On Board with Mark Corke

A Guide to Boat Fiberglass Care: Cleaning, Oxidation Removal, and Polishing

My Grand Banks 32; not bad for 35-year-old gelcoat. It took me a whole day from start to finish to get the boat to this level of gloss.

Introduction

I know I have covered looking after gelcoat before, but this is the perfect time for a recap now that winter is just around the corner and many boats will be getting hauled.

Proper fiberglass care is essential to keep your vessel looking its best and ensure its longevity. This guide will walk you through the necessary steps, tools, and materials for cleaning removing oxidation through wet sanding, and compounding, polishing, and waxing your boat's fiberglass surfaces. Whether you're a seasoned sailor or a novice boat owner, this comprehensive guide will help you maintain your boat's pristine appearance.

Tools and Materials Required

Before you begin, gather the following tools and materials:

Pressure Washer: A high-quality pressure washer helps remove dirt and grime efficiently.

Soft Bristle Brush: Use a soft brush to scrub the fiberglass without scratching the surface.

Boat Soap: Choose a boat-specific soap that's gentle on fiberglass.

Bucket: For mixing and applying boat soap.

Hose: To rinse off soap and debris.

Microfiber Towels: For drying the boat and for later steps.

Wet/Dry Sandpaper: Choose various grits (e.g., 600, 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000) for wet sanding.

Water Sprayer Bottle: To keep the surface wet while sanding.

Dual Action Polisher/Buffer: A professional-grade buffer like the DeWalt 9-inch polisher is ideal.Manufacturer link here

Compounding Pad: Use foam or wool pads for compounding.

Polishing Pad: Foam or wool pads are suitable for polishing as well.

Marine Compound: Opt for a high-quality marine compound like 3M Super Duty Compound.

Marine Polish: A top-rated marine polish such as Meguiar's M4516 is a great choice.

Marine Wax: Select a marine wax like Collinite 925 for long-lasting protection.

Applicator Pads: Soft foam applicator pads are necessary for applying compound, polish, and wax.

Cleaning 

Before applying any compounds or polishes, it is essential that the boat is clean, or you'll just be rubbing dirt into the gelcoat.

Start by rinsing the boat with a pressure washer to remove loose dirt and debris.

Mix boat soap with water in a bucket and gently scrub the fiberglass surface with a soft bristle brush.

Rinse thoroughly to remove all soap residue.

Dry the boat using microfiber towels to prevent water spots.

Removing Oxidation by Wet Sanding: only needed if the boat is heavily oxidized.

Soak the sandpaper in water for a few minutes.

Begin with the highest grit sandpaper (e.g., 2000) and only use a coarser grade if absolutely necessary.

Sand the oxidized areas in a circular motion.

Keep the surface wet with a water sprayer bottle.

Rinse and dry the boat thoroughly.

Compounding, Polishing, and Waxing

Attach a compounding pad to your dual action polisher/buffer.

Apply a small amount of marine compound to the pad.

Work in small sections, applying moderate pressure and moving the buffer in a side-to-side and up-and-down motion.

Wipe off excess compound with a microfiber towel.

Switch to a polishing pad and apply marine polish in the same manner as compounding.

After polishing, apply marine wax using applicator pads in circular motions.

Allow the wax to haze, then buff it off with a clean microfiber towel for a brilliant shine.

Foam Pads vs. Wool Pads

Foam Pads: Foam pads are gentler on the surface and are ideal for light compounding, polishing, and waxing. They are less aggressive and are suitable for maintaining well-maintained fiberglass.

Wool Pads: Wool pads are more aggressive and are often used for heavy compounding to remove deep oxidation and scratches. They can be followed by foam pads for polishing and waxing.

In conclusion, maintaining your boat's fiberglass requires careful attention and the right tools and materials. Regular cleaning, wet sanding for oxidation removal, and compounding, polishing, and waxing will keep your boag stunning and protect it from the elements. With the right products and techniques, you can ensure your boat remains a source of pride for years to come.

Teak Swim Platform

Below is a video that I very recently posted. Only when I was editing it did I realize I did not mention that I used Gorilla glue. Available from Home Depot and other hardware stores, I really like this glue, but with some caveats. Where you really need something never to come apart, there is no substitute for epoxy with some thickening or filler powder depending on the application. But as in the video here, Gorilla glue is ideal as it can be squirted out of the bottle and, depending on the temperature, will set up in relatively short order allowing work to continue without waiting overnight for the glue to set up, as would be the case with epoxy. 

It is essential to read and heed the instructions on the bottle regarding the correct application technique and safety instructions. I have found that it is tough to remove if you get glue on your fingers or skin. Washing your hand under the tap only makes the glue set up faster as it is a moisture activated. It is always best to wear disposable gloves. Finally, never put your fingers close to your face when using; I suffered severe eye irritation that was very painful even though I never actually got any glue into my eye. Just being close was enough to cause problems. A

Anyhow, I do hope that you enjoy the video and that you will comment either here or in the comments section below the video. More videos are coming soon.

 

 

How to install underwater lights

 

Seaglass, all decked out with her new Aqualuma underwater lights.

Let's face it; there is no need to install underwater lights. They won't make your boat go any faster or handle better … but boy, do they look cool! I confess that I had shied away from putting underwater lights on my boat, thinking them a frivolous waste of time and money. I'd seen the large yachts at boat shows with the waterline all lit up, but thought that look wasn't for me — until someone gave me a couple as a gift. So I bit the bullet and installed them while my boat was hauled for some routine maintenance.

 Things you'll need (apart from the lights, of course!)

Tools:

• Pencil
• Tape measure
• Holesaw
• Electric drill
• Scraper
• Respirator

Materials:

• Lights
• Adhesive sealant or mastic
• Rags
• Sandpaper

Time: Two hours per light

Cost: $450 per light

Some transoms have a slight curvature. A generous bead of manufacturer-recommend mastic behind the mounting flange should care for any discrepancy between the two mounting surfaces.

When choosing underwater lights, you have many options— LED or tungsten. LED lights have a longer life than tungsten, don't get hot, and have lower power draw. These are all good reasons for picking LED. You'll also need to decide on the color of the emitted light: Generally, blue, green, or white are your options. Blue travels farthest in saltwater, green is best for freshwater, and white is best for attracting fish. Note that blue underwater lights are illegal in some places, so check local ordinances for your boating area.

My boat is solid fiberglass below the waterline, but your boat may not be. In that case, you will need to seal the core to prevent water intrusion (see "Cored Hull Care" below). Even if you have solid fiberglass, you'll need to seal the open edges of the hull cut with epoxy or another impervious coating to prevent possible water migration into unprotected glass should water seep past the light's seal.

Cored Hull Care

Fitting underwater lights in a cored hull presents some unique challenges and requires a little additional work. Although it may be tempting to simply drill a hole through the boat and fit the lights, water can find its way into the coring, eventually damaging the boat's structure.

If your boat has a cored hull, drill through as outlined in the step-by-step instructions in this article, then use a sharp instrument to dig out the coring material about an inch back all around from the edge of the hole. Vacuum and clean out the hole thoroughly. Mix up some epoxy and colloidal silica to a peanut butter consistency and force this into the void you created until it is even with the edge of the hole. Leave it overnight to cure, trim if needed, and finish the installation as outlined in this article.

Note, too, that normally you would install a backing pad behind any hull penetrations. In this case, the light manufacturer said this was unnecessary because the retaining nut is only hand-tight. Therefore pressure against the hull is minimal, and the light is effectively held in place with the special adhesive sealant mastic recommended in the instructions.

Follow The Rules

Don't let your boat's underwater lights confuse other boaters. The U.S. Coast Guard COLREGS (also known as the "Rules of the Road" for boaters) require that a boat avoid displaying any light that could be confused as another navigation light or another vessel. And remember, flashing blue lights are reserved for law enforcement. At a distance, wave action combined with the steady rocking of below-the-waterline high-intensity blue lights can give the appearance of a police vessel.

In addition to the steps below, a large portion of the work time will be taken up with the wiring. Be sure to follow the recommendations with your lights concerning wire- and circuit breaker sizing.

 

1. Carefully measure and mark the light's center position on the outside of the boat with a pencil. Placement is likely to be a compromise between the ideal and the possible. Go inside the boat and check the inside of the hull to ensure that there are no structural members or wiring or anything else in the way that could impact the placement. Recheck it to make sure. Consider, too, that you will have to be able to reach the back of the lamp for installation and service. Don't position lights too close to exhaust outlets or other existing penetrations.

2. After double-checking your measurements, chuck a 1/8-inch drill bit into an electric drill and drill through the hull on the marks you made in the previous step. Remove the drill bit from the chuck, but leave it in the hole so you can easily see on the inside of the boat where the final larger hole will be. If you measured correctly, carry on. If not, remember that it's much easier to repair a small hole than a larger one!

3. Use a hole saw of the correct diameter to cut the hole, using the smaller hole as a guide for the drill bit. Use a slow speed and apply firm pressure to the drill. My lights needed a 2-3/8-inch hole, but other lights may require a different size. Again, refer to the instructions that came with your lights.

4. Clean up any rough spots around the hole with sandpaper. Then, after wiping the hole and the inside of the transom with acetone to remove any residual dirt and grease, brush on some epoxy resin to seal the edge. Once the epoxy has dried, feed the cables into the hole and test fit the light. Draw around the circumference of the light fitting with a pencil.

5. Remove the light, then use a scraper to remove any antifouling inside the line back to the original gelcoat. Use a clean rag to wipe the scraped area with acetone to remove surface contaminants.

6. Feed the cables back through the hole. Apply a generous bead of adhesive sealant — according to manufacturer recommendations — around the flange of the light and press it into position. Scrape or wipe off excess sealant.

7. On the inside of the boat, screw on the retaining nut, then route the wires and connect them to a suitable switch or breaker. (The correct size will be given in the instructions.) Double check all your work before turning on the light.

Before Drilling That Hole, Stop And Think!

No one likes drilling holes in their boat — especially below the waterline — but sometimes it's necessary. Before you crank up the drill, ensure you know exactly where you want the hole (measure twice, drill once), and be certain that you know what's behind where you're drilling. In one case, an owner was drilling a hole to install a battery box and accidentally drilled into a diesel fuel tank, spilling a couple of gallons of smelly fuel into the bilge (consider if it had been a gasoline tank!). 

Cheap and effective spray booth

I have recently been working on some upgrades for the boat's headliner. A full video will be coming soon but in the meantime I thought that I would share the process that I have been using to spray the wooden strips.

The original headliner for the Grand Banks series of classic yachts was a sort of perforated vinyl material of the sort that might be found on a 1950's vintage Chevvy. Over the years this had suffered from rips and discoloration and I decided that it was well due for replacement. Apart from the general wear and tear I also wanted to upgrade the lights and add speakers for the stereo, neither of which would be possible without changing out the headliner. In short, I have gone for a painted wooden headliner which allows easy installation of the new lights and speakers. 

I wanted to paint the tongue and groove strips I had machined up before I installed them as painting them in place would be next to impossible. I could have painted them with a brush I suppose but spraying gives a far better finish and is faster once the necessary spray equipment is set up. Initially I did think about setting up some sort of poly tent in the garage but then by chance came across an 8 man tent for $100 in Walmart, far easier and almost cheaper than any home made contraption. The end farthest from the opening door has a ready made mesh winder which is perfect for a box fan. A  furnace filter stops the overspray from going everywhere and in all the tent works better than I could have hoped. The strips are more that 12 feet long and they fit easily inside the tent, plus once the job is complete I can pack up the tent into its bag and save it for next time. The pictures and video below give a flavor of just how capable the whole system is. For the actual spraying I'm using a Groco airless sprayer which, when correctly set up, produces almost perfect results.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gelcoat repairs

Here's a video that I recently did for BoatUS on gelcoat repairs. Gelcoat repairs are often seen as something of a black art and something that's best left well alone, gelcoat repairs are really not that complicated given the right tools, techniques, materials and mindset. Enjoy the video, and as ever I'd love to hear your comments.

 

Teardrop trailer and foam panels

 

Popular in the immediate post war years there has been something of a revival of late in teardrop trailers along with the whole idea of living with less. There are entire networks it seems on TV that promote the ideas of tiny living with families of 5 moving into a 250 square foot house. While that would be way too small for me, I do like the idea of the teardrop trailer and have been considering building one for some time.  Light enough to tow behind almost any car it seems that there would not be a lot of organization needed to get it hitched up and hit the road. I know friends that have large fifth wheel campers that refer to them as their land yacht. These behemoths are indeed impressive with large double beds, flat screen TV's, and kitchens larger than many have at home. But getting on the road for a short break takes a lot of effort and would be just too much work for a weekend. On the other hand the teardrop, by comparison, should be swift.

Although I could just go out and buy a new teardrop, and there are lots to choose from, half the fun would be building it just the way that I want it. Another reason for wanting to possibly build my own is that the quality of some of the commercially built ones are somewhat lacking. This does not apply to all of the trailers that I've looked at but on some the joinery work is below par. Also, and this is big one for me, they lack much in the way of insulation. Given that any trailer I own will get most of its use in the winter months, when I'm not out boating, it has to be warm and cozy. Being cold at night will take all the fun out of it and the trailer would likely be used far less. I've done a fair bit of camping during my life and being in bone chilling conditions when the mercury is below freezing is no fun at all.

So I've been conducting some tests and I've been making up some insulated panels that I think will work. Essentially these are constructed from a sandwich of two sheets of plywood with closed cell insulation in the middle–light and strong. On the other hand many of the home built teardrops seem to be built on a framework of wood along the lines of a stick-built house. There are several problems with this. It seems to me the trailer is heavier than it needs to be, and the insulation is sub-par as the wood framework causes thermal bridging vastly reducing the insulation factor.

I will carry on with the tests for now and let you know how things turn out, and if indeed I plan to go ahead with the build.

The image above is courtesy of tinyyellowteardrop.

 

Dinghy for Grand Banks

I think Charlie Doane and I must be on the same wavelength or something. Just as I sat down to write about dinghies I heard a ping and into my inbox popped a notification that on Wavetrain, Charlie’s blog, he had written about the veritable dinghy.

Like Charlie I favor the roll up type of dinghy. Seaglass has an ample lazarette in the cockpit sole, which swallows all sorts of stuff; fenders, spare parts, hoses, cleaning supplies, and yes, the dinghy as I dislike hanging the dinghy off the back on davits.

I’ve had and used a bunch of dinghies over the years, from small Avon’s with soft floors that always left you with wet feet, to high tech center console RIB’s that have served as tenders to large expensive yachts. I like a hard dinghy if possible, because if well designed they are a delight to row, thus providing good exercise and at the same time eschewing the need for an outboard. Some years ago I built an Eastport pram kit from Chesapeake Light Craft, which I still have. It’s a handsome craft to be sure and always seems to stand out above the run of the mill inflatable cousins when tied to the dock outside some waterside restaurant. The down side is that I don’t have space to stow the pram aboard Seaglass so it’s rarely used these days.

A dinghy is necessity for me as I spend a lot of time at anchor, so getting ashore at regular intervals to walk the dogs is but one of the duties that the dinghy is called upon to perform. The new 10-foot Zodiac that I now have is an inflatable RIB, in that it has a rigid double blow-up floor. This floor keeps feet out of any bilge water and thus shoes, if worn, remain dry and the rigid bottom allows the boat to plane easily when anything larger than a 9-hp motor is strapped to the plywood transom. It’s a great boat, which blows up easily with either a manual or an electric pump. Deflating it is easy to but it is somewhat awkward and unwieldy to handle when in its limp state. Thankfully the large, opening, lazarette on the Grand Banks swallows it whole with ease, even if I’ve never actually managed to get the boat back into the bag that it came in.

Charlie also made mention of a folding rib in his post and I do in fact have one of these early folding RIBs. The bottom section is in three sections made from glass fiber, with Hypalon tubes glued to the outside edge in the same way as a solid RIB is constructed. The boat is pretty nifty and can be rowed, used with an outboard, or sailed. In fact I still have the brand new unused rig that came with the boat. I’ve not tried it but it should be fun as instead of leeboard there is a proper dagger board and trunk. In fact I have it up for sale at $600 if anyone’s interested. It’s in Virginia stored indoors. Email or call me with any questions.

 

Do Fire Extinguishers On Boats Need To Be Inspected?

 

 

There is a lot of confusion surrounding the use, testing and inspection of fire fighting equipment on boats. The rules for commercial passenger carrying boats are different to those used in the recreational market and in summary these are that non-rechargeable extinguishers have a life expectancy of 12 years after which time they are replaced. There is normally a two number date stamped onto the bottom of the cylinder 16 for 2016, 98 for 1998 and so forth. After 12 years they need to be replaced. However they need not be inspected by anyone other than the boat owner to ensure that they are in correct and proper order. The full transcript is attached below in the PDF pulled from the USCG website. This standard and most of the others relating to fire are jointly drafted by the USCG and National Fire Protection Agency, often just called the NFPA.
However if your boat has an installed fixed system in the engine room then this can only be inspected by a certified person and must bear a tag showing the date, the inspectors initials and the certified company that he works for (these resemble old fashioned luggage tags).
Link to inspection requirements

As I mentioned the rules for commercial boats are more strict, and this includes skippers with a 6-pack license who occasionally charter their boats, these must be inspected by a certified person each year.

Canoe, Boatbuilding, or Art?

Although I've never met canoe builder, Philip Greene of Woodsong Canoes, I think I would like him a lot. Coming out of the navy where he was a sonarman on submarines he started building wooden canoes. But not just any canoes mind you, very beautiful and expensive canoes. Working from his workshop in the delightfully named town of Round O in South Carolina, Greene spends up to a year making each canoe. Many of which never make it to the water however, as they are purchased as works of art or family heirlooms, to be passed down from generation to generation.

Did I mention that they are expensive? If you want to order one be prepared for a wait as it seems that there  are more than enough well heeled paddlers beating a path to his workshop. If you want to place an order a $10,000 deposit will be required but expect to shell out anywhere from $70,000 to $155,000 in total for the boat of your dreams.

When one considers the time that goes into making these exquisite works of art the cost does not seem too bad. No seriously, think about it. If it takes 6 months to make the cheapest canoe which is 1,100 hours of work time, which equates to $63 per hour from which you then have to deduct the cost of materials, workshop overheads and so on it's really not overpriced. Even so I don't think I'll be buying one anytime soon.

 

 

Falmouth Quay Punt

From Timber To Tide from Pixillion on Vimeo.

Here's a great video about a young boat builder in Falmouth, England. What's interesting to me is that the boat featured is very similar to Mallard, my Golant Gaffer. The boat shown sailing is what's known as a Falmouth Quay Punt. I can almost smell the sawdust, makes me want to rush out to the workshop and start building something.

I'm indebted to my friend Glen Grauer who made me aware of this video.