Bottom's up...

There is an art to everything and varnishing is no exception. My experience with varnish and a brush has been, at best, less than gratifying. I kept working at it figuring I'd get better, but it always seemed like one step forward and two steps back. I came to believe it was impossible to get a smooth and relatively dust free surface with a brush. When it was time to varnish the deck I toyed with the idea of using a spray gun, but reverted to the brush which seemed like the path of least resistance at the time. After a number of coats, six to be exact, I finally acknowledged my insanity, doing the same thing and expecting different results.

I have a twenty year old spray gun, high pressure of course, but still serviceable. So I went online looking for advice on spraying Epifanes varnish. I couldn't find much info, even at the product website. Lots of advice on brushing. One article indicated you must use Epifanes spray thinner to get the right results. Taking no chances, I acquired a quart of the spray thinner.

My initial concern was that my spray tip would be too fine for the varnish. My concern was unfounded and it took only a little experimentation to get a good spray pattern with the product thinned 50% at 32psi. As I sprayed on the first coat I kicked myself in the kester for not trying this sooner. What took an hour using the brush I can spray in ten minutes with way better results. All I can say is better late than never. I added three coats to the six applied by hand and called it good enough.

While the deck varnish cures the plan is to paint the bottom. It is time to get rid of the strongback. I cobbled together a cart with 2x6's from the local big box and added a carpet covered cradle matching the deck camber. With the help of a few strong friends and family members we extracted the boat from the garage.

 

We rolled the boat on an air mattress for added safety and lifted it onto the cradle. I was very pleased to find the boat was much lighter than expected.

My friends look at me incredulously when I tell them I'm painting the bottom, but they won't have to maintain all that varnish. As it is, the transom, deck, interior and stem are all bright and will require frequent maintenance. I'll be spraying the hull with Epifanes poly-urethane. Teal green, my wife's choice.