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I am new to this forum. I just purchased a 1962 Grady White 16 1/2 Pamlico and have started a restoration project. I am in the process of stripping all old varnish and paint from the boat. Help!! What next?
I did notice that the boat has white caulking applied to the joint connecting the transom and sided (on the insided), I plan on removing this as it looks terrible.
Any help on chosing the correct sealants, the correct paint choice & colors, what stains to use, if CPES is something to use or stay away from and how to refastening would be very much appreciated.

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Welcome, from seeing your photo the first thing I would do is make some trailer bunks to support bottom and transom instead of rollers that are near your transom. The keel rollers are ok but wooden boats need support under transom, rollers outboard of keel will leave divits in bottom. You can get adjustable supports that will bolt to your trailer the attach to 2x4s that can be set under bottom and let run out past end of transom.
Check out other posts in this forum for answers on lots of restoration questions.

Thank you for the information. I have removed the windshield and seats and all hardware. I have stripped the bright work and plan to roll the boat this weekend. The boat is all there and structurally sound. I am concerned about the rear rollers and will take your advice and replace these. There are two rollers 8" to 10" paired together on each side but it appears that one is in contact with the boat and is causing stress in that area. My two major concerns as I proceed is once stripped should I refasten the transom(and how), should I apply CPES to the entire hull, should I remove the keel (and how) and finally what paint and caulking to use.

I'm all freaked out about the prospect of rolling my boat - so any picturtes of how you do that would be great.

Nice Merc on there by the way - for parts you can go to http://www.eastcoastmarineservice.com and there is a great Merc forum at www.fiberglassics.com/outpost. Or you can ship the motor to me for free!

I personally would not recommend sealing "all" wood in CPES or any other epoxy. This is a good treatment for wood that has begun to deteriorate or is below the waterline, but wood on these boats that just needs refinishing, I would not treat that way. These craft have survived for 40-50 years using just varnish and without encapsulating the wood in epoxy.
We all need to think of future owners of these boats that will want to refinish them in 20+ years, I am glad that the boats I have restored have been unalterated wood and easily refinished.
If your hull is tight and in need of paint then sand and prime and paint- good materials do their jobs. If upper bright work needs varnish then use a good stain and varnish. Paints and varnishes do the job sealing and can be easily removed in future.

Welcome to the G/W club..I have a 61 pamlico that is under restoration...the trailer that it was on hogged the last 4 feet of bottom about 3/8 to 1/2 in spots..since the decks were shot I removed the windshield and with the help of a few friends flipped her over and coeercted the problem with mas epoxy..this small bottom deflection caused the boat to bow steer and handled very poorly!

Again thank you, for all the input.

Don Dannenberg has two books out (How to restore your Wooden Runabout, Vol 1 and 2). I have both and both provide a great deal of info at the right level for folks like me that have no experience in the care and restoration of these boats. Lots of info on things like CPES, how it works, reasons NOT to use encapsulating epoxies (which can very much indeed cause accelerated rot), steam bending, etc. Vol 2 address lapstrake boats such as these, and talks about plywood specific issues. The only caveat to these books (and especially his online forum) is that they are geared to high end restoration. But you learn alot about pit falls, materials, techniques, and with that you can chart your path between restoration and preservation. They're a fun read.

Anyway, there are alot of experienced folks here that can help you along, and like I always say - pictures pictures pictures (gives me something to do at work)

Enough babble from me today

That is great news about the CPES.

Progress to date:
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For some reason I was booted off the site and all my previous posts were deleted. It's now straightened out, but my messages are lost forever. Here is information about Grady-White finishes that was lost:

A letter dated 24 May 1962 from Glen Grady to a Michigan customer answered questions about finishes on Grady-White boats: mahogany stain is Woolsey Number A1D3; varnish is Woolsey number A14C; hullside white paint is Pettit Starline gloss white; and bottom paint is Woolsey red-copper anti-fouling.

Good luck with your project.

Andreas

Thank you I thought it was something that I said.

The boat has been flipped and I am busy removing the paint.