Steve Redmond's "Elver"

[hoffy]

Finally!! getting around to completing this 20'canoe yawl.Need advice on finishing:epoxy?[rather not,too much wt.];paint?[color or clear]; or DeksOlje? Materials: bottom=marine plywood with pine/oak skeg; planking= coved cedar strips[1-1/2"width];deck=1/4"marine ply. What treatment for the inside? spars? etc., etc. Awaiting your words of wisdom. Hoffy

P.S. Boat will be sailed Upstate N.Y.

[Jim Goodine]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Elver ownership. Mine is finished with epoxy and cloth, then varnished up to the sheerstrake, and paint above. The subject of the weight of epoxy has always interested me. I suspect it doesn't add much and if it stops a boat from soaking up water, it may actually reduce the weight. Check the Elver Builder's Site on Yahoo. Best of luck on the project.

[Brian Palmer]

Hoffy,

Good to hear from another Elver owner, especially a builder.

I too have an Elver and it is about 20+ years old. I did not build it, but bought it 2 summers ago. I still have a backlog of maintenance I inherited from the previous owner.

It appears that the topsides and deck were covered with cloth and some sort of resin (epoxy or polyester, not sure which). The inside of the planking seems to have been sealed with epoxy.

I would suggest epoxy and cloth on the decks and cabin top, to prevent checking. Polyester resin would be a mistake.

I am not sure about the inside of the planking and the interior. Since they are generally out of the weather, a good paint or varnish may offer as much protection as sealing them with epoxy. The absence of a lot of frames should also simplify maintenance of whatever you put on there. You figure a lot of plank-on-frame boats are just finished on the inside with paint or vanish and it isn't an issue.

Fabric and epoxy on the outside would certainly add abrasion resistance, with some additional weight, but again, is not necessarily needed if the planking material is of a good boat building wood.

Paint or vanish is up to your personal tastes. Both have been done on this boat with pleasing results. Our boat has a minimum of varnish (only the spars and tiller) as paint is generally easier to maintian than varnish. With two kids and two careers, my boat maintenance time is pretty limited.

Best of luck,

Brian

[willmarsh3]

Any pictures? As everyone else on this thread knows I put up a Elver construction website at web page (http://www.willmarsh3.net) . Just click on "Elver" once you get there.
As for finishing, I finished mine bright using West special coating hardener 207 (3 coats) followed by Sikkens Cetol Marine gloss (3 coats). So far it has worked out well.
Good luck with your construction.

Will.

[Ted Schmidt]

Glad ou strip yto hear there is another Elver builder out there. I thought I was the only one currently building after Will finished his. I am just getting ready to start stripping mine. I did recently talk to Steve about glassing the hull and he did not seem to think the extra weight would be a problem. I am going to glass the outside of the hull when I finish stripping and varnish or paint the inside.
Do you have any advise on stripping the hull? Did you do yours from the bottom up or from the sheer down with the boat upside down?

[Jack Heinlen]

Hey, good.

Steve Redmond, when he was designing boats, had an interesting eye. Elver is pretty good, for what it is, from what I can figure.

Salud!

[hoffy]

Originally posted by Ted Schmidt:
Glad ou strip yto hear there is another Elver builder out there. I thought I was the only one currently building after Will finished his. I am just getting ready to start stripping mine. I did recently talk to Steve about glassing the hull and he did not seem to think the extra weight would be a problem. I am going to glass the outside of the hull when I finish stripping and varnish or paint the inside.
Do you have any advise on stripping the hull? Did you do yours from the bottom up or from the sheer down with the boat upside down?

[hoffy]

Originally posted by hoffy:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Ted Schmidt:
Glad ou strip yto hear there is another Elver builder out there. I thought I was the only one currently building after Will finished his. I am just getting ready to start stripping mine. I did recently talk to Steve about glassing the hull and he did not seem to think the extra weight would be a problem. I am going to glass the outside of the hull when I finish stripping and varnish or paint the inside.
Do you have any advise on stripping the hull? Did you do yours from the bottom up or from the sheer down with the boat upside down?</font>[/QUOTE]

[hoffy]

Originally posted by hoffy:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by hoffy:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Ted Schmidt:
Glad ou strip yto hear there is another Elver builder out there. I thought I was the only one currently building after Will finished his. I am just getting ready to start stripping mine. I did recently talk to Steve about glassing the hull and he did not seem to think the extra weight would be a problem. I am going to glass the outside of the hull when I finish stripping and varnish or paint the inside.
Do you have any advise on stripping the hull? Did you do yours from the bottom up or from the sheer down with the boat upside down?</font>[/QUOTE]</font>[/QUOTE]

[Brian Palmer]

I just started refinishing our topsides this weekend. It appears they have been sealed with epoxy, no cloth. I agree that adding the epoxy will prevent water absorption and weight gain. It will also make the surface harder, even without the cloth.

-- Brian