Reader Poll

Placida, FL

 

What is this blog about?

 

It started in 2005 as away to keep family and friends informed of our status.

It morphed into a chronical of the cruising life.

My writing style is simple. I write about what I observe. Some observations are introspective, others not. A new please has become part of Libby and my vocabularies; "That's bloggable.". Sometimes I keep a backlog of 25 or more bloggables in my queue waiting for a post. So when we are away from the boat for extended periods, my observations turn to non- boating things.

Some readers don't like to see non- boating stuff here, others do. What is your feeling? I put a poll in the upper right corner of this page. I'll leave it up for two or three weeks.

Fine Print In Absentee Ballots

Placida, FL

 

More on the paint project tomorrow. Meanwhile, Libby and I filed out our absentee ballots yesterday. Jenny forward them to us. They just arrived.

 

In addition to the ballot, we must also fill out an afadavit. Libby handed me one, I signed and dated it. But after the fact, I noticed a sticker with Libby's name, in small print. Oh no, I is he'd the wrong copy!

 

So then I signed and dated my copy. Libby had to cross out my signature and write her own. I'll wager that will invalidate her vote. Sorry, my fault.

 

I do believe that they do everything possible to throw out all the absentee ballots they can get away with.

Hull Paint Project, Part 9

Placida, FL

 

Finally! We have a day's result that looks like a big improvement. Hip hip hooray.

 

We now have two top coats on the port side. It looks uniformly white. The texture is eggshell, but we have one (maybe two) more coats to go.

 

We came close to our targets today regarding coverage and time. One quart covered 60% rather than 50%. It took us 2.5 hours to paint (after two hours to sand yesterday's job). But at the end the paint started hardening in the can again. It was warmer today.

 

We are pleased and relieved. The end is in sight. Photos will follow.

 

 

Hull Paint Project, Part 8

Placida, FL

Well we completed the first day of the redo of the top coat. It went much better this time. I think we are on the regular to a successful completion. But:

• We vowed to put it on THIN this time. Our target was to paint half the boat with one quart of paint. It covered 3/4 instead of 1/2.
• We vowed to go slower this time to avoid errors due to haste. We went too slow. The poor life of this two part paint is 2-3 hours, minus 30 minutes wait before starting. It took us 4.5 hours to finish. At the end the paint started acting funny. By the time I realized that the paint was hardening in the can, some of it was already on the boat. I had to scramble with rags and thinner to wipe off the last 6 square feet.

SO, tomorrow THIN (but not quite so thin), and SLOW (but not quite so slow). Sigh.

We are also having trouble with the foam roller covers from Jamestown. The say "solvent resistant core" but the foam layer bedding coming off very soon, and bits of foam start coming off with the paint. We used 5 roller covers this morning for 3/4 of one coast. I'm going to try a different brand of covers from the local Sherwin Williams paint store.

 

Hull Paint Project, Part 7

Placida, F L

 

Cruising friend Greg have me the following advice.Thanks Greg.

 

With a DA sander use 100 to 120 grit to sand hull (light hand)

1 For your 32' boat, 2 quarts of top coat should allow you 3 coats on the hull.

2 Mix 16 oz top coat, 8 oz brushing converter (LET STAND 30 MIN) and at least 8 oz
brushing reducer(should be slightly thicker than water)

3 Wipe down boat with acetone and tack surface.

4 Use 4" hard foam roller.

5 Coat roller with paint and roll nearly dry in pan (repeat).

6 Touch roller to paint and roll in pan only to spread paint on roller (not to dry).

6 That should give you enough paint on roller to cover 12"to 18" sheer to boot.

7 Paint should be even coat with bubbles.

8 LIGHTLY tip vertically (you are breaking bubbles not spreading paint)
Leaving the last 2 " of bubbles un-tipped. This will keep you from having a hard line.

9 Roll the next 12 to 18" and tip.

10 When you get to the stern stop and check to make sure you have enough paint to finish
second side. If no mix more, if yes keep moving.

11 Stop, repeat next morning.

Almost all of that agrees with what RickW at Jamestown Distributors said.