: Having just finished a 14' Auk and looking for a different challange, I'm
: building Nicks free S.G. Guillemot since it's supposed to be a bear. I
: fully expect to need to paint a portion and plan on leaving the bulk
: bright. My question is, do you fill, paint and then varnish? I typically
: use the varnish to help smooth the hull but can't using this series of
: steps. Seems logical but thought I would post it to everyone. By the way,
: I am doing everyone a favor and getting the really crappy wood off of the
: market, it's all I could find locally!

Vernon! Vernon! Vernon! .......... " CRAPPY WOOD?"

There is no such thing as crappy wood. There is wood with much fugure; there is wood with much character; there is even wood with Life to it. But, there is NO crappy wood. :) My guess is that you have purchased wood with looooots of character. If you check your prices against the clear wood that others buy, you will find that you will come out ahead in the long run. When building cabinets, and the face-frames we used to buy all the wood with the most character( and the cheapest price ) and cut out our material. Certainly, it takes more wood to start with, and there is a lot of dunage, but, when you add up what you are keeping to use, and figure what you paid for the whole batch, and compare it to the price for clear material, you will find that you have saved a substantial amount of $$$ by doing a little extra work.

You will probably use many more short lengths of strips than you do the full-length ones. Your material is simply the proper piece to find the many more short ones and a few long ones. PERFECT !! And you saved money.

You may also find that around all those imperfections can be found the most interesting grain patterns of any wood. Check it out, and enjoy!

Rehd