Minisail No 10

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aviateam
Posts: 52
Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2010 5:16 pm

Minisail No 10

Post by aviateam »

Just acquired Minisail Monaco 1 No. 10. Built at Bossoms Boatyard in c. 1960. Dry stored.
rsz_img_2507d-min.jpg
Mahogany ply convex foredeck, concave mahogany ply self bailing aft deck, bronze fittings and original blocks, missing original tiller and rudder.

Some tidying up and new rudder needed, but looks like fun to sail.
Last edited by aviateam on Mon Nov 26, 2018 5:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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trebor
Posts: 961
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 1:53 pm
Location: West Midlands

Re: Minisail No 10

Post by trebor »

Welcome to Minisail owning, you just need to be careful that you don't end up with half a dozen.
Have you thought about joining class association ?
minisail.org.uk
Robert
Minisprint 4230
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aviateam
Posts: 52
Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2010 5:16 pm

Re: Minisail No 10

Post by aviateam »

Just starting the renovation of MS10 and would really appreciate some CVRDA advice.

The boat is very sound, including the decks, but due to some discolouration in the varnish I will strip the deck back to bare wood.

In the process I don't want to cause any discolouration of the mahogany ply which is really beautiful, so am trying to decide whether it is best to use a heat gun or paint stripper.

Can anyone advise their thoughts and experience?

Many thanks
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MS10 a.jpg
Michael Brigg
Posts: 1663
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 7:11 pm
Location: Gosport, UK

Re: Minisail No 10

Post by Michael Brigg »

aviateam wrote: The boat is very sound, including the decks, but due to some discolouration in the varnish I will strip the deck back to bare wood.

In the process I don't want to cause any discolouration of the mahogany ply which is really beautiful, so am trying to decide whether it is best to use a heat gun or paint stripper.

Can anyone advise their thoughts and experience?

Many thanks
Obviously where you have the hull painted there is less concern about the underlying cou;or and this can help you experiment with the best wat (as long as the coloured parts hav'nt had too much undercoating.

For varnish I would stay away from a heat gn as this will scorh rhe would no matter how careful you are, and especially if you are dealing with a polyurethane. How hard you rub it down (or strip) depends on the varnish that is there and how you feel about an aged patina (the varnish tends to e darker and has a degree of opacity in older boats.)

You can give it a hard rubdown with 400grit and then do a patch test to see how a few top coats lift. If you like it, then thats OK, get busy with the longboard, and rub down until the wood is jst being tickled.

If you want a glowing fresh wood look (my personal preference) then get a smooth oil stone sharpening tool and a top quality triangular scraper and also a Hooked scraping tool.

You will need some stripper. If you can get hold of the old stuff (Dichloromethane base, only licenced for use by commercial users but who knows, that might change again with brexit) you must be sure you have a fully ventilated area to use it. It is said to have possible carcinogenic (liver) potential (when tested in high level exposure on Rats, but that hasn't stopped it from being used in industrial stripping or in its solvent properties to make to make (freeze dried) instant coffee!) so it can't be that bad in low level occasional use.

The alternative works quite well on natural varnish but barely scratches polyurethane. If you leave it for a full 10-20mins and sattack it with a razor sharp scraper (remember that oil stone and learn how to use it) you will get about 20 - 50 effective scrapes per sharp edge. Re sharpen and repeat.

You have a nice flat / single plane curve, and a relatively small area to deal with. If you stick at it you'll be ready to start prepping for varnish in a week. A sharp scraper (i cannot emphasise enough the importance of this) will scrape away a very thin layer of discoulored surface wood (about the same as if you rubbed down to bare wood with 400grit) so some loss of surface veneer is inevitable. I all honesty if you sail every season, this varnish will need a re-strip about once every 10 yrears, and will take about 5-8 strips before it needs replacing. a New deck every 50years sounds about normal even in a lght construction boat like a Minisail.

After stripping, rinse the wood thoroughly with white spirit.

Before on the Left: https://photobucket.com/gallery/user/mi ... nBn/?ref=1 After on the Right.
Michael Brigg
aviateam
Posts: 52
Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2010 5:16 pm

Re: Minisail No 10

Post by aviateam »

Thanks for the advice.
Finally made some progress on MS10.
Back to wood thanks to water based paint stripper Home Strip, scraper, and stainless scourer.
Fine sanding and three coats of marine varnish applied with 3 more to go.
Hull sanded back, faired and Epifanes Bootlak applied.
Still not 100% happy with hull finish so more fairing and more coats required.
Pleased with the way builders plate cleaned up.
MS10 CVRDA Min.jpg
MS10 CVRDA Min 1.jpg
MS10 CVRDA Min 2.jpg
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