Well the number of cards and letters has
been a bit underwhelming. I was
expecting some folks to contribute to this
with your favourite bit of good advice.
Perhaps sailors hibernate.
Some of you may be varnishing bits of
the boat in the basement, living room, or
wherever the dog won't shed on it. There
is a myth around that says you can't
varnish teak, or that you need to remove
the surface oil to get the varnish to
adhere. The official term for this is
"Hogwash". Spar varnish is made with
Tung OIL and sealing the wood with oil
rather than thinned varnish is an
excellent way to get a superior finish.
The idea is to saturate the teak,
mahogany, whatever with the oil and
sanding dust to seal the pores and to
provide a smooth base for the varnish
coats. My book says put on three coats of
oil allowing each to dry to the touch and
sand the last one wet with 400 grit wet
paper. Buff this sanded coat off before it
gets tacky. Then after this has dried you
can BEGIN varnishing. If you are
finishing inside wood, then repeat this
once more and use 600 grit paper for a
beautiful oil finish (no varnish). Real nut
cases can do it a third time with 1000 but
the white coat people will probably show
up half way through so it's really
optional. For outside wood, a good
varnish schedule is Coats 1,2,3 (not
thinned if on top of oil) lightly sanded
with 220 grit and 1 day drying between.
Coat 4 is heavily sanded to redo all
ridges and bumps.
Coats 5,6,7 are sanded with 320 grit with
two days drying between. Coats 9 and 10
are optional. You know those classic
boats you see at shows. This is how they
get the depth and definition. This comes
from an excellent book:
Brightwork by Rebecca J.Wittman.
I credit Mario Poirier with saving me
from a real mess. He recommended that I
check the cockpit drain hoses. I did and
sure enough, they had become detached.
So that's where that water in the bilge
comes from. I recommend
you look at every through hull and hose
on the boat at least once a year and make
sure that nothing is working loose. This
also applies to fuel hoses. Those clamps
do vibrate loose after a while and loose
hoses are a prime source of leaks, both
fuel out and air in the scourge of
diesels. Also carefully look for cracks,
especially at the clamp area and if you
find them replace the hose. Its old and
tired and will fail at the most awkward
time.
I was surprised to learn that it is a
good idea to change the oil in the engine
in the spring as well as the fall.
Condensation can impair the oils ability
to properly lubricate. Also synthetic oil is
better that natural. It's not like it costs
much. No need to change the filter in the
spring.