Rolling and tipping the topsides.

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
4 seasons is about the average lifespan I get out of one part enamel. Rough docking, dinghy deflection takes it's toll.

Time was tight this year so I did about 10% of the 90% of prep work I could have completed(I'll do a better prep job in 2021).

Painting my topsides has been a solo task in the past for me. For the first time, I enlisted help in the process. I was curious if someone rolling would be a benefit or detriment in a process that takes a certain knack.

It's all about timing, thinning and the weather conditions. I have to brag, my daughter is very capable with a paint brush but she has never roll and tipped anything.

With taping off of the toe rail and the bottom complete, the staging set on the port side, it was time to find out.

My secret paint recipe:

1 Quart Easy-Poxy Gloss White
1 Quart Easy-Poxy Semi-Gloss White(old hull with imperfections that a little Semi gloss helps to hide).
Interlux 333 Brushing Thinner.

Put the paint in a 3 quart pail and stir well. Then add the 333. How much thinner? It depends.

All I can say is, it's almost never enough to start. Plus, I can never remember when I over thinned(which would result in poor coverage).

Weather conditions: Probably the most important component of the process.

Saturday was overcast, cool (high 50's), light winds and a few drops of rain from the tail end of a front, were falling(we checked the weater radar), as we set up. The wet ground meant dust was low.

These were about perfect conditions (which has rarely happened in the past) to roll and tip a topsides, outdoors.

With a roller pan full, we were off: We started at the stern where I explained the process to Mary Jane.

She caught on quickly but we adjusted her speed and rolling method until timing was feeling right. Here we are at the 'waist' of the port side. She was taking photos to document.

This is the holy grail of the process: MJ has just rolled on about 2 feet of evenly distributed paint(air bubbly patch in front of me).

I brush the paint in a checkerboard pattern (my preference), and finish with complete light strokes from toe rail to bottom tape. The cove stripe gets extra tipping as it can catch paint that will sag and run.

Roll and tip- Tipping the roller stiple off (1 of 1).jpg


Roll and tip- One side finished, MJ tapping stem crop (1 of 1).jpg

The stem area is 'extreme boat yoga'. It's beyond my 6' reach so I have to dismount the staging to tip the lower area. But finishing the stem is followed by a nice breather in the process.

MJ is applying the bottom tape(I forgot), while I move the staging to the starboard side. We take our time - get a drink - use the fishermen's 'blue house'(porta-potti), etc. I also thin the mix a bit more as the paint tends to thicken with time and air exposure.

When we're good and ready, we take off down the starboard side:

Rolling tipping duo 2 (1 of 1).jpg


My wife took some shots for me as well. On the starboard 'waist', we're cruising now!

Here's a shot of the critical staging. Staging makes all the difference in any task (I'm a builder), especially boat work.

Roll and tip- staging at the boats waist (1 of 1).jpg

We wrapped it up. The actual time to roll and tip this 38.6" hull, was 2 1/2 hours. It's an intense time though. I resist looking too far back as you'll only make a blemish worse at this point.

So we cleaned up and took a well deserved sail on her brothers boat in the harbor. It was fantastic! Light 5 knot Northerly breeze, his boat is very nimble an had us hitting nearly 5 knots at times.

Sailing break cooled (1 of 1).jpg


An hour later, we sailed young Tom's boat into the docks, and checked out our work.

The paint 'flowed out' extremely well in the cool moist air, for a very smooth finish. Brush marks were the lightest I've ever seen on the hull, I was pleased with the results.

Best quality roll and tip to date for me, as well as the fastest.

Two are better than one when it comes to roll and tip.

Roll and tip- checking on drying (1 of 1).jpg
 
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Todd D

.
Jul 4, 2012
28
Allied Princess Southwest Harbor
Nice work. I am doing the same thing today and tomorrow on my wooden boat. I took yesterday off of boat work to go sailing.
 
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Feb 11, 2017
108
Gulfstar 47 NC
Very nice. I think you has an excellent plan. Good help is hard to find. I love doing my own work.
 
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TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
Nice work. I am doing the same thing today and tomorrow on my wooden boat. I took yesterday off of boat work to go sailing.
Thanks, Todd. The inspiration for a lot of my old boats maintenance, has come from observing the wooden boats at the yard on our harbor.

Many of those yachts get a topside coat every spring - brushed on one part enamel - as part of their maintenance program.

When that topside is coated every season, the process is not labor intensive. The existing paint bond is strong, the hull has been faired over many seasons, a light sanding (and skilled brush work), is all they require.

Conversely, the method for most older glass boats has been to under go a full 2 part paint system. Very labor intensive - indoor - and costly. But that coating can last for more than a decade(but it can also show it's age in less time). Sooner or later, it has to come off, and that can be a nightmare(I know).

With an old glass boat like mine, it's hard to justify an investment of 1/3 or more of the value of the boat on a temporary coating(all coatings are temporary).

So I go with this topsides painting method. If you have a critical 'yacht eye' for your old glass boat, you'll have to spring for the full indoor 2 part treatment. But I'm happy with the slighty less quality I get from my prep and paint.

Back to wooden boats and their ancient treatment with brushed on enamels. They can achieve (with the skill and or investment) an absolute 'new' look, every spring. I can attest many of these old boats are the newest looking boats in our harbor.

In time, I think old fiberglass boat owners will adopt this older system of maintenance. With a pro awlgrip job of say 20k for a 60's-70's 40 footer, that won't make sense. And you can live in denial about the look of faded gelcoat, for only so long.
 
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Feb 11, 2017
122
former Tartan 30 New London, CT area
Well done - teamwork is the key. Well, as long as one of you doesn't knock the other off the staging! My boat needs the same treatment - it's past time. Wonder if I can heel it a bit in the slip and do it in the water?
 
Jan 12, 2016
268
Hunter 410 Ladysmith, BC
Beautiful work. Working along the scaffolding must have been good fun.

We did a fibreglass dingy years ago to see if we wanted to attempt a roll/tip on our 32' Bayfield after. Dingy turned out great, but we ended up doing a cut polish on the big boat as the amount of work required to get a great finish was more than we wanted to deal with for just a colour change. (Glass was still in good shape.)
 
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PaulK

.
Dec 1, 2009
1,223
Sabre 402 Southport, CT
You only get 4 years from that much effort? The prep for 2-part polyurethane is essentially the same as what you do for the enamel. The cost for 2-part is more, but not that much more. I did our decks with 2-part (and a LOT more masking, of every port, track, shroud, cleat, block and winch) and it lasted for about 12 years before now needing a re-do. (My children were too young to help at that point.) If you're able to get such a nice finish on the topsides with 1-part you should be able to achieve the same with 2-part and not have to do it again for a LONG time. Of course you do have the bonding time with your daughter, but 4 years from now she'll be looking for work in Boston or Seattle, not wanting to wield a paintbrush. Too late now. Perhaps your younger child can help with the 2-part next time?
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
You only get 4 years from that much effort? The prep for 2-part polyurethane is essentially the same as what you do for the enamel. The cost for 2-part is more, but not that much more. I did our decks with 2-part (and a LOT more masking, of every port, track, shroud, cleat, block and winch) and it lasted for about 12 years before now needing a re-do. (My children were too young to help at that point.) If you're able to get such a nice finish on the topsides with 1-part you should be able to achieve the same with 2-part and not have to do it again for a LONG time. Of course you do have the bonding time with your daughter, but 4 years from now she'll be looking for work in Boston or Seattle, not wanting to wield a paintbrush. Too late now. Perhaps your younger child can help with the 2-part next time?
I've even re-painted after 3 seasons, because it's an easy task. In most cases the 2 part would make more sense.

But with my hull that's been painted for many decades, it makes more sense for me to use the one part. Knowing I'll be doing it again in 4 years, I can be lax on my prep work.

It's little more work than a compound and wax and gives a nice new-looking topsides. You could go longer between coating(I'd have to be more careful). I think this is a good solution for very old boats (50 yrs).

And consider this: The worst project I've had to do to date (nearly 20 years of ownership) on this old boat, was to remove the failed Awl-grip coating shortly after I bought the boat. That task was epic,...It let go at the bond to the hull. All coatings fail at the bond, eventually.

My daughter works in Manhattan. She's doing so well, I wouldn't be surprised if she has moved back to Maine, in 4 more years. :)
 

Todd D

.
Jul 4, 2012
28
Allied Princess Southwest Harbor
I painted the starboard topsides of my 1936 wooden boat this afternoon. The video describes my method. It is an easy single handed job.

 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
That's great to see your method, Todd. How often do you paint the topsides and what paint do you use?
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
A beloved boat, new or old, becomes a part of a family. Our old boat is a piece of our family history. Taking care of CHRISTMAS, is a labor of love.

Our son applying the stars to the transom in 2002.
TT applies stars 2002 (1 of 1).jpg

And this week, 15 years later.
TT applies stars 2017 (1 of 1)-2.jpg

Launched 2017 (1 of 1).jpg