Old town Trapper questions

Lucas

New Member
I recently acquired a 15’ Old Town Trapper. It has a clear fiberglass finish from the factory . It’s in pretty decent shape . First question , it has a few deep gouges into the cloth on bottom. Would it be okay to sand the bottom and apply a fresh coat of resin , applying extra coats where the scratches are ? Second , I want to refinish the gunwales , rub rail and the keel. On other boats (gunwales) I have always used tung oil . Should I sand these parts, to remove old varnish or use a stripper ? Thank you for any help. New to all wood boats .
 
You could probably add a little resin and not have a problem. The 'glass however, needs multiple coats of varnish to protect the epoxy from UV. Others will likely chime in.

Fitz
 
If the weave of the glass is exposed, you'll want to fill it with some epoxy, then sand & varnish, as you indicated. For the wood parts, it depends on how beaten up the finish is... pictures would help.
 
Thanks for the information everyone . For the varnish, what kind does everyone use ? Light sanding like 200 grit ? I’ll get some more pictures . This is the only one on phone .
 

Attachments

  • 9AF29E7B-5BB2-47F7-9642-6D16598ACCC1.jpeg
    9AF29E7B-5BB2-47F7-9642-6D16598ACCC1.jpeg
    209.6 KB · Views: 178
Extra fine, 220 or smaller grit.
"Everyone" has their own preference, but you wouldn't go wrong useing specialized marine spar varnish, such as Epifanes, Interlux, Helmsman, etc.
 
Back
Top