Penobscot 14 -- anyone paint the inside?

[Charles Neuman]

I go back and forth as to whether my next boat will be Flapjack, or Penobscot 14. This week it's Penobscot 14. I notice that most people finish the inside bright. It makes sense to do so. With the stringers slicing through the seats, I can't imagine a way to paint the inside but leave the seats finished bright and have it look nice.

But here's an idea: I think it would work if you painted the inside bottom up until the stringer that goes just under the seats. Maybe leave the centerboard trunk finished bright. Everything above the stringer that goes just under the seats is finished bright. Everything below that is painted, perhaps white. The exception would be when the stringer passes through the seats and comes out on top -- that part would be finished bright. An advantage of this would be that it will disguise the white port covers for the flotation chambers.

I'm curious if any Penobscot 14 owners would think that would work.

I'm concerned about the maintenance of so much bright finish. Arch Davis said if you keep it covered when not in use and maintain it BEFORE it needs doing, you should be alright. Any feedback from Penobscot 14 owners, or anyone else?

Thanks,

Charles

[ 01-30-2004, 04:52 PM: Message edited by: Charles Neuman ]

[Railmeat]

I'm currently building one of these. I've thought much about about what I'm going to do with the inside. I don't think I've ever seen a paint/varnish scheme such as the one you describe. I may or may not finish the inside bright, depending on the severity of my mistakes that would require hiding under paint. My greatest concern is temperature. I never hear any discussion of it, but when I was a lad I had an 8-foot pram with varnish mahogany ply seats, and the sun would heat those suckers up to the point where they were unbearable to sit on. Whenever I would change tacks and have to sit a different side, I would splash water all over the seat first to cool it down so I wouldn't burn the rump.

Anyway, your proposal is unique, and worthy of consideration. I am nearly to the point of rolling the hull over and starting on the inside work, so it's something that I'll be dealing with soon.

Don

[Steve Lansdowne]

On my Whisp I choose to leave some pieces (seats, oarlock risers, mast step) bright but to paint most of the inside. That way, the bright parts really stand out and look extra good.

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

I didn't build my Arch Davis Sanddollar to get a reaction out of others, but it is a (sigh...) ;) necessary byproduct when launching the boat.

The interior is finished entirely bright and I love it. My relatives nearly had a fit when I painted the exterior since they felt that, "Hey it's a wooden boat and it should look wooden!" With a bright finished interior there is no doubt as to it being wooden though. The ash stringers, seat risers and gunnels contrast nicely with the Meranti ply and the red oak seats look terrific.

It is only a year old so I can't speak to the upkeep but it can't possibly be as time consuming as building the boat was. :D Actually I'm looking forward to maintaining the interior as it gives me something to putz with.

As to the exterior, I'd paint it. When scratched up it is a snap to go over with a quick couple coats and it's as good as new.

Keep us posted on your progress. I enjoyed the building of it more than actually having completed it and I am not a woodworker type. Good luck!

"Life is an adventure - partake."

[Charles Neuman]

Here's one with a painted interior:

http://www.millermarinesystems.com/images/784983-R1-24.jpg

I didn't think it would look good with the stringer passing through the seat, but it's not that bad.

More pics at:
http://www.millermarinesystems.com/penobprogress2.html

[ 02-01-2004, 09:31 AM: Message edited by: Charles Neuman ]

[almeyer]

I debated about whether to finish the interior bright or paint it; and decided that my woodworking skills (particular how well the plank scarfs looked) would make the decision for me. After 2 coats of clear epoxy as Arch Davis recommends, it didn't turn out looking that bad, so I'm going to go ahead and finish it bright. If luck holds, hope to have it in the water by late spring, then build the sail and be able to sail it in the late summer or fall timeframe. Mine is going to be stored in a garage most of the time, so I don't see maintenance upkeep as that big an issue. With all the time and effort I'm putting into it, I didn't want to leave it out in the weather. If you do have to refinish it, the maintenance should be a little easier since you've got varnish on top of epoxy and won't have to sand down to bare wood. Just my thoughts.

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

Consider this too - white may not be the best color to paint the inside if you do paint it. Why? In sunlight on the water it can be absolutely blinding .

[Paul Scheuer]

How 'bout a coat of varnish, and if it looks goofy, then paint. The next owner, or your grandchildren, won't have to pick the paint out of the pores if they want a bright interior.

I'm curious about the stringers passing throught the seats. To me it looks like the seat risers should follow the lap lines. In the bow-on view, it looks like they would be seriously high in the stern, but in the profile view on the web page, it looks about right. The Columbia/Catspaw has risers that follow the laps, as does the Yankee Tender. They don't have stringers at the laps, but I think the visual effect, as it relates to the sheer, is the same.

Disclaimer - I'm no NA, and just barely a builder, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Nice looking boats, there.

[hbrochs]

I am building the Penobscot 14 also. Its been very enjoyable so far. I'm half way done with the planking. I was concerned about the white port-hole covers also. I found nice brass ones by searching with the term "deck plate", several supply houses carry them. I am planning on finishing the inside bright, regardless of all of my errors. Good luck.

-Howard

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

Charles:

Give this a try: Go to the "My Boat" section on the Wooden Boat Home Page and click around in there for a half hour or so. There are some pics of the interiors of boats that may help you decide. Hope this helps!

[Charles Neuman]

I have gone through all my old WB magazines and looked at MyWoodenBoat and some boat websites. I have concluded that this boat really needs to be finished bright inside.

I was really inspired by the nice boats at the site greatwoodboats.com (http://greatwoodboats.com). Here is an example:

http://greatwoodboats.com/whit-04.jpg

That's not the Penobscot 14, by the way. I just really like how those boats look.

One concern I have is that the Penobscot 14 is a popular boat, and I don't want to have a boat that looks exactly like everyone else's (assuming I can build it to look as good as everyone else's). Instead of doing something silly like paint the interior, I think I might do something more subtle to make it my own.

As for the deck plates, I saw those bronze ones, and they look like they would look good. I know someone who made a wooden hatch cover that did the trick, too. So I think there are options there.

Charles

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

Charles:

Here is an idea to make your 14 "your own" so to speak. I made a horrid error on my Sanddollar and ended up with a wide gap between the seat planks at the center of the boat where they, in fact, should have met. After my visit to the moaning chair (again) I decided to make a wooden insert to fill the wide 3" gap in the rear seat and the front seat.

Here is what made it look custom. The planks are red oak front and back but the inserts are made from Padouk wood. It is actually used a great deal for boat building in South America and is the most bizzare wood I've seen. When first cut it is as orange as a pumkin but after exposure to direct sun for a week turns deep mahogany.

So I just drove around at work with these two inserts on my dashboard for a week and then epoxied and varnished them. I put them in place and they make great accent pieces. In fact, I liked the look so much that I tossed away my quarter knees that had been red oak and made them of Padouk also. Nobody has any idea that these wonderful accent pieces are the outgrowth of a terrible mistake and they truly add to the look of Dawn Marie.

[ 02-08-2004, 05:14 PM: Message edited by: Captain Pre-Capsize ]

[almeyer]

Charles,
Don't worry, your boat will be your own. Since these boats are all built by individuals rather than cranked out by a factory, each boat will have subtle differences due to the builder's tastes.
For instance, I balked about the plastic access covers, so took a lesson from Iain Oughtred's book and made some wooden ones instead. Look much better on a wooden boat and the size specified for the rear bulkhead was a little too large anyway. I also wanted a small storage locker but saw the wisdom about not using the floatation chambers for this purpose, so I added a bulkhead either side of the forward thwart, cut a hinged door in the middle of the thwart, and now I've got my locker. It won't hold a great deal of gear, but it will get some of the small loose stuff out of the bottom of the boat. Finally I made steam-bent laminated knees to support the thwarts rather than make them from solid lumber. A lot more time consuming (and trouble) to make than using solid lumber, but I'd seen some pictures of some older boats with these type of knees, and thought they'd look good on this boat. They do.
In short, the Penobscot is a good design for the beginning builder who wants a pretty boat. Don't change any of the dimensions, building methods or safety features without consulting someone who knows a lot about boat design, but it's still your boat. Have fun with it.
Al