Turning Fiberglass into Wood

I like the the blues I said - So do I-she said - make it blue!

Whats wrong with this picture?  For one thing its too sterile, besides being awash in blue, it has no personality .  Since adding real wood was beyond my skill set, risk tolerance and time line I resorted to the cure of most ills; another coat of  paint.  OK, many coats of paint.

MAKING A MESS IS WHAT I DO BEST

 Not just any paint will do the job I had in mind.  It has to be artist's quality professional level to maintain the most basic of sailboat maintenance requirements-  It has to be expensive!

The real reason though is that professional level artist paint has no fillers.  That means you can mix colors accurately.  It's not easy-as any artist will tell you- art is a very painful thing. .

It's easy to attach the trim- just use a paint brush!

I have to do some work on the trim pieces but so far I really like the effect.

SV HIDEAWAY PORT SIDE WOOD FINISH

I used the rough surface to add color and texture to the  FiberWood.  Like most things in this world, it looks better from a distance.  Yes, I see the port has some paint on it- I don't claim to be neat! I can remove the blemishes later. 

SMALL BOATS ROCK!!

 

Custom Wood Photo Cube by MACmedia
Look at other Vacation Photo Cubes at zazzle.com
We've sold several of these as gifts for Mother's Day
Just add your own photos/art- It's easy- I did it!

It Is What It Is - Com-Pac 23 Refit Update

FORWARD CABIN COMPAC 23

It the beginning of the refit I had a notion to update hull #2 to a more current version of the Com-Pac 23. It should be relatively easy I reasoned since the hull and house of all CP 23s are made from the same mould after all. Perhaps all I need do is cover up the rough parts below with wood and plastic and voila  I'd have a older version of the 23 that at least looks younger.

A Nautical Fountain of Youth

Its not so easy though. The early boats were not designed to have a fine finish. The cabins are, to be kind, rough.  So rough in fact that any attempt to cover the cabin house walls with wood panels require either grinding down the fiberglass errors or shimming out all six ports.  Add in the strange peeling of the  cabin top limits any significant improvements.

Like Her Owners, HideAway is Getting Old

We both look better from distance and we are both of work boat decor.   HideAway at least can be made to look much younger with some paint, fillers and some new parts.  Can't make the same claim for us though.

What's More Important: Yachting or Sailing?

I'll admit the new boats have much nicer looking cabins filled with wood cabinetry and the slide out galley and an actual table stored below.  Though, if you look at it  through black and white eyes much of the cabinetry makes comfortably sleeping in the main cabin near impossible for normal sized Americans.   And this normal sized American is not going to sleep where you go - if you get my sniff.

Add in our concerns of cooking below decks, the utility of coolers and practicallity of  hatch boards as tables, then the newer cabin interior looks great but has some functional issues..Either that or we have just adapted to the work boat decor environment of less is truely less and would be lost within the luxury of the yacht like improvements.  

The Sailing Fun Factor Does Not Change

The cool thing about mass produced fiberglass boats is that they are all essentially the same hull and topsides. That means low numbered hulls will sail with the same vigor as the new.  Albeit not as shiny and yacht like.

So, my friends the HideAway is what it is and we rather like it that way.

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SMALL BOATS ROCK!!

Your Custom Bottle Cooler
by SailingHideAway

Sv Hideaway Zazzle stores help make slip rent!

Thank You!