Re: Polyester etc

> My Micro is going to be a "dry" boat. In that I will launch and

recover after

> every sail. The longest my boat will be in water would be a week...
> The reason why I wanted to sheath in the first place was to stop

"checking". Is

> there any need for me to sheath my boat at all?

My Cynthia J. (see material in 'Files' aka 'Vault') was epoxy coated
but not sheathed with glass. The results were mixed. The topsides and
bottom never checked. The grain did raise here and there where the
epoxy coating was scratched. Mostly, this was where the end grain of
the topsides planking rubbed against a dock when the boat was begin
held bow-on.

However, the deck checked badly. On the other hand, it also checked
almost immediately, and I am not at all sure that it was a surface
coating issue. The camber of the cabin top was fairly strong for 3/8"
ply which stressed the top veneer a lot. In addition, the first week
or two that the boat was at home, it was covered with a black tarp
which was not 'tented'. I think the it got pretty hot, and the
combination of 1) heat, 2) curvature stress, and, possibly, 3) drying
out caused the damage.

(How could it dry out if it was epoxy coated? Once one check
appeared, it could dry out locally enough to help cause the next
check. Maybe?)

Another thing that I can say due to experience with my Elegant Punt:
if you use ordinary fir marine plywood and oil-based marine enamel,
and leave it out in the weather under a tree for 20 years, it will
probably check.

Peter

My Micro is going to be a "dry" boat. In that I will launch and recover after
every sail. The longest my boat will be in water would be a week...
The reason why I wanted to sheath in the first place was to stop "checking". Is
there any need for me to sheath my boat at all?
Would a good coat of Polyurethane sealer and a UV resistant paint do the trick?
Will I get away with just taping all corners and edges?