Primer Painting

Doesn't seem to matter how many times I filled and sanded the interior of the hull, when I painted, I still found areas that needed flakes removed or gaps filled. I left those exposed for further attention and painted the rest! The interior now has one coat of sealer to be followed by another coat of sealer, two of primer and at least two of top coat! The floatation bins at the sides of the hull will get the same treatment. The interior looks so much better now!

Paint Removal Completed

Finally, after working for a few hours most days, I have finished taking the old paint from the interior of the dinghy. I used mostly a scraper with a heat-gun to loosen the old paint. In places, the space was limited so an old chisel was used too. Yesterday I brought home a pressure washer to do the siding on the house, and while I had it, I tried it on the paint in the boat too. Worked very well on the paint in the side buoyancy tanks, but did nothing to the paint on the outside of the hull.
Tomorrow, I shall give the interior a good sanding then vacuum it out. I have the recommended primer/sealer to go on next.
I also need to fill some gaps in the softer decking support boards. Try epoxy with filler.

Paint Scraping Progress

Sunny days have allowed me to leave the boat parked outside, hoping the sun will warm and dry the old wood. I noticed yesterday there was still water in the floor tanks. Propped the bow much higher and watched a few liters pour out of the holes at the stern. I have not had to use anything other than a cabinet scraper on the old paint. I figure where the paint is too difficult to remove, especially around those strips of wood on the floor, I will leave the paint as it is obviously still doing its job. Sand the edges smooth and repaint.

The work begins

Last night I took a number of pictures to show where various fittings belong. I then took off the side decks as they were soft in spots. Those decks came off in big enough pieces that I can use them for templates when I cut the new plywood. Inside the side buoyancy tanks the wood was still firm, but signs of mildew and spiders everywhere! The portside tank's end panel was rotted through, and it was easy to take all that out too. The center thwart was also soft at the ends, so that was removed too. I think I will next take off the front deck and replace it with new wood too. That will give me access to the area beneath for refinishing. Another decision is to leave the existing floor and sides of the side tanks. Seems like far too big a task to rip all those panels out when both the floor and the sides sound firm. When putting it all back together, I will do what I can to ensure those tanks stay dry and allow good ventilation when the boat is out of the water.

Mystery solved!

Thanks to the wonderful help of Paul, Steve and Colin, the dinghy has regained her heritage! The boat was designed by Holt to improve upon the Enterprise. It is known as the "National E" or the "Lazy E" The boat I have is the Mark II, the racing version with the flat floor and draining scuppers. More information is here, at the site of the Australian National Assoc. http://www.nationale.org.au/Class_History.html
The boat has been taken off the borrowed trailer and is resting on a couple of saw horses. I can only stand and look at it seeing all the work that needs to be done, but also dreaming of what it could look like if I do the work needed. I shall attach a couple of pictures at the top of this entry to show how rough this one is. One of the pictures will be inside the floor cavity. I see the underside of the floor's ceiling has not been painted and I suspect some of the joints are breaking down. It seems like a lot of work to take out the side buoyancy tanks and then take out the floor too.
As always, suggestions are welcome.

The Mystery Begins

This blog is about a dinghy I am about to reconstruct. I would love help from the readers as I go along. First mystery is finding out what kind of boat I have. If these sails are original that is my first clue. Sails made by Holt. The boat is plywood and has a built-in floor with two scuppers on the transom. There are also buoyancy tanks built into the sides, which also serve to hold up the side decks. The hull sides have facets like a Wayfarer. The hull is 15'1" long and about 65" wide. The paint is peeling badly and I cannot tell the original colours.