Bristol Finish On The Skylight
I switched over to Bristol Finish on the skylight due to price and availability of the product. It is roughly 35% cheaper then Honey Teak, although it’s very hard to compare square foot coverage between the two. It’s also available locally through West Marine. One other factor was fewer components. There is no “honey” coloring base coat. You simply mix the 2 part Bristol Finish and go 6 coats wet on wet. I like to let the final coat dry, sand it with 220/brown scrubby pad, then apply the final coat, a day or two later.
I had a few set backs on the skylight. Firstly was my silicone application. I let the silicone set up too long before snugging it down tight. I had to pull it all off and try again. Secondly, when fastening down the bronze bars, I had the the center piece upside down, which caused a bow in the bronze. Had to pull those off as well and rebed.
Overall it’s not the most beautiful job, I have some silicone splooge and some wandering dolphinite, and a few more scratches on the lexan… but overall it looks good, from the 5′ minimum viewing distance. BEWARE, VARNISH BITES, STAND BACK 5 FEET.
I’m taking suggestions on excess silicone and dolphinite removal techniques.
It’s a very heavy skylight once you put it all back together. I like the salty look of this skylight, however, it’s labor intensive and heavy. More than once while working on the skylight, I thought about the sensible, simpler, lighter skylight on my Nor’sea 27 and wondered if one day I would ever tackle the project of rebuilding this skylight to be more like that hatch.
Hey Ben, the skylight looks nice..wanna make me one? It looks really good.
Looks great Ben! New plexyglass? Honduras mahogany, not teak? Clever photo!
Hi Dan, it’s the same plexiglass in there, just put a little soap and water to it. It was filthy from years of hot TX salt and sand grime. I’m not sure what the wood is actually, I’m not familiar enough with wood too make such calls, but I suspect it is Mahogany.
Ben, all of Shaula’s exterior wood is honduras (except the teak handrails, DF sprit, and the ash bits, tiller and rudder cheeks). Your hatch looks exactly like ours does (when freshly sanded and varnished). It’s a gorgeous reddish color, not the more brownish teak color. The SLM standard exterior wood was teak prior to 1981 (with honduras an option). We thought we were getting the standard teak, but we took so long discussing our order with Sam that the standard had been changed to honduras by the time Shaula was built. However, we’re very happy that it’s honduras, although leaving it bare is not an option, as it is with teak.
Dan, thanks for the info on the wood. I need a wood expert to assess my situation, and determine what I’ve actually got here. My sliding hatch, fwd scuttle, seahood, handrails and bulwarks I think are teak. However, the skylight looks different, and so must be Honduras.
Ben, the date on each comment seems to be stuck?
Ben, sorry for not being clearer. I noticed that the date on yesterday’s and today’s comments, was the same. It certainly doesn’t matter. This is a fantastic blog, very useful to all of us BCCers. I spent several hours today looking through some of your pics, and those of Cosmic Dancer. Your links are excellent.
Benji, I’m one of the few who has gotten to see your work up close, in person. It looks beautiful. Waaaay better than the pics on your blog. Keep it up and your boat is gonna shine….but will it sail?!?!?! JK!
T
Dan: The clock runs on GMT (how cute) so maybe yesterday’s comments were actually today’s comments in GMT
Teresa: Whether or not she sails is a damn good question. I pray every night for a June ’09 sail aboard Elizabeth. Gods have mercy.
That’s two strikes, young ben! Gods is plural. God’s is possessive.