Subject: Completed "Sissy-do" (CATFISH) for your project photos......
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 10:03:29 -0500
From: James Brackeen

I finished my Sissy-Do on Easter Sunday '97. There are several differences from the original plan. For durability, I used 1/2" sides and 3/4" bottom all A-B grade marine plywood. All the frames are red Lauan. The transom I made a double thickness plus the motor board. As I looked at the seat detail I decided that (A) They wouldn't hold up to my abuse and (B) They looked rather plain. I was lucky enough to find a local funiture manufacturer that used alot of oak. I asked the owner for access to his scrap bin and was rewarded with some large bundles of 3/4" x 1" trim strips (cut nice and straight too). These strips were then epoxied together using a graphite powder for a binder to get thin black lines for a decorative touch. Planed sanded and routed they were then mounted to some heavy duty seat frames (I dont know anyone less than 200 pounds). The inside of the boat is finished with 3 coats of sealer and sanded smooth (to you rookies: don't sand your plywood until you are ready to paint because the lighter colored grain on Douglas-fir panels is very soft and is sanded easier than the dark grain resulting in depressions that does not look very good - this was a big mistake on my part as far as apperance goes, I no longer sand any panels until a coat or two of sealer is already applied to lessen the problem. Also, too course of sand paper can cause this. I then applied three coats of high gloss spar polyurethane. It dries fast (1 day),but not quite as durable as varnish (I found traditional varnish a pain to work with) and you can put it on thick.