Its September and time to paint the bottom. This time we went 3 years from our last bottom painting in 2018, including two trips to Florida. The ablative hull paint is holding up great, lasting over 3 years even including several cleanings.
We are tied up at Wormley Creek on a fine morning, waiting for the lifting crew to arrive.
All strapped in and starting to lift. It is a challenge to get the boat and lift in just the right alignment as the straps have to be in the correct spot to balance the load and the rear cross-bar of the lift has to come down right between the backstays and the wind generator. The lift operator is checking to see that the boat will safely rise up without hitting the wind generator.
Clear of the basin and starting up the ramp to our parking spot. First stop is for a power wash to remove all the slime off the hull. If not removed while it is wet, it dries solid and has to be sanded off before you can paint.
The bottom is in good condition for being in the water for 3 years. It definitely needs new paint now, but there are very few spots where all the bottom paint came off. The few white spots you can see are where I have scraped and sanded to be sure and get a firm adhesion for the new paint.
The red paint is the under coating which tells you it is time to repaint. The blue is the top coat. When the boat came out of the water it was nearly all blue but the power wash and a light sanding have removed most of the old blue top coat.
The bottom paint on the port side is even in better shape than the starboard (Because the boat sits starboard side to the dock at dare. Barnacles swim over from the dock and poles to the boat. The red/white patch under the boat stand is where there is a pole in our slip.)
However, my repainting the boot stripe in 2018 did not hold up at all. I believe that is because I sanded the undercoat too smooth. This time I will use 100grit sandpaper and a different brand paint and see if it holds up better.
Coming along. I have applied a red undercoat to all the areas that need refurnishing the undercoat. I have 3 coats of paint on the boot stripe and am ready to tape off the new waterline. I've raised it twice before but we just seem to be adding more weight and it needs to come up again. Our new batteries are heavier than the old ones and heel the boat to port, so the waterline has to come up over 1 inch.
All painting done and the hull compounded and waxed (this time by the marina staff). I learned last time that my back and shoulders health were more important than my wallet.
Last time I put prop-speed on the propeller, but this time I am just going to go with bottom paint.
Ready to go back in the water next week.
