question on Preping cedar strip planked topsides

[Frozensurfer]

I'm about to start preping the topsides of my strip planked boat. So I thought I would ask SN for advise. I was going to scrap and sand all the loose and flaking paint off, and fair it in abit. Then use general wood primer for all the bare spots, then coat with two coats of poly-enamal paint.

Any suggestions?

What about some of the soft spots?
Just let them dry out? Or sand and fill them?

Thanks

[imagine2frolic]

What procedure was used to build the boat? Is it cold molded?.......i2f

[Frozensurfer]

It's inch and a quarter by inch and a quarter cedar strip planked laid on oak frames. Not cold moulded.

[klem]

When you say soft spots, are you referring to soft spots in the wood or paint? Any paint that might be likely to come off in the near future should be sanded or scraped off then primed and painted. If the wood is soft, you should repair it before the trouble spreads.

It will be hard to put a dutchman in planking stock of that width which means that it is a bigger project to replace any bad wood.

Otherwise what you propose is correct. Take the time to properly fair the hull up front. If the seams are not that tight, you may have to spend some time with putty.

[deniseO30]

Um.. My son and Used to build cedar strip canoes. From the little information you've given I'm assuming your boat is not covered in fiberglass? Are you sure it's cedar? It's awful soft wood for decks. Soft spots can be impregnated with an epoxy like "git rot" or just replace the plank. Anyway, you could treat the joints with a flexible caulk like sitka flex, make sure any caulk you use is paint able. Prime sand and paint like most woods. Cedar can "bleed" tannin into some paints, ck your primer's specs.

Pictures would be a great help!

[Frozensurfer]

The soft spots are small but in the planking, should I sand or grind it out and fill it with epoxy/filler to fair it in

[sailingdog]

Denise—

I think you mean SikaFlex, not Sitka Flex, though that would be a cool name for a caulk used on wooden boats...

[klem]

Originally Posted by Frozensurfer

The soft spots are small but in the planking, should I sand or grind it out and fill it with epoxy/filler to fair it in

Yes, you should address these now. If the spots are very small, then simply filling with thickened epoxy is okay. However, if the spots are large enough to make it feasible, it is much better to drill/route out the area and epoxy in a new piece of cedar. If you will be doing structural damage to the plank by doing this, then the best thing to do is to replace the whole plank.

It is up to you how picky you want to be on a project like this. Ideally, you would deal with every little spot but a lot of people are not willing to spend the time and effort and only tackle the major ones.

[sailingfool]

Originally Posted by deniseO30

.... It's awful soft wood for decks...

FWIW, the OP referenced "topsides" so he should mean the hull of the boat above the waterline...

[CaptGriffiths]

Paint does not go soft. Only wood does.
Assuming it is really dry, I would fill it with mass epoxy with the flight sanding fairing filler mixed into the epoxy.