Before I painted the hull, I worked
my arse off sanding and filing and patching etc. I finally decided
I had to live with whatever was there at that time and I then painted the
boat with as many coats as I could using two gallons of System Three High
Build Primer. Then I did the same with the Sys 3 Top Coat. I may have had
only a gallon of that. I did the painting with a bloody Wagner Power Painter
(they drip) and considering that the thing doesn't look to bad.
I've since decided (learned a few things) that I'll likely need a "final"
coat of paint a few places which will be done with proper equipment I assure
you.
The big day. The boat's suspended in two slings of nylon
webbing running through blocks suspended from a couple of chain hoists.
There are gizmo's fore and aft to keep the webbing from slipping off of
the ends. It took us two hours. We did it ala Jim Davis's method,
but without his Volkswagen to hold the boat back. She got stuck half
way round and when we got the side dug out of the ground she went the rest
of the way in a hurry and almost pushed me through the side of the shelter.
Seems I'm always at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Here one can see the CopperPoxy bottom "paint".
Since she's been turned we've been christened by the local dogs who've
turned the copper green in these runny sorts of patterns. It does
not match the boot top.
Here we're right side up and the top side/cabin side
is being added. It's not too apparent in the photo, but here
is one of the trickier parts of building this boat. The topsides
flair out at the bow where they blend in with the angle of the hull at
the stem, but as they go aft the flair reverses and as can be seen amidships
the flair is inward. The topside planking must also make a transition from
being a butt joint with the sides at the stem to being overlapped outside
and above the side planking amidships. The process repeats itself
on the stern. I had included the topsides in the mould patterns which
helped a lot. Fitting to the hull at stem and stern took some creative
use of the router. Finally, when I fair and paint this area, a liberal
dose of micro balloons in epoxy should hide all sin.