I kept this thread because I was doing the same thing. I just finished putting on my 8th coat of epifanes varnish and am wondering how long I should wait till I put the rudder back together. Do I have to wait a week or so until it is FULLY hard? Or can I put it back together this Saturday and go for my first sail on my boat ever!? -Ted On Apr 21, 2012, at 1:02 PM, jerry montgomery wrote:
If you are going to trailer sail it, I'd sand it down and reshape it, then give it several coats of spar varnish.
If keeping it under water, sand it down and re-shape it, then several coats of epoxy; if you need antifouling, sand and prime the epoxy. It'll last all summer easily.
jerry ----- Original Message ----- From: "Howard Audsley" <haudsley@tranquility.net> To: "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2012 9:24 AM Subject: M_Boats: Rudder Finishes
I have the original solid mahogany rudder that came with my 1978 M17, but also have a fairly new replacement that I got from Bob E. and it is also of the solid mahogany type. The new one came with a clear finish that has help up for the past few years, but is now fading and needs to be touched up or replaced. The entire rudder was coated with this finish.
Almost ALL clear finishes specify they are not for use below the waterline. If the boat is trailer sailed, I presume a short dunking of a few days doesn't hurt and a person could use one of the polyurethane finishes such as Interlux Goldspar.....that is what I use on my tiller. Somewhere around 7 or 8 coats it starts looking like it was dipped in glass.
But if the boat is left in the water for weeks or months on end, what then?
For the old rudder, I sanded off all the finish and paint, repaired some damage, then glassed it to a few inches above the water line. That got several coats of epoxy over the glass cloth, and was then hit with a hard finish bottom paint. The problem with glassing it and sealing it up, if water ever does get in, it stays in.
So what is the recommended coating for these solid mahogany wooden rudders?
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