Hull Paint Project, Part 12 Summary

Umatilla, FL

Well, the project is done.  Tarwathie's hull is once again nearly pristine.  Hopefully, it will last 20 years, and hopefully our elevated experience level will let us avoid so many dings.   Here are the salient points that you may be interested in.

• I lost track of detailed expenses, but total out-of-pocket expenses were $2000-$3000.
• We worked on it 26 days.  Total labor about 400 hours.
• Our screw up with the first coat, caused about 1 week extra work and increased total expenses about 25%..
• We got advice on the project from many sources.

1. About a dozen DIY YouTube videos.

1. Our supplier, Jamestown Distributors and their expert RickW.

1. Our cruising friend Greg.   Greg's advice proved to be the most accurate and useful of all.  Thank you Greg.

• Our big screw up had to do with the roll-and-tip method.  None of the advisers gave in-depth descriptions of the tipping technique.  One of the videos mentioned thinner on the tipping brush.  That we misinterpreted, and used far too much thinner, which spoiled the whole job.
• After the screw up, everyone (RickW, Greg, any every boat owner in the boat yard) said to put the paint on thin. Not just thin, but really THIN coats.  I'm an engineer, and I need numbers.  "Thin" is not a number.  We learned from experience that we were putting it on too thin, attempting to get 225 square feet of coverage with one quart of paint.  That allowed to roller cover to dry out.  When that happened, the foam part of the roller cover started peeling off.  We used up to 5 roller covers on half the boat.  Bits of foam cover also started coming off and sticking to the paint.  When we cut the coverage back to 180 square feet per quart, it went much better.  The roller cover stayed wet with paint all the time, and the peeling and shedding of foam stopped.  We could do half the boat with a single roller cover.  Here's the irony.  In my book that seemed like applying the paint thick.   That's why I hate non-numeric adjectives in this context.  How much is thin?  How much is thick?  10 people might give you 10 answers.
• I learned that the rolling part of the roll-and-tip was most important to quality.
• I learned that the tipping worked best if we frequently dip the tip of the brush in thinner, but then wipe off the thinner with a cotton cloth before the tipping.  I think that was the part of the video that I misinterpreted.
• We also had personal limits.  We started work every day at first light, 0730.  But if we worked past noon, Libby and I would both get so tired that mistakes multiplied.
• Libby and I both gained the best upper body workouts ever.  It even got to the point that my shoulders stopped aching after work.  I take that as a sign that I was getting in shape.  Libby seemed to do OK physically too.  She did fall backward once, and hurt her palm trying to stop the fall, but the bruise healed in a couple of days.
• The professional painter at the boat yard does masterful work. I'm jealous every time I saw the quality of his paint jobs that I could never match.  But he is far too expensive for us, $300/foot, or about $10000-$12000 for the whole job.
• On the last day of the project, I talked to Ron.   Ron is a handyman who hangs around the yard doing odd jobs.  Ron said, that he had done Awlgrip paint jobs 5 times.  "Oh no," I though suppose his price was reasonable and his quality better?  I avoided asking him his price, because I was afraid of the answer.  If only we had met Ron before the project.
• Would we do it again?  I think Libby and I part opinions on this subject.  Libby wanted this job done for years.  Tarwathie's slightly banged up appearance bothered her.  I would have left it alone indefinitely.  I knew the job would be a big one, perhaps too big for people of our age.  I'm sure that Libby had no idea how much work it would be.  But in the end, I think we would not have changed our minds because of the amount of work.  So, would we do this paint project again?  I say, "probably not,"  Libby would say, "probably yes."

Here's a life tip and a secret to a long happy marriage. In the long run, Libby always gets what she wants. This hull paint project is a good example. In the long run, I always get what I want. Libby agreeing to abandoning our house in 2005 and living the cruising life is a good example. We do procrastinate, but we never whine to each other (or harbor internal resentments) about giving in to our partner's wishes. Procrastination helps filter short-term whimsical wants from deep-seated long term wants.