I used balua mahogany for the keel, keel strakes and splash rails. My thinking is that this wood is outside the ‘skin’ of the boat and much more likely to get some water into it. So I wanted a wood that was fairly tough and also rot resistant. This wood was VERY difficult to bend correctly on the keel at the bow and even the splash rails gave me a few fits – but I managed. I installed all of the pieces with 316 stainless screws. I realize that I could get crevice corrosion under certain circumstances, but I’m willing to deal with that when and if it happens. I did not use any UHMW on the boat. First of all because this is going to be used as a pleasure and recreational fishing boat. It should not be subjected to a lot of physical abuse and I will rarely beach it. If it turns out that I end up wearing any of those parts too much, the mahogany will make a good base to apply a thin piece of UHMW (3/8-1/2) on top to take the wear.

After completing all of the external hull glassing and installing the keel, keel strakes and splash rails, it was time to finish the hull. Since I used 2 layers of 10 oz cloth on the entire exterior of the hull ON TOP OF the required taping of seams, I had extra work to do to get everything perfectly smooth.

First I lightly sanded the entire hull with 60 grit. Then I applied another coat of epoxy to fill the cloth and get things smoother. I found that applying the epoxy with the West System epoxy rollers works best. Then every defect I could find was filled with fairing compound. I made a fairing compound that consisted of 3/4 phenolic microballons, 1/8 fumed silica, 1/8 wood flour which worked quite well. This was followed by a thorough sanding with 40 grit and then another coat of epoxy. (I shifted to 40 grit once the cloth was well covered with epoxy. The epoxy layer is thick and hard and the 40 grit helped cut through it to speed up sanding *somewhat* - it still took about 4 hours to completely sand the hull *once*). Some more fairing, another sanding and then a final coat of epoxy. When sufficiently cured, this was also sanded smooth with 40 grit.

I chose to use System-3 2-part epoxy primer and 2-part LPU paints to finish my Jumbo. System-3 has a good reputation and provides a very tough finish. Upon opening the can of primer, I found that the contents had settled so solidly at the bottom that I had to use a large screwdriver just to get it off the bottom of the can. Then I put the can into the professional type paint shaker I have and ran it for about 5 minutes. This worked well. It would have been a long process to get THAT stuff mixed in if I had to do it by hand. I think this can must have sat around a long time. I measured out 32oz of the primer and added the 8oz of epoxy to it. This is where the really strange stuff started happening. Shortly after mixing in the second component, the whole batch of paint gets REALLY thick! You thin this with a GOOD amount of 50% Isopropyl alcohol and water to get it back to a moderately thin consistency.

I wanted to get as smooth a coat as possible, so I applied the 1st coat of primer with a good foam roller. This turned out to be a mistake, but since I had never used this stuff before, it took me until the 3rd coat of primer to get it sorted out. First off, the primer surface dries almost instantly. So its impossible to roll and tip. You simply roll out a small area and leave it. Unlike an ordinary paint, it’s a little while AFTER you apply it that the paint flows out really well. You have to leave it alone. Trying to touch it up only makes things worse. As it dries, the paint reduces in volume, so any runs or roller marks are quite a lot smaller. It turns out that the foam rollers were causing most of my troubles. On the third coat, I used a very high quality ¼” knap roller and the difference was like night and day. Spraying would have been good, but I do not have a sprayer that can spray this stuff and I didn’t want to learn on my boat.

I sanded between each coat of primer with 100-150grit depending on how soon after I could get to it. You see, this primer is water based, but it has an epoxy in it as well. After the initial drying, it starts to cure. Each day you let it cure, its that much harder to sand. I understand from others that it’s a bear to sand if you let it cure fully.

After the 3rd coat, I sanded to get rid of all bumps and the roller stipple. The hull is almost perfectly smooth with very few surface defects remaining – this is nice. Now it can cure as hard as can be. Its all sanded now and the next time I touch it I will be applying finish. This I won’t do until the boat is pretty much completed sometime late next summer.

You can see in the pictures that I left the mahogany splashrails natural. I did this just for fun at the spur of the moment. When the time comes, I really do think I’ll paint them the same color as the hull, but one never knows. At least this way, I have the option of keeping them natural.