Ryan, Nice job. Re finishing the topside. Just do it. We fell into the same "trap" you did, refinished the hull, from a dull battleship grey to a bright blue and white last year, which made the beige or whatever colour the deck was look grimy (nevermind the cockpit that had mismatched instrumentation aka old cut outs that were patched up, patches of old repair work on the deck etc) In addition there was almost no grip left on the foredeck which made moving around during a race "interesting"
3 intense weeks of two of us working some long evenings (for masking of the kiwi grip I recruited two extra handy helpers- 7h later it was done) and the boat literally looks like new (lots of oohs and aaahhhs during launch and at the dock since then) . Btw, this included resetting a couple of stanchions, fixing a couple of soft spots and filling instrument holes in the cockpit. My tip, remove as much hardware as you can. However, we left some cleats and blocks in as they were too difficult to remove and we figured what is set that fast and doesn't leak we better leave alone. I made up some "special" kiwigrip tools by cutting one of the rollers, stripping it off the roll and hot glueing it on a small paintbrush and a small square patch on a Popsicle stick...worked like a charm in the areas where the roller couldn't reach. The interlux brightside was easy to apply - anybody who has ever painted/varnished with reasonable results and good eyesight should not have a problem. You are right about sanding out every run, I missed a couple but I think I will be the only one who'll notice. The kiwigrip is super easy to apply and very, very forgiving, I was surprised. And the best of it all, it feels safe running around the foredeck no more sliding around on the rounded parts of the deck. Lastly, we used some self-levelling type caulk (recommended by practical sailor) along the toe rail as we suspected a leak somewhere along there, but can't bring ourselves to even think about resetting it . Good news, after three days of torrential rains, no leaks whatsoever, bad news, the stuff somehow reacts with the interlux aka the paint didn't dry (we left the caulk to dry for a month prior to painting) However, it seems the last time I was at the boat the sun finally baked the paint on? In summary, lots of work, doable, and really, the old lady deserved a makeover. I'd certainly do it again and even the somewhat reluctant husband finally came around. Bettina C&C 25 Savannah > On May 26, 2016, at 21:24, Ryan Doyle via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > wrote: > > at _______________________________________________ This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you like what we do, please help us pay for our costs by donating. All Contributions are greatly appreciated!
