost any topic e.g. designer, boat name, build / launch year, destination etc (see example below)
I hope this helps, if you need any advice at any time just drop me an email at waitematawoodys@gmail.com
click images to enlarge
Cheers Alan Houghton

How to – create that aged bronze look

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I have always had a hankering for an old style boat signal horn but could not find one that (a) was not chrome or plastic (b) did not look like it should be on QE2 (c) did not sound like a freight train.
So I bought a small chrome one on trademe & being a clever bugger talked to the people at Porters Paints http://www.porterspaints.co.nz about their speciality finishes range – in particular their ‘Liquid Copper ‘ & ‘Patina Green’ products, which if used together recreates copper with the green patination of age. Its used in/out doors on things like downpipes & garden ornaments.  So I think its worth a go, as they say
First step – give the chrome surface a good sanding to score the surface.
Next paint (2 coats) with a vinyl etch adhesion primer
Next step off to Porters Paints for the first coat of ‘Liquid Copper’, looked a little bright but I’m told by the experts to have faith. One more coat then we start applying the patina effect, after the 2nd coat it started to tone down (darken) a little.
We left the horn for a few days & the ‘copper’ darkened even more & will continue to age with exposure to the elements.
The ‘Patina Green’ was then applied & I’m very happy with the end result.
Note Porters Paints are about to launch a bronze finish so I’ll update later on that.

How to – secure your dinghy on deck

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Dinghy Straps

I was told off a few months ago for the very un-shippy method I had deployed to secure the dinghy.
The above, from the bible – ‘The Finely Fitted Yacht’, tells/shows how it should be done. Click image to enlarge.
The ‘TFFY’ is a must have, out of print but  a lot of libraries have it or pick up a 2nd hand copy on good old amazon.

Old fashioned railway style classic boat haul out & winter maintenance

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Old fashioned railway style classic boat haul out & winter maintenance

Now some of the CYA NZ members that look in here may have already seen this but given there are now viewers from over 22 countries checking out waitemata woodys, I thought they may like to view a good old fashioned kiwi boat club style haul out & winter make over. No fancy cradle lifts at the Devonport Yacht Club, we still use the good old style railway haul out.
The tale & photos have had 20,000+ views but a lot of that is due to the posting getting a mention on the WoodenBoat forum & Classic Boat in the UK. Click the link below. Enjoy

http://classicyacht.org.nz/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1737

Bruce Tantrum – artisan model boatbuilder

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Bruce Tantrum - artisan model boatbuilder

Boats have been a passion of Bruce Tantrum for more than 6 decades, and building model boats has been part of that passion.

In addition to models he has twice built keel boats for family sailing, for racing and cruising offshore.

In recent times, he has built complete fully rigged models from scratch using the original lines and construction plans. These models include work and leisure, power and sail boats, and include designers George Steers, Charles Nicholson, William Fife, Olin Stephens, Robert Logan Snr, Arch Logan, Percy Vos, Arthur Collings, Bailey and Lowe, Bruce Farr, and Laurie Davidson.

Bruce has also built 5 models for Team NZ of race yachts for the America’s Cup, the TP 52 class and the Volvo Round the World race.

More photos & contact details here http://www.btmodelboats.com