Viaggio Maritime
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Viaggio Maritime is a full service company that works on yachts of varying shapes and sizes. We pride ourselves on our extensive knowledge of the maritime industry based on our many years of experience in the industry. Viaggio Maritime specializes in: yacht management, delivery, maintenance and system installations. In addition, we also provide vessel handling instruction, crew training, consultation, cleaning and organization.
We have locations in Seattle, WA and Portland, OR and travel the entire west coast from Mexico to Alaska. Please feel free to contact us for any questions you may have or to weigh in on our posts.
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Here is an article that I received a few days ago and I thought I would pass it along to everyone. This is great news! Make your charter reservations ASAP. I think the boats are going to be quickly once word of this gets out. Hopefully this trend will continue well into the future.
| Editorial |
| They’re back, baby! |
 West Coast salmon fishermen are eagerly anticipating a huge season this year with the number of kings estimated at 1.65 million — that’s triple the highest estimate in almost 30 years, since the Pacific Fishery Management Council began its forecasts.After three years of shutdowns and a modest season in 2011, this kind of comeback has locals salivating for fatty pink fish and fishermen eager to get their gear wet come the start of the season on May 1.But fishermen are known for skepticism, so they’ll believe it when they see it. “It definitely gives one hope for a good season, but there are no guarantees,” said Duncan MacLean, of Half Moon Bay, to the San Jose Mercury News. And moreover, most people in the industry understand that this kind of resurgence is likely a result of wet winters and good ocean conditions.
U.S. fishery management is a noble cause, but we should never forget that Mother Nature is the ultimate boss. In the meantime, let us give thanks for the bounty we have in whatever form it comes to us. Happy Easter! Thank you for your time. |
*The above article is taken directly from an email sent to me and not altered in any way or represented as my own*
I know many of us don’t relish the idea of refinishing our woodwork annually (or whenever we get around to it), but I have a project (or 7) that I am working on that I thought was worth sharing. It is a simple project, but I think folks can learn from it and it will be easy to follow along with. This particular project is the seating out of a boston whaler. Again, simple, flat wood pieces that are easy to sand and varnish.
Step 1 – stripping the old varnish off
Sanded vs. greyed out handrail
Sanded handrail
If you wait too long to do the maintenance, you will need to strip the finish back down to bare wood. To do this, you will need a heat gun, scraper, sand paper (80 grit & 150+grit) and tack cloths. If the woodwork can be removed from the boat, I strongly recommend you do so. In instances where the woodwork is screwed onto the boat, this may be a good time to re-bed the screws and the project usually turns out better if you can work off the boat.
Once any woodwork is removed, use the heat gun and scraper to remove the old varnish. As you heat the varnish, small bubbles will form signifying the varnish is heated enough. IMPORTANT – do not let the varnish overheat and burn, as it will create a burn mark in the wood that will not come out. You will get the hang of scraping quickly and it should go quickly. Don’t worry about missing little spots here and there, there’s still plenty of sanding to do.
When you have completed the scraping, it is time to start the sanding. I recommend a sanding block. Depending on how much sanding you have to do, this will be helpful in the future. Start with you 80-grit and work your way along the entire piece. If you are doing a handrail that is any other shape than square, you will need to make sure to try to work evenly around the rail as to not create squared off, or flat, spots. I usually go back along the handrails with a piece of paper in my hand to knock any flat or high spots down, so don’t get frantic about it.
Once you’ve completed the rough sanding, jump up to the 150+ grit paper. I usually only use 2 grits to get to final. Typically my second sanding is with 220 grit to get the finish I want. After completing the sanding, wipe the piece down with a tack cloth. IMPORTANT do not use a rag with any type of thinner on it. This will cause bonding issues down the road and you will be repeating the aforementioned process long before necessary. Once you have wiped the piece(s) down, you are ready to start applying varnish
Step 2 – applying first varnish layers
2 coats of varnish
1 coat of varnish
For this portion of the process, you will need: a decent 2″ paintbrush (the size of the brush will depend on the size of your project), drop cloth, hangers for your pieces, teak oil & varnish (matte or glossy). In regards to the brush, just buy a decent one, no need for a$40 brush or anything crazy like that. If you take care of it, a decent brush will take you through an entire project easily.
Between coats, try to wait 24 hours to put on the next coat on. Preferably you will be able to do the actual varnish work in a dust free zone. When we get to the sanding portions, please try to do it in a different area to keep from having to re-sterilze your area.
Brush Care: We usually keep brushes in a diesel & gasoline mixture as opposed to cleaning them every day. Drill a small hole in the handle in order to keep the brush suspended in the mixture and leave until next use. When you want to use the brush, take it out and shake out the residual mixture. This will save you a ton of time and is worth the extra effort.
If you are working with teak (which most of us are), it is advisable to mix your 1st coat of varnish with teak oil. A 50/50 mix will help ensure a good bonding with the wood. The oil will soak down into the grains pulling the varnish with it. This coat goes on very quickly and dries with a matte finish. Do not be concerned, the following coats will take care of this. What you do need to be concerned with is running.
The thinning effect of the teak oil will make the varnish pretty thin and it will run if put on too thickly. Just make sure you go over the entire surface and smooth down any high spots. (this especially applies if you are not using hangers) After coat 1 (the 50/50 mix), you will start applying straight varnish.
The varnish alone will be fairly thick and your brush will leave brush lines in the varnish. Again, DO NOT panic. The lines will even out as long as it isn’t too cold. I would caution that you need to make sure to brush out any thick places or you will get runs after you leave.
Step 3 – Sanding
Finally…I have gotten back around to the blog. My apologies for leaving everyone hanging.
Once you get your 3 base coats on, you will want to LIGHTLY (with your 180+) sand the sheen off of the varnish. It will create a haze, which is fine. You will be able to see any runs or imperfections as those areas will be raised and you won’t be able to sand into the grooves that are created. Hopefully, you won’t have too many runs and the few you do have, will usually go unnoticed.
Once you have completed your sanding, wipe the project down with a rag, then your tack cloth to ensure all the dust is removed. Then apply your 1st coat of the second 3 coats.