Change of plans for finishing the inside hull. Originally I was going to paint outside and oil the inside with linseed oil or teak oil. This mindset comes from my furniture making background. In furniture making, like a table, you'll varnish the top and sides and legs, but oil the underside so the wood can breathe. On a boat, this is a bad idea as oil in the outside marine environment will attract dirt, fish scales, seaweed and get grungy. The alternative to having an "open" side for breathing is to completely seal the wood, which is where I'm going now. So, the boat will be painted outside and varnished inside. The first step is to use CPES (Clear Pentrating Epoxy Sealant). CPES is fairly new to the wood market, it is water-thin, and literally penetrates into the wood and cures, binding the wood fibers. On top of this, it'll get a varnish pre-coat and multiple coats of Captain's Varnish with UV inhibitors.
Photo 1: CPES, comes in 2 cans, a 50:50 mix, I used 14 oz, (~400ml)
Photo 2 and 3 shows how the boat looks right after application. It looks splotchy because the different hardness in the wood absorbs at a different rate. Where the chisel is, is what it looks like as it stabilizes. This stuff takes 3 days to dry.
