Friday, June 01, 2012

Painting 'Sandpiper's' Topsides - Part 2

Finished Topside

Early this morning, while the sun peeped between the clouds, I painted a second coat of Hempel Multicoat over the one I did yesterday. The result was amazing. I now have a boat that at first glance looks almost brand new. When you look into the cockpit that was badly stained through neglect because ‘Sandpiper’ was left to fend for herself in a farmer’s field you will be saddened for her. It is obvious that she was  stationary on her old trailer with the stern down for months, so that water accumulated in the aft end of the cockpit.

Looking Good.

I shall try improving the appearance of the cockpit in days to come by painting parts of it - probably not the entire cockpit, just the seats and floor, but I may also paint the lid of the aft locker.

Galvanised Centreplate
When the topside paint has hardened I shall put her on her port side to replace the centreplate that has been re-galvanised. I shall have to tinker around with the centreplate before installing it by doing things like removing galvanising from a hole for a retaining pin, and filing off bits of wire that where threaded through a hole for the galvanising process.

There are several maintenance jobs left to be done before the boat can be launched; therefore I don’t anticipate getting her in the water until Friday, 15th June at the earliest. Perhaps by then the weather may improve.

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