Valspar

 17 Dec 20: 

We used Valspar oil based enamel for the coating on BARBASHELA, with the thought that the oils would be good for the wood.

We were surprised to find out recently that Valspar has been around since 1806 and they were the developers of the first clear varnish in 1903. It was also a surprise to find out that when NC-4 made its historic Trans-Atlantic flight in 1919 her propellers were varnished with Valspar.

We recently acquired this advert from The Saturday Evening Post, dated November 6, 1920.

We were able to choose custom colors with Valspar for BARBASHELA, to match the bits of color we discovered during her restoration. Swiss Coffee, Whipped Apricot and Mark Twain House Brown. The paint still looks great 4 years later.

Barbashela Log 13 Sep 16

13 Sep 16:

Countersunk and pilot drilled #10 silicone bronze screws through the batten.

The keel btten is 4 inches wide and 15/16th of an inch thick. We scarfed them together using a 2:1 scarf. The 4 inch wide batten matches the witness marks we found when assessing Barbashela's hull planks.

We filled the screw holes with Pettit EZFair. We chose EZFair because it should be easier to remove than full strength epoxy should we need to repair a section of the boat at a later date. Another option woild have been to plug the holes with cypress plugs.

Need more paint. We considered one and two part marine epoxies, but they would not have been available in the colors that we needed. A good alternative is an oil based pain or alkyd enamel, it conditions the wood, penetrates better and provides protection in an outdoor environment. We found that Valspar had alkyd enamel and we could get it tinted in many colors at our local Lowes. The colors chosen match the original colors that we found hidden under years of dirt and multiple layers of grey and green paint. We surmised that the boat had been painted to match the Beauvoir house during later years, as it had a similar grey base with green trim scheme. Another interesting aside is that the original colors we found on Barbashela match many of the colors used on Captain Leathers' steamboat Natchez, white, butter yellow, oxide brown and ruby red....Spoiler Alert! Barbashela will have her name in red on the bow, as it appears in her 1921 photo :)

The colors we found in Valspar Ultra alkyd enamel satin were Whipped Apricot and Swiss Coffee.

The other paint we used was Valspar Armor Anti-Rust enamel, Lowes was not able to mix the Mark Twain House Brown in the Ultra base. Armor is also oil based.

Click here for Barbashela's full story.

1950s Alcort Sailfish "Winnie"

Our friend spotted an Alcort Sailfish for sale up in NY, and he thought we might want it. So he bought it and brought it down to us during his annual Florida run. We in turn bought it from him and also scored a mast and spars for another restoration project on a Sunfish. Her name is Winnie.

The Sailfish is just under 12 feet long and it has a 65 sf sail. The spars measure 11'7" and it has a tiny rudder. This boat was taken apart for refinishing but the previous owner lost interest....17 years ago. It is in great shape and we'll get to it as we finish up on Barbashela and St. Jacques.

The bare hull weighs 92 pounds, came with all the parts. Just needs caulk and paint, yellow paint that is, like she was originally.



Alcort Sailfish logo.jpg

Kind of like a kit boat!

Rudder mechanism.

1950s Alcort Sailfish mast step and bow handle after a little teak oil, vinegar and metal polish.

Yep those are bronze rivets.

Check out that mast and wooden spars.

18 May 16: Winnie has her first top coat of Valspar Ultra 4000 Alkyd Enamel, Whipped Apricot. She will remind us of Barbashela. So much so that we decided on her final name, "Winnie."

19 May 16: Skipper loves Winnie, can't wait to get her on the water.

65 sf of sail, 11'7" long, 3' beam, 92 pounds.

65 sf Sailfish sail over a 75 sf Sunfish sail.

21 May 16: Winnie went to the Bagdad Riverfest with Zip. Notice where we painted the sides with Rustoleum Topside Oyster White and added an oak rub strip, stained and sealed with Minwax Polyurethane Mission Oak, attached with #6 brass screws.

23 May 16: Skipper takes Winnie out for the first time in many years. Nice light wind day for a test sail.

to be continued...