External Undercoat

The undercoat of the yacht finally shows its true colour. The last of the external fairing was then tackled. It was at this late stage that an indentation was found down one side, and yes...it was back to filling and fairing all over again.

With the kind assistance of a few friends, this was completed way better than we had thought.

 

 

Added to this was our decision to add plinths to the whole yacht. They all had to be made, glassed and faired. This did add another two weeks easily.

One challenge faced here was the compatibility of paints (specifically the stippled paint, which we used on the under side and bow areas) and the two-pack final coat.

We needed the finished surface to resemble a reasonably smooth textured look as opposed to the coarse sandpaper feel. This surface too had to be very easily washable with no small pin holes. The small holes would prove prefect breeding ground for algae especially in the cooler spots of the boat.

While additives to paints were an option, none of the local hardware paint manufacturers provided a suitable textured easily washable finish (that we liked) with the exception of one manufacturer, which also happened to be compatible with our Wattyl two-pack top coat.

It is the same paint used in the car industry for the undersides of the wheel wells that prevents chipping and rust. It too has a dampening effect with regard noise and best of all, is compatible with 2-pack paint. We trialed three brands and the best textured came from K & R products.

This has presented so well that we have now used this on the saloon ceiling as well as those internal patches where the finish was a little so so … (if you know what we mean).

From here it was smooth sailing, the rest of the undercoat was sprayed on in two thick coats. The following day, this was very lightly sanded, ready for the topcoat.

While I say this in one short sentence, the preparation and planning for the correct day, did take a long time.