New Dickerson needs advice

[Irish Mist]

Ahoy,

WE need advice from you “woodies”

Let”s get on the net. Has been quiet lately.

Here it is.

Restless.Jim
Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 5 Restoring a Dickerson 35

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Hello! I have been reading these forums for over a year while doing research on buying my first sail boat. I just returned from doing just that, I am now the owner of the 35′ Dickerson, Restless! I am looking for pointers and opinions on materials and methods to get her back into shape.

Here is what she needs: Hauled out, the hull and bottom stripped and repainted, new cushions in the interior, some minor repairs on the deck, new topside paint, and some other minor miscellaneous things.

She is a wood boat, with a fiberglass over plywood deck. I saw no signs of rot anywhere on the hull. The fiberglass part is easy (thanks little bro for getting a job at a fiberglass repair shop!). The shipyard where I’ll be doing the work doesn’t have air for airtools, so I need to do the work with electric power tools. I have worked all of my adult life as a building contractor, and as a hobby I restore classic cars, so doing the work and having the tools are not a problem.

Here are my questions:

What is the best way to strip the hull and prep it for paint? I was thinking 7″ grinder or belt sander with 36 grit (I do have enough experience with these tools to not destroy the wood), followed by block sanding with 80 grit. Thoughts?

What paint products have you used for the hull and bottom paint, specifically? I was thinking automotive grade polyester hi build primer, epoxy primer then single stage urethane. I’ve heard of people using house hold latex paint for this???

What material for the interior cushions? Cloth would seem more comfy and cooler to sit on, but vinyl would be more water and mildew resistant.

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Irish Mist]

Hi Restless Jim,

Great to have you on the Forum. I have a woodie 35 built in 1968. I used to paint the sides every year using Petit or interlux, But then made a good move by having sides painted with Awlgrip by a good painter. He did 2 coats and all I have done for 15 years is touch up. Last year I sanded it slightly and painted it with a light coat of Petiti using a roller. Did the whole sides in less than .5 hrs. Used a foam roller..

Sides still look great.

Paint bottom every 2 years with cleaning off years.

Where is your boat. We want to include you in our Dickerson boat Directory. Hope you can join DOA and would love to have you in our 35 race in our Oxford Rendezvous June 18-20. Check it out on the Web Site.

All the Best

Joe Slavin, Irish Mist

[Rainbow]

Hi Jim,

Note that Joe Slavin of the Irish Mist is indeed Irish, and this being St. Patty’s day you need to be careful about what he tells you.

I have been owned by a 35 foot wood ketch for 15 years. I used a sander to take it down to bare wood. I used 80 grit which took longer, but I was worried about taking too much off so it took a little longer. I followed up with 150 grit on the sander. After that, I used a flexible longboard with 150 grit and went over the hull by hand. You go over each area in an X pattern and then finish up legthwise. The strip plank hull responds well to this. After the primer, I used 220 to prepare for the top coat.

I’ve always used Interlux paint and now that they have the one part polyurethane I use that. Joe is right that the Awlgrip will last longer, but for me, the Interlux is something i feel comfortable with. Be sure to wipe down well with thinner between the coats.

The most important thing is to avoid painting in the hot part of the day. It takes about 3 hours with one person and a 3 inch brush to paint the topsides. So if you start around 8:30 after the dew has burned off, you should get good results.

Joe and I duke it out every year at the Rendezvous in Oxford and we would sure like another woodie to join us if you can. Randy Bruns of our group also holds a western shore event in the fall which is a lot of fun as well.

Hope we get to meet you in June.

Best of luck,

John Freal

Rainbow

[Irish Mist]

John,

What are your thoughts re keel bolts. Know anyone that has had problems

Dave is interested too.

See Keel bolt item.

Joe

[Rainbow]

I have not heard anything from anyone about keel bolt problems, except my friend with a three year old J109 who had to have warranty work done because the hull was cracking where the keel attached…

[Author]

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