2nd paint coat

I sanded and applied the second paint coat. Its thin in some areas and I still got a run or two. I think one more coat outta do it. I'll sand with a even finer grit paper and see if I can get a smoother finish. I gotta do something while I wait for the trailer.

Bottom Paint

Tuesday morning I painted the first coat of blue. Thanks to Dave's advice I painted the first coat within 24 hours so that the blue chemically bonds to the primer for a durable finish. I used the roll and tip method which consists of rolling the paint on with a foam roller then sliding a 4" foam brush in straight, even, single strokes from the middle of the boat outward to knock down the high spots and help the paint lay down flat and glossy. You get as good a finish as spraying the paint with this method without the equipment and mess.

The blue matches the trim stripes on the Mercury engine perfectly. Its bright, but you have to remember you only see a little bit of the blue when the boat is right side up.

Today, I sanded the first coat of blue to knock down the runs and scuff up the surface for the second coat. I'll lay the second coat on saturday. Depending how it comes out that may be the final coat.

Primer

Busy day in the boat department today.

UPS and Fedex brought me packages. UPS brought me the new Michigan Wheel Vortex XHS 13P prop. Its mounted on the motor now, just need a new lock nut next time I am at the hardware store and torque it down.

FedEx brought my paint order from Supermarine. Supermarine paint is on the Queen Mary and many US Navy ships and recently became available to the public. On the suggestion of the tech department at Supermarine I used the 664D one part primer. Its very simple to use and applies with a foam roller. They say its very easy to sand, I'll find out tomorrow.

I'm excited, this process goes lightning fast compared to the fiberglass process. Should have the color coats on by the end of the week.

Marking the Waterline

Today I marked the waterline. I wanted a waterline that sticks up a couple inches out of the water when the boat sits at the dock. I noticed that most Zips sit fairly low at the stern when sitting in the water and the waterline ends up submerged. To correct this I angled mine to be high in the stern and its just my best guess at how high to make it. I hope I didnt over do it.

In the front I had the waterline follow fairly close to the chine and up to the stem. I did this so the paint will cover up the flaws where the side and bottom planking meet towards the bow.

Someone once said Craftsmanship is just how good you hide your mistakes.

Prop Swap

Looking for things to do until the primer and paint arrive. I took the prop off the motor. I always planned on replacing it since the prop that came on the motor is for pushing a heavy pontoon boat and wont be so good for a runabout. I ordered a prop with less diameter and more pitch, a 10-3/8"X13" . As far as I can tell in my research that is the best all around prop for my purpose. The new prop should arrive monday, so Fedex and UPS should be visiting me that day.

Maybe tomorrow I will start on those transom bands. I found 3 chrome shops in Indy today so I could get those done and get all my parts to chrome soon.

Fedex tracking indicates the paint and primer wont arrive until monday the 25th. I'll do the final sanding this weekend so I am ready.

Also been looking at trailers. I decided not to use my sailboat trailer, its just too small. The sailboat and trailer are for sale by the way. http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/boa/1557454438.html

I should make the transom guards while I am waiting for the paint. Then I will have all the parts that need to be sent out for chrome finished.

Ordered Primer and Paint

I ordered the primer and paint today from SuperMarine. The bottom paint is the TS-1000 series in Norse blue. Hopefully 2 quarts will be enough. The boot stripe color is Leapfrog green. Both are Gloss finish.

http://www.supermarinepaint.com/bottom-revolution-SM-1000.asp

I emailed the tech department about which primer to use and Peter suggested the SM-664. I asked about the 7390 which another builder has used with great results and he said that would be fine but the 664 sands easier and is simpler to use since the 664 is a one part primer and the 7390 is a two part system. I just hope the 664 is just as durable. I am all for simple to use though so I went with the tech guy and bought a gallon of the 664 in white.

http://www.supermarinepaint.com/primer-polyamide-epoxy.asp

Here is my paint scheme ideas.

Skeg attached, fill coats finished.

Today I attached the Skeg to the boat with Poxy-Grip and West System fillet thickener. I also put on what should be the last fill coat of Poxy-Shield over the fiberglass. The entire boat has 3 fill coats over the glass and 2 coats of encapsulation below the glass.

Now I'll let it cure for 7 days and in the mean time order the primer and bottom paint. Then I'll be ready to mark the waterline, sand, prime and paint.

Skeg

Today I needed something to do while the fill coats of epoxy cured on the boat. The temp is ALMOST above freezing outside so today was an ok day to work in the un-heated portion of the garage. I pulled my sabre saw and belt sander back out and cut out and shaped the Skeg, also called a Turn Fin. The Skeg attaches to the aft bottom portion of the boat and helps the boat track nicely in turns. Without the Skeg the boat would skid and slide through turns.

I cut the Skeg out of 3/4" mahogany left over from the frames. I just eye-balled the shape I wanted and cut it out with a sabre saw. Here is a test fit after the rough cut. Then I shaped the nose and flattened the bottom cut with my belt sander.

After that I rounded the corners with my Mouse sander. Finally, I brought the Skeg inside where its warm and mixed up a little epoxy resin and encapsulated the Skeg on some wax paper. The entire Skeg took maybe 30 minutes to make.

Finished with Fiberglass Cloth!

Today my wife and I applied the last of the fiberglass cloth to the boat. The entire hull is now fiberglassed! Whew, I was nervous about this stuff but it turned out great so far. Its hard to tell in the light in the shop but hopefully this spring when I take it out in the sunlight it will look just as good.

I used 1.5 gallons of resin in the Zip fiberglass kit for encapsulating the exterior of the hull and fiberglassing the hull.

I'm excited that this step is over, I can do several things at a time again now. I need to apply a couple fill coats of resin and some more sanding. While that is drying I can cut out and shape the skeg and attach it. In a couple weeks I should be ready to prime for bottom paint.

Sanding and sanding and sanding

Lots of sanding. I havent posted many pictures of sanding because its boring but here ya go. I think about the strangest things while listening to the drone of a sander. Anyway, here is 3 hours worth of strange thoughts.

Sanding where the bottom fiberglass overlaps onto the side to "feather" the higher edge of the fiberglass overlap level with the wood on the side of the boat. This way the side fiberglass should lay perfectly flat.

I just wonder if I left too much overhang from the bottom onto the sides. It may overhang in places up the side of the boat farther than the bottom paint covers. I wonder if it would show through? I am planning a bit of a high waterline just because I like seeing some of the paint color when the boat is in the water. I dont like all the painted areas hiding under water. So I may be ok anyways.

I'm ready to fiberglass the final side thursday or friday but at the moment I dont have a helper lined up so it may be saturday.

Topside Fiberglass

Today my in-laws came over to watch the Colts game but first I put my father in-law to work mixing epoxy so I could wet out the fiberglass on the side of the boat.

I am really pleased with the 4oz fiberglass for the bright/natural finish on the sides. I forgot to take pictures while we were working but here are some close-ups after the first coat of epoxy resin was applied.

4oz Transom Fiberglass

I ordered the lighter 4oz fiberglass for the transom and sides of the boat Monday the 28th from Infinity Composites in Ohio. I would suggest them to anyone that needs composite cloth of any type. The order arrived on Weds the 30th but I was out of town.

I cut a piece of the glass to fit the transom and mixed some Poxy-Shield epoxy. I also used a different kind of roller to wet out the glass this time. I had been using 1/8" foam rollers from West Marine. Today I switched to cheaper 1/2" thick 6" long foam rollers that you can get at Wal-Mart, Lowes or Menards on the suggestion of a fellow buildier. I dont know if the 4oz cloth is that much easier to wet out or what but the job was much easier with these rollers and gave me confidence for doing the sides. My technique is to roll the epoxy on with these rollers from a paint tray and then only roll the roller in ONE direction. Dont roll it back and forth or it pulls the cloth away from the wood. Also, re-load the roller after each pass but load it lightly. Once you have the cloth fairly wet-out you can roll in any direction but getting the epoxy on the vertical surfaces can be tricky at first.

I took some close up pictures with my cameras "macro mode." If you compare them to the pictures on the bottom fiberglass you cannot see the weave of the 4oz cloth hardly at all. I think I am going to be really happy with the decision to use 4oz fiberglass on the sides.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day of sanding the overhang from the bottom glass on the sides. Hopefully, I can then apply the 4oz glass to the port side on sunday.