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Refinishing 7200

Late 2003/Early 2004

Updated 30 March 2004

Ready to Spray Awlgrip


  oak inlay on starboard is better done Port side oak inlay where I sanded through
the inlay while levelling the area - oops... darn
 
Diagonal bulkhead launcher opening fairing.
Some Kyrwoods have the launcher tube come
through the watertight bulkhead and end just aft
of the diagonal bulkhead. I am going to try a
short sock from the watertight to the
diagonal bulkhead, with this fairing to smooth
the opening.
The Rondar launcher opens just underneath
the foredeck, while this 505's launcher tube opens
near the floor. But not having a forward thwart
makes this possible.		 Only part of inside of the transom was refinished.
The darker area on the port side was where it was
taken down to bare wood. The area around the
bailer hole is wet, not glossy. It has been
sanded.		 Only some spots on the diagonal bulkheads
were refinished. While most of the finish was fine,
it was discolored and flaking off around some of
the fitting mounting holes. The holes for the
center twing system bullet blocks have been filled,
as the boat now has a Mike Martin-style
twing system
 
Small areas on diagonal bulkheads needed to be
redone		 Shading difference between old (top of tank) and
new glassed areas (inside face of tank)		 Old and new glassed areas.
The small areas that are slightly whiter
were sanded with fresher 220 to get rid of local
shiny areas
 
    Despite a fair bit of sanding, the color of the wood
on the transom did not even out. There are two
lighter spots, one on each side.
 
 
Polishing the hull, and waxing it, has given it
quite a shine		 The launcher tube fairing was made of balsa on
a 1/8" plywood base. In the absence of a lathe,
a grinder was used to turn it		  
 
These are images of 7200, taken March 2nd and March 10th at Severn Sailing Association (SSA) in Annapolis. Much of the wood had been sanded down to bare wood, epoxied or epoxied and glassed, and then carefully wet sanded using 220 grit in preparation for spraying Awlgrip. The second set of photos are after the boat was sprayed, the third after the fittings were reinstalled.

7200 is a 1980 wood-look Waterat built on a Lindsay hull. The oak veneer on the seat tanks is similar to the other three wood-look Waterats, 7346, 7347 and 7349, but 7200 is built on a Lindsay hull shell, whereas the others are built on Hamlin hull shells. 7200 also has no forward thwart.

Specifically, the areas taken down to bare wood were:

* the seat tanks below the area that was glassed in 1996 when the boat was refinished and rerigged by Larry Tuttle
* the CB cap
* the transom and transom bar
* part of the inside face of the transom
* some selected spots on the diagonal bulkheads
* the compass mount areas
* the aft portions of the rail that were clear finished and exposed

The tops of the seat tanks were epoxied and glassed and then Awlgripped when the boat was refinished in 1996. The glass cloth kept those areas in very good condition.

The old compass holes in the front of the seat tanks have oak inlays (the starboard one came out better than the port one). The boat is now raced with a TackTick digital compass mounted just behind the mast gate.

Despite lots of sanding the dark stains in the oak where moisture got into it were not completely removed, and the remaining areas are still there, below 4 oz glass and epoxy. Though I did not sand off all the earlier epoxy coating -- most of the diagonal bulkheads, most of the inside face of the transom, nearly all of the top of the seat tanks, and the CB case sides, were in great shape -- I did wet sand all except the CB case sides and have all those areas except the CB case sides sprayed.

I touched up the Awlgrip "Cream" paint on the foredeck and tops of the seat tanks. There were two or three "dings" in the rail, and I had sanded through the paint slightly in a couple of places where it wraps around the aft edge of the deck, while fixing some spots on the diagonal bulkheads.

After Awlgrip Was Sprayed

A few days after Awlgrip clear was sprayed What a shine!  
 
     
 
 
  The launcher tube funnel, aka Jesse's head seat
In case you are interested, this was turned, epoxied,
glassed, sanded and sprayed with clear Awlgrip		  
 
7200 after Muller Marine sprayed clear Awlgrip (a fantastic job), and I painted the cockpit floor color (Awlgrip "Desert Sand") up to the clear -- part of that had been sanded away when refinishing the tanks -- and painted the foredeck color (Awlgrip "Cream") down to the top of the diagonal bulkheads. Muller Marine also sprayed my balsa launcher funnel. I am VERY pleased with the job. Very careful examination reveals two small runs and a small spot on the diagonal bulkhead that is not glossy smooth. I may sand these areas with 1500 grit and buff them.

After Reinstalling the Fittings

    The dark spot is a shadow. You can
see the reflection of the shroud block
and shroud
 
 
     
 

Virtually all the fittings went back on where they were. The boat had already had the spinnaker halyard sheave raised for the LLS, a pole launcher fitted, the CB pin moved forward for a high aspect ratio centerboard, and a high aspect ratio rudder fitted. 7200 was raced as a forward tack bag boat until now. It is currently set up to sail in launcher mode.

Images of 7200 as refinished and rerigged by Larry Tuttle in 1995