> My daily Saga continues,

> My hull blanks are dry and ready. Unfortunately, I used Micro-bubbles as
> thickener and they have made my joints/seams very white. Even after
> sanding smooth they are visible. I was planning on staining my hull and
> not painting but I now wonder if painting will be my only option. I have
> seen a photo of a Ches. 17' from Santa Cruz that has a forest green hull
> and it looks good but I was hoping for the full wood appearance. Any
> suggestions? If you are near this stage in your own project, I have been
> told mixing in sawdust adds the colour you need to avoid my current
> problem.

> Cheers, Dan

Why not paint the hull and do a bright finish on the deck? It will cost you a bit more to buy both paint AND varnish, but not much. Buy pints instead of quarts. On the hull you'll get the benefits of paint: 100% blocking of UV on the hull when you store the boat hull up, scratches are less visible and easy to touch up, a harder surface than varnish, etc. Hull paints are available in all kinds of extremely durable bases: polyurethane, epoxy, etc. Probably you'll just need two coats of paint, so you'll save a bit of time here. I expect you were planning to seal the wood with a coat of epoxy resin before finishing with varnish.

It seems to me that if you used an epoxy-based paint and put on two coats you should have the same benefits but save the time and cost of the first layer of plain epoxy resin. Anyone who has used epoxy-based paints on bare wood boats night have more information on this. Of course if you are sheathing the hull with fiberglass fabric then you wouel need the epoxy resin anyhow.

On the deck you can display the natural wood look, where it will be most visible. The smaller surface area will make the varnishing and sanding go faster than doing the entire boat.

If you want to do a decoration on the deck you can use the same, or a contrasting, paint color as the hull.

For the interior of the boat you can use paint or clear epoxy resin as you see fit.

Whatever your color scheme for the boat -- take a few minutes to carry the idea through to your paddle, too. ``Racing'' stripes on the blades in a matching color to the hull, take just a second or two to apply if you put them on while you are painting the hull and they really dress up the entire package.

Just a few ideas

Paul Jacobson