Paint a Sailing dinghy?

Builder's Forum
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I have a 12’ sailing dinghy that my dad built in a boat building class in Oriental NC. He didn’t get to finish it before he died. Should it be painted or fiberglassed?

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Sorry for your loss. It’s a shame that he didn’t get to finish it, he did such a nice job with the portion that was completed. Almost every blemish turns into cobwebs or spider eggs when I zoom in. The fillets, especially, are really nicely done.

As far as the final finish, that’s up to the builder. That kind of boat would be OK with or without fiberglass on the inside and only the bottom glassed on the outside as long as it was properly epoxy coated before any paint or varnish was applied. Any clues what your dad had intended?

If that was my boat, I’d want to protect it, show off the excellent workmanship and keep my eyes from being dazzled by the sun reflecting off the inside during a long day on the water. Here’s how I’d accomplish all that:

  1. I’d put 4 ounce glass cloth on the seat tops, the mast partner and the interior floor. Those are the surfaces most likely to be scratched and dinged by people getting in and out of the boat, or dropping stuff (including heavy stuff like anchors).
  2. I’d put 4 oz cloth on all the outer surfaces, with 6 oz cloth on the outside bottom. I’d make it 2 layers of 6 oz on the outer bottom if I planned to be operating it on waters with rocky bottoms, concrete launch ramps, oyster shells, etc. The glass on the sides would provide protection when bumping into docks, other boats, etc.
  3. I’d varnish the interior and finish it off with the top 2 or 3 coats being satin instead of glossy. That would show off the workmanship and have a nice, eye-friendly, glare-free finish inside the boat. I’d also mix some clear polycarbonate non-skid additive into the varnish for the interior floor so my passengers and I wouldn’t be sliding and falling down on a slick wet floor.
  4. For the outside, once the exterior glass has its weave filled and is faired, I’d paint the entire exterior. Paint does a real good job of protecting the boat from UV exposure, lets you use easy-to-sand fairing compounds and makes any damage obvious so you’ll know when you need to make repairs.

That’s my thoughts, hope this helps,

Laszlo

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Thanks! That’s a big help. I’ve got someone interested in buying it but he doesn’t know what to do with it.