Friday, July 27, 2012

Mai Tais and...bottom paint?


Listening to "Social Aid and Pleasure Club" by The Subdudes



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Last saturday I spent the day cleaning and scraping the engine in preparation to paint, but after careful consideration that has been put on hold.  Drake and I realized that we needed to be able to turn on the engine at various times during the process and, since we are on the hard, that is not possible right now.  Fear not!  I was able to transition rather smoothly into another task that was sorely needed, namely painting the hull.

Now, I have to say that when I told my friends that I was moving onto a boat most of them pictured beautiful blue water, sunsets near a lovely island paradise, and a Mai Tai always in hand.  One friend even expressed concern that I would fall victim to something she referred to as "rum fatigue" and suggested we beef up my tolerance immediately.  I hate to disappoint them, but my reality is quite different from that rosy facade.  You are more likely to find me cleaning, scraping, sanding, or editing than lounging in the cockpit with a drink at hand.  The only time I have gotten any sun lately has been while riding my bike to West Marine or scrubbing the deck.  Or painting...

a close up of Drake rolling on the topside paint

Drake and I have spent the last several days painting Paragon, and the whole process is nearing completion.  Drake attacked the topsides since the rather toxic and nefarious concoction of paint and mixers freaks me out.  It creates a beautiful finish, but I wouldn't want to stand in an enclosed room with this stuff unless I had a serious desire to kill off some brain cells.  He also painted an initial blue coat of paint on the hull to show me where the paint needed to go while I followed with two coats of red.  Weather cooperated a bit by staying at or under 90˚F/32˚C, but the heat was still overwhelming at times.  As I raised the roller to apply a coat of paint I could feel rivers of sweat escaping my protective plastic gloves and running down my arms.  Never before had I realized that I could sweat so profusely from my hands, however, the hard work was justified when I saw the finished product.  

look at that reflection...

roll and tip...
a-okay

almost done

With shiny new topsides and a demure red hull, Paragon is beginning to look like the travelin' lady I have always pictured.  She is a phoenix arising from her thirty-six year old ashes and, my, what a beauty.  I start preparing the boot stripe to be painted tomorrow which brings us one step closer to getting back in the water and heading north.

look at that finish

12 comments:

  1. Looks wonderful Mo. You and Drake are doing a splendid job. Looks like Paragon is ready to sail at last.

    Kevin
    s/v Exodus

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    1. Thank you Kevin! Some days it feels like two steps forward, three steps back, but I'm hoping we can continue with the work and get Paragon into the water! I just need to close my eyes and imagine the hustle and bustle of Boston and, once again, I am inspired...

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  2. Drake and Mo,

    You mentioned sailing to Nova Scotia, have you seen these videos on you tube?

    http://www.youtube.com/user/GoneSailingCA

    41dharmabum
    Dick

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    1. Hello Dick,

      I'll have to take a peek at these videos. I love that whole area of the country...its beauty is absolutely striking. I've had the opportunity to tour the area on land and very much look forward to seeing it from the unique perspective of the water.

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  3. No wonder you can only post to YouTube on Thursday..oh today is Thursday. Lots of hard work you two are doing.....looks beautiful...

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    1. Thank you Stephen,

      It IS a lot of work to get these videos out, but we both enjoy the process so much! You'll please forgive us this week as we were a bit late (posted on Friday instead of Thursday), but we've amped up the pace of our work on Paragon. We took a hard look at our project list and realized that we needed to step up a bit if we have any hope of getting back into the water and heading north.

      For the next month or so we will be releasing a new video every two weeks instead of every week. Then, once things settle down, we will revert to the old schedule.

      Thank you so much for watching and reading!

      Blue skies, Mo

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  4. Thank you guys so much!
    You've inspired us more than you can imagine. If it weren't for your videos we more than Likely would not have taken the plunge and bought our first sail boat (2001 hunter 340).
    Thank you
    Ps the only show we watch everyweek is yours.

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    1. Looking Good? What paint did u use topside that you didnt have to tip?

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    2. Hi ParadisePArrot.
      We used a product called Awlgrip Awlcraft 2000. They say that you should not use a brush or roller, only spraying, but that did not work for us. Drake initially tried that and found that the finish was splotchy and drippy and could not be smoothed out. We were also concerned about the spray drifting over to other boats in the yard.
      He actually did roll and tip the topsides, which took a bit longer, but turned out beautifully! While doing this you have to be attentive to how much time is going by between using the roller and then tipping with the brush. You've got about 10-15 seconds to smooth out any lines before moving on or the finish is somewhat streaked. I'll try to find a good picture of the finished product so you can see how it turned out.

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  7. I think it is nice and boat bottom painting is necessary for proper care of boat. You done a great job and painting that done by is just perfect.

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