looking after my Enterprise
Discussion
Joined a sailing club on a local reservoir last year, did a RYA level 1. Then bought a cheap and cheerful Enterprise for £350. Its half wood, half grp and in reasonably good nick.
The side deck and fore deck around the mast are starting to look a little weathered - guy at the club said just get some cheapo varnish, give it a sand etc. Also, just behind the forestay/bow, the cover doesnt quite protect it enough and rain over the years has started to rot thru the top plywood. I think it just needs chiselling out and some filler
Im not a much of a DIY person but want to give it a go over summer - What tools, grits, varnishes and filler do people suggest?
The side deck and fore deck around the mast are starting to look a little weathered - guy at the club said just get some cheapo varnish, give it a sand etc. Also, just behind the forestay/bow, the cover doesnt quite protect it enough and rain over the years has started to rot thru the top plywood. I think it just needs chiselling out and some filler
Im not a much of a DIY person but want to give it a go over summer - What tools, grits, varnishes and filler do people suggest?
how much effort you put in depends lot on how nice you want it to look.
you could sand / strip all the old varnish off and start again from the wood. once you are down to bare wood dark staining can be reduced with oxalic acid. I would not recommend cheapo varnish as it never lasts. for best results on an older boat epifanes clear high gloss varnish, thinned for the first couple of coats - probably need 5-6 coats for a good cover.
for the damaged section, it might look a lot better once stripped and bleached with oxalic acid, but it the fibres area bit fragile a few coats of bonda wood hardener may be helpful - if its gone too far then gently chisel away the layers of ply thats gone bad and fill with filled epoxy. hers a few pics of my scorpion which had suffered similar before I got it
filled with West epoxy and 410 fairing filler
then covered with a patch of carbon fibre effect helicopter tape
in terms of tools, start with 60 grit and work up to 320 ish - you can use a random orbital sander, but go steady and you can burn through a ply if you are not careful. chemical stripping would be other option.
once you are varnishing if you recoat the epifanes in about 24hrs it doesnt need prepping between coats, but you would want to de nib flat between the last 2-3 coats.
get a decent brush, and use a tack cloth before varnishing
you could sand / strip all the old varnish off and start again from the wood. once you are down to bare wood dark staining can be reduced with oxalic acid. I would not recommend cheapo varnish as it never lasts. for best results on an older boat epifanes clear high gloss varnish, thinned for the first couple of coats - probably need 5-6 coats for a good cover.
for the damaged section, it might look a lot better once stripped and bleached with oxalic acid, but it the fibres area bit fragile a few coats of bonda wood hardener may be helpful - if its gone too far then gently chisel away the layers of ply thats gone bad and fill with filled epoxy. hers a few pics of my scorpion which had suffered similar before I got it
filled with West epoxy and 410 fairing filler
then covered with a patch of carbon fibre effect helicopter tape
in terms of tools, start with 60 grit and work up to 320 ish - you can use a random orbital sander, but go steady and you can burn through a ply if you are not careful. chemical stripping would be other option.
once you are varnishing if you recoat the epifanes in about 24hrs it doesnt need prepping between coats, but you would want to de nib flat between the last 2-3 coats.
get a decent brush, and use a tack cloth before varnishing
Edited by sawman on Wednesday 31st May 14:20
I owned an enterprise when I was about 16/17 back in the mid 90's, was a great boat and while they're not fast by todays standards I think they still sail very well.
In terms of repair, have a think about using epoxy. it will add some strength and protection and can look pretty good too. This is a bulkhead I built recently for my boat and coated it with special finish west system epoxy.
For UV protection you would need a coat of varnish on top too.
In terms of repair, have a think about using epoxy. it will add some strength and protection and can look pretty good too. This is a bulkhead I built recently for my boat and coated it with special finish west system epoxy.
For UV protection you would need a coat of varnish on top too.
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