The Blue View - Carved Nameboards pt. 1

A touch of elegance

In my mind, there is nothing that adds more elegance to a boat than a carved name board. No matter whether it is a traditional schooner or a state of the art racer, the sun reflecting off the glossy varnish and gold leaf always looks beautiful. When we moved aboard Nine of Cups 15 years ago, I decided to make our own name boards, and after a lot of trial and error, ended up with our own touch of elegance. While it took a bit of time, it was easier than I thought it would be and we were quite pleased with the results.

It took the better part of a year to make our name boards. I worked on them in various ports as we cruised the east coast of the U.S., Maritime Canada and the Bahamas. It was a labor of love, and I wasn't in a hurry.

There were several steps required between visualizing what we wanted and actually mounting the finished name board:

Designing the lettering and graphics/logos. We looked at a lot of other name boards – what we liked and what we didn't. Some were too small and looked ludicrous, while others were too large and garish. For Nine of Cups, a 45' cutter, we chose to make each name board 44” long by 6” high, with 3.5” letters. The font we selected was Times New Roman in a bold typeface, and we added a stylized seahorse to the beginning and end  of the name.

name board design

Selecting the wood; Cutting, shaping and sanding the wood. When we were in Nova Scotia, we found an old time lumber yard that had a nice selection of rough cut hardwoods. We chose a couple of choice sections of mahogany, which the yard was happy to plane down to the thickness I wanted. I used my jig saw and sandpaper to cut and shape the wood to size. I also drilled and countersunk the two mounting holes I would be using later.

Transferring the pattern to the wood. Using my computer and MS Office, I increased the font size until each letter was 3.5” high, and used MS Paint to increase the size of the seahorses. Then I printed them, and taped everything together in a long banner. I taped the banner to the front of each piece of wood, slid sections of carbon paper under the banner and traced the outlines of the letters and seahorses. The carbon paper left a very visible image on the wood.

Carving the letters and graphics. It would have been quicker to use a Dremel tool and a pantograph to cut the lettering into the wood, but I don't think the end result is as good as hand carving the lettering. Some of the automated systems can cut lettering that is indistinguishable from hand carved work, but I didn't have access to any of these systems. I chose to hand carve the lettering and graphics. I got a book on the subject and learned on a scrap piece of wood. Part 2 of this blog will go into more detail about the technique I use.

hand carving

Finishing the wood. The first few times I finished the name boards, I used a base of clear West System epoxy (2 coats), covered with 12 coats of Epiphanes varnish. I lightly sanded it and added a couple coats of varnish every six months or so, and it typically lasted about 3 years before it needed to be stripped down and re-coated. The last two times, I used a New Zealand marine aliphatic urethane based finish called Uroxsys (now marketed by Awlgrip as  Awlwood MA). It seems to last closer to five years, requiring a maintenance coat only every two years or so.

Applying the gold leaf. Gilding the lettering and graphics with gold leaf was another skill I learned while making the name board. Like wood carving, I first practiced on a scrap piece of wood, and also like wood carving, it is a subject that deserves a blog of its own. Stay tuned for Part 3 of this blog.

gold leaf

Outlining the lettering. The final step is to outline the lettering and graphics with a contrasting color. Outlining provides a sharp edge to each letter, and makes it appear to come into focus. Any contrasting color will do, but since our sheer stripe is dark blue, I used the same color for outlining our name boards. I decant a small amount of paint in a disposable container (anything from a tuna can to a bottle cap will work), then use a fine artist's brush to outline each letter and seahorse. It takes a little practice, so, as before, I used a scrap piece of wood initially.

outlining the lettering

Mounting the finished name boards. Our name boards were to be mounted on our sheer stripe. I drilled slightly oversized holes through the bulwarks, and coated the insides of the holes with epoxy, using a Q-tip. I used spacers between the name boards and the topsides to allow air and water to pass behind the name boards. Then I mounted each name board with 1/4” flathead bolts.

mounting the nameboard

Enjoying the result. The end result was and is great. Seeing the glittering gold of the name boards reflecting in the sunlight as we dinghy back to Cups always brings a smile to my face.

final result

Stay tuned for Part 2: Hand Carved Lettering and Part 3: Gilding the Lily

The Blue View - Sticky Stuff

In a recent Blue View, I extolled the virtues of WD-40 and duct tape, two essentials for the yachtie's tool kit. As I was writing it, I thought about all the other sticky stuff I use routinely on Nine of Cups, without which, I seriously wonder whether I could keep the old girl afloat. Here is my list of the top 10 sticky substances most used aboard Nine of Cups.

Duct tape. I've already talked about duct tape and some of its many uses aboard. It's been used by sailors for a long time – I'm pretty sure Ulysses used duct tape to lash himself to the mast as he sailed past the Sirens. Seriously, it is good for temporary fixes and stopping leaks until proper repairs can be made. It does have a few shortcomings – it doesn't stick well to wet surfaces and if left in the sun for more than a few hours, it leaves a residue that is hard to clean up – but I think this is one of the 2000+ uses of WD-40.

Sikaflex 291/292/3M-5200. These are polyurethane based adhesives, sealants and bedding compounds. I always have a tube or two aboard. In the time we've been here in Durban, I've used almost a whole tube to re-bed, seal around, and/or stop leaks with two hatches, one rope clutch, the instrument box, a new propane regulator, and one leaking portlight. Plus, I think I could use it to seal all my body orifices if ever I found it necessary to take a dip in the smelly, oily water here in the marina.

J.B. Weld - 5 Minute Epoxy. Great for temporary fixes and the occasional permanent fix. I've used it to reattach the internal magnets in our wind generator, temporarily seal a small leak in a fuel tank, and hold two fiberglass parts together long enough to make a more permanent glass and mat repair.

West System Epoxy. I have the gallon size container of the resin aboard along with slow and fast hardeners, bonding and fairing fillers and enough glass mat and cloth to lay-up a new boat – well almost. I use it frequently to fill and fair topside holes and dings, protect and bond wood, bond parts to fiberglass, repair hull and deck damage and a host of other things like hardening sea urchin shells that Marcie's collected.

Masking tape. Whenever we go back to the states, we always bring back a dozen or so rolls of good, 14-day masking tape. The cost of good 3M tape in the U.S. is usually less than the cost of the cheapest masking tape in other countries. I use it for masking when painting, varnishing, epoxying and re-bedding parts.

Self-amalgamating tape. Technically, this isn't sticky, but it serves the same purpose, so I added it to the list. If you wrap this tape around something, making sure to overlap each turn by about 50% and stretching it as you wrap, it will bond to itself and make a watertight seal. It is a great insulator for wire and will seal fittings. It will make a temporary patch for a leaking hose or pipe, and is UV and weather resistant.

Hot melt glue. I use this for holding parts in place temporarily. For example, if I am trying to epoxy some glass mat or cloth onto a vertical or overhead surface, I can tack it in place with several small blobs of hot melt glue, then apply the epoxy. I also use it frequently for tacking wires down, especially inside enclosures.

Modeling clay. I use it to make dams and molds for epoxy. For example, there are times when I want to fill an old hole in the deck – maybe the the new replacement part doesn't fit the old holes – but the old hole goes all the way through the deck. If I pour thickened epoxy into the hole, it will drip out the bottom. I can prevent this by plugging the hole from the bottom with modeling clay. I've also cast a few small parts like bushings and pads for cheek blocks by carving a template of the part in a bar of soap, then pressing modeling clay around the template. Then I  extract the carved soap from the modeling clay, and fill the new mold with thickened epoxy.

Tef-Gel. This is a sticky, gooey substance that prevents corrosion when dissimilar metals come in contact with each other. For example, when a stainless bolt is screwed into an aluminum part, the combination of the sea air and/or saltwater and the contact between the two metals will cause galvanic corrosion. In short order, it will either become impossible to remove the bolt or the aluminum part will deteriorate. If the bolt is first coated with Tef-Gel, the corrosion will be prevented.

Band-Aids. I am, without doubt, clumsier than most people. I rarely finish a project without cutting, gashing or wounding myself in some way, and I go through a lot of Band-Aids. At some point in the last couple of decades, the size of the standard Band-Aid was reduced in width from 1” to 3/4”, and the gauze pad was reduced to the size of a pencil eraser. These little, puny excuses for a Band-Aid just don't do the job for me.  Even if I could get one of these Lilliputian sized things to stick for more than five minutes, if I had a cut that small, I certainly wouldn't bother with a Band-Aid. When one of us visits the States, along with all those rolls of masking tape, we also pack several boxes of the Tough Strip 1” wide Band-Aids, as well as a few boxes of the 2” wide versions.

The Blue View - Replacing the Cockpit Rope Clutches

A rope clutch, when engaged, allows a line to be pulled in one direction, but not the other. When the handle on the top of the clutch is lifted, disengaging it, the line tension is released allowing it to be pulled in either direction. It is a handy invention, especially on a sailboat where there are dozens of lines that need to be controlled, adjusted and secured. One of the most common uses of rope clutches is to allow several lines to share one winch. Each line can be adjusted up or down using the winch, then locked in place with its clutch.

Nine of Cups will be 29 in December 2015, and with each passing year, more of her original equipment reaches its “Use By” date. A case in point is the triple rope clutch in the cockpit that is used to control the main halyard, topping lift and spare halyard. It not only looked its age, it would no longer hold the lines in place once they were unwrapped from the starboard winch. Replacing it was on our to-do list for Durban, and a new Garhauer triple clutch was one of the parts Marcie brought back in her luggage from the States.

Unfortunately, the new clutch had a different footprint than the old one, so the job involved more than merely unbolting the old and screwing down the new. A new teak pad to support the clutch would have to be made and finished, and and all but one of the bolts that secure the clutch to the coachroof would need to be repositioned.

As I learned when rebuilding the engine instrument box, teak is difficult to find and very expensive here in South Africa. I did have a small piece aboard left over from another project that would work for the pad, however. I cut it to size, drilled the necessary holes and sanded it down. I finished it using eight coats of a polyurethane finish I like. It is a New Zealand product called Uroxsys (now marketed in many parts of the world as Awlgrip Awlwood MA).

Our coachroof is constructed of a top and bottom layer of fiberglass laminated to a core of balsa. Screwing the clutch directly into the balsa core would be, at best, a short term solution. Even if the balsa had the initial structural strength to secure the clutch under the load of three heavily tensioned lines, which is doubtful, the lateral forces on the screws combined with any moisture that made its way into the screw holes would continually reduce the holding power of the screws. A much better solution would be to bed the bolts in epoxy.

I marked the bolt locations on the coachroof, then drilled oversized holes. The bolts were 1/4” (6mm), so I drilled 1/2” (12mm) holes, double the diameter of the bolts. I also drilled out the old holes that were no longer going to be used with a 5/16” (8mm) bit, only slightly oversized, and then cleaned out all the holes with a vacuum cleaner. I masked both the bottom of the teak pad (I didn't want to accidentally bond the pad to the deck) and the area around the holes. Next, I did a dry fit to make sure everything would go together smoothly later when my hands were all gooey with epoxy, then removed all the parts. The final step of the prep work was to lightly grease each bolt with silicone lubricant to prevent the bolts from bonding with the epoxy.

I keep West System epoxy on hand, and I mixed a small batch (2 full pumps or about 1.6 fl oz) of 105 resin with the equivalent amount of 206 slow hardener. I used a Q-tip to wet out each hole, then mixed 403 filler with the remaining epoxy until it was about the consistency of catsup. Using a small craft stick, I put about 1/2” (12mm) of the thickened epoxy in each new hole, and used all but a small blob of the remaining epoxy to partially fill the old holes.

The next step was to assemble all the parts before the epoxy kicked. I positioned the teak pad and clutch in place, then pressed each screw fully into its hole.

Now the goal was to let the epoxy harden enough to hold the bolts in place, but not to harden beyond the point that it would still bond with additional layers of epoxy. The perfect point is when it is still slightly tacky and can be dented with a fingernail. Since the epoxy in the holes can't be monitored, I kept the mixing pot with the remaining blob of epoxy to check the cure rate. It was fairly hot that day, and it took about 1.5 hours to reach the right hardness. I carefully unscrewed the bolts, then removed the clutch and teak pad and screwed each of the bolts back into their holes. I mixed up another batch of epoxy, again adding 403 filler until it was the right consistency, then filled all the holes. I used a toothpick to probe each hole and release any trapped air bubbles. Then I let the epoxy completely cure for a few days.

I used Sika 291 as a bedding compound, sealant and adhesive between the teak pad and the deck. This raised the teak pad enough that the bolts didn't bottom out in the epoxy when they were tightened down. Alternatively, I could have added a washer under the head of each bolt.

All in all, a lot of work, but I am optimistic it will last another 25-30 years. If so, I'll be in my 90s when it wears out. I just might splurge and hire someone else to do it next time.