Wooden Drift Boat Question

[Ken Drifter]

Hello, fellow fishin folk !
Ive got a question and looking for advice or just a tip or two.
I have an all Wooden drift boat. Shes in need
of an "Inner face lift"
old man weather has taken his toll. The plywood is starting to look a bit ugly. What Ive done is sanded the entire inside down to bare wood until it was very smoooooth.
(What a job that was Since fishings been a litle slow I figured now was a good time)
My plan is too put several coates of Mc Closkey Man O' War Marine Spar Varnish.
Right down on the bare wood and call her done. (with sanding between coates)
Any advice ? Am I headed in the right direction ? Thanks, Ken Drifter
KC455Pontiac@aol.com

[Deleted User]

I'm not a refinishing expert but that sounds right to me Ken. You might consider putting a medium colored coat of good looking wood stain on before the marine varnish coats. It not only looks beautiful, the slightly darker color than varnish over bare wood might have less bright glare on sunny days. I love well finished wood boats! - RT

[Buds_4]

You're on the right track, but if you don't want to do it all again next year, use a higher quality marine varnish. Epiphanes, or another top brand, will yield much better results and the cost won't be much higher. When you think about all of the work, spending a few extra bucks on the finish is really just a small percentage of the value of the job.

The first coat should be thinned about 25% to soak in, and then lightly sand again to improve adhesion.

If you want to take it a step further, while you have it down to bare wood, epoxy coat the whole thing first. This will completely waterproof the wood surfaces and greatly extend the life of the boat. Of course that's another 20 hours and some real money invested.

The main thing is to keep the boat dry and protected from the sun when you aren't using it. UV really breaks down the topcoat, and excessive exposure shortens the life of any paint job.

I've kept up a wooden driftboat for 20 years, and although it's a lot of work, it's given me the greatest pleasure on the water.

Hope this helps.

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[Nuttinbutnet]

Hey Ken, here's what works for me. Seats and deck tops, use a good varnish. For all other wood,ie floor and inside of hull, use Watco oil. The oil will take a few coats to penetrate. It is great stuff that will waterproof and will not crack or chip if you drop something. The oil works extremely well on the gunnels. A quick wipe down with the oil once a year does the trick. My 2 cents....

[Fish'n Rod]

Just Another Thought...on wooden driftboats. A couple years ago I saw an old wooden mckenzie style driftboat and trailer in a yard with a for sale sign. Had some rot but trailer alone was worth the $200 I paid for the works. Dug out the rot, used a lot of epoxy filler and fiberglass, and then painted the whole thing with a good grade of kelly green deck paint.
Last summer floated the John Day and in Sept did the 40 mile wild Rogue section using only a book to tell me which side of the rocks to go on. Had to patch up a few small holes en route with a fiberglass patch...but hasn't dumped me yet. Have drifted the Alsea, Santiams, and Siletz for about 40 drifts. Took me two hours last summer to slap another coat of paint on it. Keep it upside down, outside, in my back yard. I have grown to love that old green fishing machine.
Would like to have one of those varnished bare wood beauties...but think I'll save my elbow grease (what's left of it) for pumping in those steelhead.
Just another perspective on wooden boats.



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Fish'n Rod

[Hammer Bob]

Has anyone built their own driftboat? If so can you recommend a good source for plans? Also any tips on problems you encountered or suggestions on how to make a better boat outside of the plan specifications would be greatly appreciated.

This is going to be my spring and early summer project....I'm getting stoked!!!

[Phish_on]

It will look a lot nicer with stain on it. I've used a clear polyurethane on my top deck and it holds up great, I'll check the brand and post the specifics later.

Watco oil, yeah that's the ticket. Wipe off any excess and let it dry well before the clear coat. Are you coating the floor? May want to throw something abrasive in there, that shiny stuff is SLIPPERY WHEN WET.

[kinaye]

I too, have an old green machine used valspar topside paint on it, seems pretty good every year i sand an area and repaint as neccasary. Put a rock through ithe bottom on the Klickitat. So attached the high molecular plastic to it (with a new piece of wood), thing keeps comin back for more, every year needs somethin though. K

[Jellyhead]

HammerBob,

Here's a link for plans for a 16' McKenzie style boat. I've never built one, so I can't give any hints or tricks. Also, check out www.duckboats.net. (http://www.duckboats.net.) It is mostly a hunting boat site, but it has links to almost all major wood boat plans people (Like Delvin,Glen-L) and it has alot of good info on stitch and glue construction. If you have any boat building questions, the guys on the duckboat forum are top notch and should be able to answer any questions you have.

Good Luck--- here's the link:
http://www.ezlink.com/~rickso/driftboat/driftboat.htm

Aaron

[Phish_on]

The stuff I used on my boat is Flecto Varathane - Exterior. It's done very well. It's very glossy stuff, though - I think they may have a flatter version. The regular application of Watco sounds pretty good also. At one time I stripped all of the varnish off the top deck (mahogany) - - which I have sworn to never do again, 30 years worth of coating! Then Watco then a few coats of that Varathane. Every few years I'll rub it all with fine steel wool to take off the gloss and put on another couple of coats.

Actually, on the inside of the boat, I've used a marine epoxy on the inside of the keel (where water may accumulate) and exterior house paint (latex ! !) on the other surfaces. That has also worked out well, I mixed up a neutral blue-gray color so as to be not too reflective.

FWIW - -