Top coat

Friday 21st and Sunday 23rd April

Friday we finished off the undercoat above and below the wooden rubbing strake so that we were ready for the top coat. With matt undercoat like this the hull looks perfectly smooth and you would hardly know it was ferro-cement.

Looks perfect with undercoat


The gloss coat is the biggest job and really has to be done all in one go, especially now the rubbing strake has that break in it - though I suppose you could do port side one day and starboard side later if you didn't mind clearing up all the mess and cleaning brushes twice over.

We needed good weather of course - not too cold windy or wet, but as with sailing it's not just the weather but the forecast that matters. You don't want to start the job with rain forecast, and you can miss a perfect day that way if the rain doesn't arrive.

Saturday we drove to Worcester for a celebration: even boat painting comes second to a good wedding so we were pleased when it seemed a few drops of rain had fallen that day. Not so lucky on Sunday: perfect day forecast followed by a week of rainy days. So party or no party it was an early start on Sunday to drive home, back into overalls and get to work on the gloss.

All the kit ready - and last coffee for 3 hours


Masked up again - better move the bike





Howard does both the cutting in and the rollering

Yet again I get the easier job - following along tipping off with a wide soft brush for a smooth finish




3 reds: undercoat above, gloss below and the old  faded red around the lettering on the right



Bloody bandages as we unmask 3 hours later 



Sue's Dad Peter making himself comfortable to watch the work

Weather held as you see from this "after" photo. Dad arrived in time to watch us finish off and buy us a celebratory ice cream - Thanks Dad!

Gleaming

Bye for now







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