Ready to finish

I used some epoxy-based wood sealer on the exposed plywood on the Black Sheep. For good measure, I used the rest of it on the new stern post.

The stuff I used is actually meant to stabilize rotten wood but it should be fine for my purposes. It comes in two parts with a warning that it will heat after they are combined. When used in temperatures above 70 degrees they recommend that it be chilled first. Otherwise it might melt the container within 20 minutes.

I didn't notice any real heating but I had it applied well before 20 minutes. It is very thin so that it will soak into the wood. It is almost the consistency of water. I used a paint brush with it to be sure that everything was evenly coated and that it got into all of the plywood.

The directions say to give it 24 hours to cure. The coat on the post was still sticky after 12 hours. The plywood seemed dry. To be sure, I will give it more 36 hours and wait until Saturday for the next step. This will be using thicker epoxy and screws to fix the post in place.

While I have the boat at home I will try to give it a new coat of paint. The flooring especially needs it. The interior of the boat itself is in good shape but the flooring had lost a lot of paint. The exterior has several scrapes and the waterline is permanently discolored.

Two years ago I was able to paint the boat quickly so none of this should be difficult.