Graeme Kenyon wrote:

Actually, just for the record, Fantail had Chinese overtones too.

In Mandarin, "fan" means "sail" and I always thought "Fantail" was a doubly good fit.

(as in "fanchuan" which means "sailboat")

Like everyone now, I am awaiting the final result. 

I am sure, like the lovely boat itself, it the name will be the result of much thought and will be just right.

I remember you telling me that, Graeme.  And of course she had a slightly fanned sail, too, which this design doesn't.

David Tyler wrote:

Annie Hill wrote:

David Tyler wrote:Actively Considering Renaming, Only Not Yet Minded to tell us all what the final decision is?

You got it!  We're trying it out and seeing if we both like it.  It follows on quite nicely from Fantail, but with Chinese overtones!

If I were a gambling man, I'd put a few coins on ... no, better not say.

Yes - you've guessed it!  Thought you might.  I think it may prove to be THE name - the boat and I will see what we think of it in the New Year.

Darren Bos wrote: Annie, are you overcoating epoxy with varnish?  I'm just about to start my varnish work and had intended to use one-part rather than two-part varnish since it is protected inside the cabin and the wood was already stabilised with epoxy.  I'm wondering if I've missed something? 

If you are varnishing raw wood, I've always had the best result when the wood is cooling.  Perhaps you need to become the midnight varnisher :-) 

Yes, I am overcoating epoxy with varnish, but it's nothing to do with protecting the wood: it's the quality of finish that I'm after.  On Badger, I used oil-based varnish and came to regret it.  Living on board is hard on the woodwork.  Most people seem to use interior single-pack polyurethane, but you can still get a lot of direct UV on it if you live somewhere like NZ, which lots of (fierce) sunshine, and your hatches and/or companionway generally open.  Glass only blocks UVA anyway and not UVB (at least I think it's that way round).  So I went for a commercial, UV-stabilised two-part poly in the hope that it will stand up to the wear and the sunlight and I won't have to revarnish for years.  The exception will probably be the galley counter: I used to revarnish that once a year on Badger, 'whether it needed it or not'.  The drawback is that it's a lot harder to get the sort of finish one would hope for - and it has to be said that I am not the world's best with a paintbrush. :-/  However, I keep repeating 'Country Cottage Look' (which is probably a slander on country cottages) and it looks fine when I look at it without my glasses!

I would literally have to start varnishing at midnight if I waited until it cooled down sufficiently, and then I'd get eaten alive by mosquitoes and have insects walking all over the varnish, attracted by the lights!  Another 6 o'clock start this morning and I am just about there.

Annie Hill wrote:

However, my issue at the moment is that it's so HOT - and it's only December.  I started varnishing at 0600 this morning and it was already nearly 20C: by 0900 it was 25C.  I thought maybe I could wait until the end of the day when it would be cooler - but at 2000 it was still nearly 26C.  So I guess it's a 5 o'clock start tomorrow!  (I'm using two-part polyurethane and, to be honest, it's a bloody awful finish at present.  I keep trying different techniques.  If nothing else, there'll be plenty on by the time I've finished!!)

Annie, are you overcoating epoxy with varnish?  I'm just about to start my varnish work and had intended to use one-part rather than two-part varnish since it is protected inside the cabin and the wood was already stabilised with epoxy.  I'm wondering if I've missed something? 

If you are varnishing raw wood, I've always had the best result when the wood is cooling.  Perhaps you need to become the midnight varnisher :-) 

David Tyler wrote:

This is all wonderful stuff, Annie, and an excellent demonstration of how, if one is going to build a boat, one should do it as a very individual expression of one's self and all that one has learned. "I did it my way" should be the boatbuilder's theme song.

But now I'm beginning to worry about how all this work is going to be protected from drips as the deck goes on?

Cloths, care, cleaning up quickly, comforting myself that repairing a bit of damage is still a lot less of an ordeal than leaving all the painting and varnishing to the end when I've pretty much run out of steam!! I'm already touching up damage here and there, but I still think it's worth finishing things off and hoping I don't damage it, rather than having to face painting the boat from one end to the other as one job!

However, my issue at the moment is that it's so HOT - and it's only December.  I started varnishing at 0600 this morning and it was already nearly 20C: by 0900 it was 25C.  I thought maybe I could wait until the end of the day when it would be cooler - but at 2000 it was still nearly 26C.  So I guess it's a 5 o'clock start tomorrow!  (I'm using two-part polyurethane and, to be honest, it's a bloody awful finish at present.  I keep trying different techniques.  If nothing else, there'll be plenty on by the time I've finished!!)