The unpardonable sin of boat ownership.
[size='10']How many times have you seen it?
It breaks your heart, and you may even make a comment... "too bad".
How many times have you seen some poor ship tugging at her lines....
... with peeling paint and mildew. You know she is not going sailing....
.... she is neglected.
It is sad. We have a thread around here somewhere with pictures of 'sad boats'.
Well, it happens fast.
Faith brought us home from our journey after keeping us safe for thousands of miles.... She protected us from a hurricane on the anchor... she braved some serious seas and came through like a champ. Never once did she fail us or let us down.
The maintenance tasks that we had spent so much time on... well she shone like new when we departed. As we put in miles and months, we learned that...
Cruising is hard on a boat.
Since we have been home, we have sailed her, and done those things like sealing chainplates and other tasks that I knew had to be tended to ASAP.
We sail her, and each time I notice something new that needs to be tended to.
There have been many things happeing in life since we got back. Life happens like that.
Well, due to a set of circumstances I need not go into I had not been down to the boat in an entire 3 weeks.
Yesterday I went, and discovered that at some point in that time, a very large fish apparently jumped out of the water (16-18" long) and landed in the cockpit.
In the time it laid there, it turned to liquid. The liquid spread and covered the cockpit sole. The goo went down the cockpit drains, and some came up the sink.
The maggots took up residence in the lazarette.... and had a great celebration.
I have seen death. I have even seen decomposing human bodies. I was still astounded and amazed by the stench.
I have a very strong stomach. I spent 3.5 hours yesterday glad I had not had breakfast. I went back to the boat today, and set about making this right.
I pressure washed the flaking paint (the interlux Brightsides that failed on the cabin top). I sanded and faired.
I routed out the cracks I found... some were casualties of war, others had been routed before but still had traces of the evil silicone.... and returned for it.
I labored and sweated. I sanded and filled. I even got some priming done....
The work is hard, but the return is good. Tomorrow I go back down to the boat to sand, and strip... to varnish and paint....
...It is funny in a weird sort of way....
... I may well be thankful for that fish in the long run....[/size]
Love a good unpardonable story...
Missed this post six years ago, ebb probably wudov two centsed it... Found it this
AM because the 'who's viewing' list was showing a bot vacuum slurping it up.
Like the bio element in craig's tale, a poignant decomposition.
VARNISHING TO GO
Been using LeTonkinois varnish recently, which is a very bio coating composed
of nothing but boiled tungtree seed and linseed oils with no solvents.* We will
not fiddle with adding thinners or solvents, as we do with synthetics, to the first
coats. At no time. Infact adding any solvent will degrade Tonk.
You can get a mix-in flatner: Gelomat, to create interior satin as a final coat.
Just finished 6 coats on new coamings. The minimum for new work. Not a natural
varnisher... but got as close to grand piano this time, as I ever seen, rolling with 4"
micro-foam cigars (Epifanes Moltopren) on a wire frame, and tipping with 4" Jenny.
Whole side of a board was rolled wet and tipped without stalling for sections. The
varnish stays wet a good while... Gently, gently draw DRY foam brush over whole
length two, three, four times. Flat or vertical, no curtains, none. (Ideal conditions
inside the shop!) NO BRUSH CLEANING. Halleluya! No solvents or thinners ever!
Have to add, that the owner of American Rope and Tar who supplied the oil
(the product is described as an oil - which just happens to dry like varnish) told me
when I was ordering...
He regularly sails his Alberg 30. After bringing her back home (assume the marina,
not sure) hosing the boat and wiping down her shiny wood parts... then&there
they take a little extra time to touchup the varnish !!
Wet sand 320 very lightly (he describes it as 'wiping' - imco this cuts the heads off
the mini peaks that always show up). Not to create a slurry = very lightly, "until
surface feels smooth." Wipe off with a damp rag, and they're ready to tetch it up
with a foam brush. No solvent wash. No tack cloth.
"Le Tonkinois does not need to be sanded to adhere to itself."
Asked, 'Every time?' He said, "Yes."
Not to worry about feathering new with old.
Float on a thin coat. Tip it. Go home.
Come back smiling.
Go sailing!
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VARNISHING ON THE HIGH SEAS
Le Tonkinois Marine No. 1 comes in a square $40 one liter tea tin that is !@#$%^&!
impossible to open with any English speaking tool. When using the partially filled can
for storage, if you got varnish on the lid, you won't be able to pry it off again. When
you do, you have to pour the compromised liquid thru a fine mesh cone - which you
have to do anyway, because you return unused gloss back to the can as I do, cause
I'm cheap and disobey rules. It skins no matter what and develops jelly-like globs.
Tried to dose resealed cans with heavier than air argon gas - without success.
So, are you really going to attack the impossible tea-tin (I use a 1/2" Stanley chisel...
NO, just as a pry bar)? Ready to pour out miniscule dollop...uh-oh what's floating
in there? DANG, where's a clean plastic cup, paper towels? Looks like I gotta strain
the varnish, where the bloody cones? Hey, Sweetie, can you hold this for me...
INNOVATIVE TOOL
Here's something that looks like THE solution: type into searchinjun: Stop Loss Bag.
A bit picky, requires extra gear, but very logical. It is a smart solution for preserving
open can varnish to keep on your boat - and your shop - at low cost! Squeeze the
bag with varnish in it, screw on top for zero air in bag. Check it out.
OR, Duckworks Boatbuilder's Supply. http://duckworksbbs.com/tools/bags/index.htm
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* "Le Tonkinois No. 1 has a small amount of pure wood alcohol added to the formula.
This produces a faster drying time, and extends the can life. But many prefer to stick
with the undiluted Original formula, reasoning that thicker varnish needs fewer coats
(plus it comes in a slightly larger can for the same price." ...From an extensive data
sheet that comes with the order from American Rope and Tar. www.tarsmell.com
Started to write up a comparison with synthetic varnishes. Epifanes boasts theirs is
made with tung oil** (as is Tonk). But it's completely tweeked with petro chemicals.
Accelerators, retarders may be needed, and it's heavily associated with badger brush
culture that requires toxic solvents to clean. I'm going to leave it. It's obvious that
Tonk is a much greener product. Even if some cons show up, I'm sticking with it.
Has a wonderful mild pong that doesn't "evaporate noxious solvents into the cabin"
down in the cabin -- or in the shop.
We can even use this bright glossy material wherever we step on ship, because it
doesn't get slippery when wet. One last thing, I sound like a salesman here, I'm just
a user. Used this product over Epifanes varnish, with no problem at all.
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LeTonkinois is named after a province in Viet Nam, where French slavers & profiteers
(1880s-1940s) 'liberated' the ancient China Oil wood finish formula. A drying-oil fluid
used for every purpose, including the waterproofing of ships-masts-sails-rudders,
houses, furniture and paper umbrellas. Oil comes from seeds in nuts of the tung tree.
Modern 'tung oil finishes' are touted by manufacturers to legitimize petro-chemical
products containing the oil, making labels false or untrue.
LeTonkinois is probably the only authentic tongyou oil based finish on the market
relating back in unbroken maritime aeons to every kind of watercraft still working.
With a 30,000 year old history, companion linseed also a drying oil, faster than tung.
These oils don't dry or evaporate solvents, they set or CURE. They polymerize with
oxygen creating crosslinking compounds that harden slowly until fully hard. 24hr wait
for recoat!!! It is important, when varnishing with Tonk this ensures success.
Unable to find a % list of ingredients or MSDS. Revealed on the Brit site, contains
'vegetable driers & thinners.'
These two descriptors are ghost words, tell us nothing about the coating. It's obvious
vendor is telling us they offer a non-toxic green product. How green is that?
Compared with commercial varnishes, a huge greenness. Vernis No.1 has added pure
alcohol ...'Pure' being another useless ghost word. % oils to thinners, not revealed...
I like the distinction between Tonk CURING and petroleum based varnishes DRYING
by solvent evaporation. Assume there's a high content of the two ancient 'drying oils'
that grab onto nearly any surface except wax (and assume low surface energy plastic)
- and requires 24 hrs to quieten down and harden. Recoat too soon: the hot coat will
react with uncured previous coats, and the process will curdle and fail. Not common.
What makes Le Tonkinois unique is the addition of vegetable seed oil. Linseed oil does
not have the water resist and tough qualities of tung. It's molecules are smaller there-
for adds pore filling, fluidity and transparency qualities to the coating. Tung oil makes
the finish highly water resistant and solid. It doesn't darken with age or mold like the
seed oil. Proportions unknown, the two together have been used for 1000s of years
in Asia where the tree is native. Tung oil is very tenacious, difficult to clean brushes.
Contains no petroleum solvents. Waterproofs. Resistant to UV, abrasion, and 'knocks.'
Storage: Unopened, indefinite. 'Opened: several years stored in container with no air.'
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**Epifanes Classic High Gloss Marine Varnish MSDS: Naptha 25-50% - Xylene 2.5%
- alkyl propionate mix 2.5% - 2-butanone oxine (MEK) 2.5% - 4-tert-butylphenol
(hormonal disruptor) 2.5% - cobalt bis(2-ethylhexanoate) catalyst/drier 2-5%.
-- this seems to leave 37.5-62.5% for solids, resins and oils --
If the remaining ingredients are resins & oils -- what % of it is tung oil is doubtful.:D
