More painting

Ive been busy with life here at home and have been away from things boat building for a few weeks. I have been making some headway on getting a some paint work done so Ill update on that.

I want to get the fore deck and Portuguese bridge finish painted. I need the fore deck painted to install the forward hatch, and I just want to get things off of the list. Like all things boat building, the fore deck paint turned into more than I had figured. I dont know if projects are turning into more than I figured for, or if I just gave up getting in a hurry. I had sand blasted, primed and scuffed the fore deck last year so a large part of the prep work was completed. I decided to paint the stainless steel 1 1/2" hand rails vs polishing them, so I sand blasted the rails to give the primer something to grab on to. The Portuguese bridge was a mess and had to be sand blasted. I did not have to take the whole thing down to white metal, but at least 1/3 of that area did go to white metal.

Since I gave up getting in a hurry, I decided to fair some of the fore deck and Portuguese bridge. I ran an epoxy fillet between the bulwark and deck area, and the Portuguese bridge and deck area. I faired away the all the grinder marks and a some a few areas where you could see plate joints. I also faired the large deck joints. I faired the hawse openings on the fore deck where the dock lines will pass through, and the whole pulpit area. All the areas with fairing compound on them will have to get two more coats of primer before I spray top coat paint. I had thought about using high build prime, and blocking the fore deck and portuguese bridge back down, but thats a lot of work, and I dont think a mirror yacht finish is that important for these areas.

The frames that are welded to the decks and bulwarks or Portuguese bridge will be treated a little differently. No matter how careful I try to get that joint painted I dont think my efforts will be good enough. So for these areas, Im going to use and automotive paint product called seam sealer. Seam sealer is basically a caulk that will remain flexible, but will allow the top coat paint to stick to it. If you look inside your car trunk or under the hood, you will probably see where the manufacturer used seam sealer. Ive seen boats that are framed like mine, and most of them seem to have rust stains coming from joints like this. Im hoping this little bit of work and money will solve that problem.

After I finish sanding the faired areas, Im going to scuff all the paint with some 3m pads. I have a hook and loop DA air sander, and if I cut round shape on the 3m pads, I can hook the pads to the DA and save on some elbow grease. Once everything is scuffed, Ill apply the seam sealer then prime the seam sealed joints and all the un primed fairing compound. Once the primer is on, Ill have 72 hours to get the top coat paint on or Ill have to re scuff the newly primed areas.

My goals and schedule of work for the next five months is to finish the fore deck and Portuguese bridge paint, and install the forward hatch. Ive made arrangements for a sand blaster to blast below the water line so I can get the below the water line area barrier coated. Once that part of the hull is painted, Im going to scuff the hull and top coat paint it. At that point, the hull will be ready to leave the shop, so Ill be working on getting it on a dolly for the trip to the launch site.

If I want to get her in the water next season ( 2013) I really need her at the launch site by early October. October is the driest month of the year around hear, with that dryness carrying on in to November. October will be an excellent month to weld the wheel house and salon to the hull and have her dried in for the Winter. If I can meet that schedule, I will have the Winter and Spring to trim out the Salon and Wheel house and a 2013 launch will be doable.

I really love the fore deck and Portuguese bridge. The foredeck is large and uncluttered, and the railing is of a good height and stoutness. The Portuguese bridge is of a height that will make all on board feel secure as the boat is on passage. As I stand at the Portuguese bridge while the boat is in the barn, and dream of the future, I can almost see how the sea will look as the sun starts to dip below the horizon. The only problem Im having with these two areas is that they are a pain in the ass to paint. The barn has 16 ceilings, and these two areas are in the trusss, so one has to sort of stoop/walk to navigate this area. If you were to find yourself working on my build and on this part of the boat, I can almost guarantee you would crack your head numerous times on the trusss. Another week or so of sticking to this less than ideal job, and Ill be able to scratch this project off of the list I have been meaning to write.

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