Gary, I'll tell you, I've never kept a boat in a slip, so I'm sure someone else could be much more helpful about how to coat the rudder. I'd be inclined to mix wood sanding dust in epoxy to fill nicks. I used Poliglow on the hull. It was pretty easy to apply (although the faux lapstrakes don't help matters) and so far I'm happy with it, although I only applied it last spring so I don't know how I'll like it over the long term. Tod -----Original Message----- From: montgomery_boats-bounces+htmills=bright.net@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:montgomery_boats-bounces+htmills=bright.net@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of TOMMYVAL@aol.com Sent: Monday, January 24, 2005 2:33 PM To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: M_Boats: i'm confused by the . . . Tod/ M boaters Im am going to redo my rudder this spring. I keep the 17 in a slip so the rudder will be painted. Do I need to do anymore than just sand her smooth or do I need to varnish before she is painted. Also any ideas on what I might use to fill in the small nicks/scratches ? The plan is to: sand her smooth fill in where needed sand again apply bottom paint Does this cover it or did I miss something? Thanks for your help Gary also Tod What did you use on your hull, she looked good in Sept at the Hess Fest _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats