2018.04.07 - Final Preparations Part I

With the temperature this weekend forecast to be around 15 Celsius for Saturday and 11 Celsius for Sunday and having all but the second batch of copper epoxy to hand, including the advice from the chemist that the Liquid Copper should be put onto the fully cured epoxy base coat, it is time to get the work done and that starts with the final preparations.

The expected temperatures are ideal for the work to be done, the higher temperature on Saturday for drying the hull and the slightly lower temperature on Sunday to slow the curing of the epoxy base coat. The only fly in the ointment is that Sunday's forecast is for rain most of the day so I will have to ensure that the tarpaulin stops any drips from getting on the hull.

The task list for the weekend looks like this:

  1. Power sand hull under the waterline with 60 grit sandpaper.
  2. Hand sand the hull under the waterline with 40 grit sandpaper on those stubborn areas that the 60 grit did not fully sand.
  3. Vacuum surface to remove all the coper and epoxy dust.
  4. Rinse surface with water to remove any remaining dust.
  5. Allow to completely dry.
  6. Rinse again with alcohol.
  7. Make good those areas of the hull that require it with thickened epoxy and peel ply.
  8. Tape the waterline with the tape above the waterline.
  9. Wait until the thickened epoxy has cured and remove the peel ply.
  10. Coat entire hull under the waterline with un-thickened epoxy and peel ply. This should be done in one go.
  11. Remove peel ply.
  12. Remove tape.
  13. Apply new tape to the waterline as in (8).

So far I have reached item 5 and I need to get items 6-8 done by the end of today.


This is the hull at stage 4. I've just rinsed the hull with clean water.


Despite having vacuumed the hull first, this is what the water looks like after rinsing about a square metre of hull.


The hull has been wiped down with paper towels, lots of paper towels, to hasten the drying process. The base wood areas that need to have some remedial work carried out will be inspected later this afternoon and if not yet totally dry, will be finished off with a heat gun so that the make good stage can be completed before the work stops for the day.

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