Primed at Last

After my last update 2 weeks ago we had two wet weeks of weather which made the inside of the tent very mucky (just like the early spring). Last weekend our first strong cold front came through and we had 25 -30 knot north winds for 2 days. This wind proved to be too much for the tent roof so Sunday I covered the tent with a large tarp to cover the gaps. I was also able to sand the epoxy coats that I applied the previous weekend. Yesterday I was planning to wash the sanding dust off of the hull and begin priming but a problem with the water main forced the city to shut our water from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm. I washed the hull in the afternoon but did not have time to do any painting. This morning I gave the hull a quick wipe down with denatured alcohol and waited for the tent to warm up as morning temps were in the mid 50's. By noon the temperature in the tent was approaching 80 so I rolled on the first coat. by 3:30 it was no longer tacky so I applied the second coat. Tomorrow after the tent warms up I will apply the third and final coat. I am going to give the primer a few days to cure completely then begin sanding in prep for the top coat.

Fairing complete

I spent all of last week sanding the fairing putty I slathered on last weekend. Today I completed this round of sanding and rolled a seal coat of epoxy on shortly before taking this photo. A few hours later I rolled on a second coat. Tomorrow I will start sanding again, but it should go quicker as I only have to scuff the surface to give the primer something to grip.

Since my last update not much has happened. I had the inside of the boat ready to prime but a heavy love-bug hatch postponed painting. A rainy September also slowed work down. A few weeks ago I flipped the over again to begin fairing the bottom for paint. Today I completely covered the hull with a coat of fairing putty (as seen above) and started the sanding process. Before I spread the putty over the hull I filled the fiberglass weave over the keel and bilge runners with a mixture of cabosil and West fillet blend. This makes a tougher (and tougher to sand) covering for the parts of the bottom likely to take the most abuse.