Wooden Chris Craft Boats

What is the best method for re-painting wooden boat hulls?

This is a 1961 chris craft... 25', mahogony planking (carvel I think) It appears to have lots of coats on it, but the wood seems to be solid. I have NO experience with wooden boats. I will be doing the work myself. The boat is currently on a trailer. Thanks much!

Support the boat safely by what ever means you have.

Strip the old coatings from the hull being carefull if you have antifoul. Antifoul contains various pesticides and often has copper or tin as the main active ingredient. The copper helps keep barnicles and growth of the hull as you go through the water (self ablative)

So now the hull is stripped back to bare timber, check for dry rot, rot, wood worm and any other problems that may be present. Repair any nail holes with a solventless epoxy filler and replace or repair any defective looking boards.

Sand the hull with a medium grade paper to get a clean and smooth suface.

Now there is two ways to go here;

1. Paint the timber with two coats of a marine primer. This is a primer that seals the timber and is able to be painted over with either a marine grade enamel or antifoul if it is moored.

2. You can go the polyurethane way by using a two part epoxy primer undercoat, that may be coated with antifoul while the primer is still soft. That is when you push your thumb nail into it, it leaves an impression of your nail. This gives the best chemical bonding between the antifoul and the primer to give you a longer period between antifouling.

Hope this helps

2007 Muskoka Wooden Boat Builders Tour