Painting Topsides

After changing my mind about a colour scheme more times than I can remember, you can now see what I settled on.

It took some planning to have time available for re coating and masking within the recommended time frames. It is a two part paint system which I applied with a roller and brush tip off. I have not put top coat on areas of the deck which are yet to have non skid paint applied. Overall the job of painting is quite rewarding as after all the hours of prep, a short time spent painting and the hull suddenly looks almost finished!

Finding the waterline

It doesn't take long before one gets sick of sanding so that's when you realise you're not building a super yacht, so just start painting already. I guess I should choose a colour.

Here is a shot showing the laser level lighting up where the water line is.

Here is the bottle jack being used to lift the bow so I can place more wood under the forward support to level it up.

Then mask along waterline and apply primer.
What colour will it be? Not long now.

Sliding Hatch

I have been working on the sliding hatch as I want to get all items ready for painting at the same time as the hull.

In this photo you can see how I am enlarging the piece I cut out of the cabin top. This way it has the same curve as the cabin and will have the necessary overhang to mount the sliding rails to.

Then, glue the rails onto the cabin and check hatch for fit.

 

Making a leak guard. I might end up needing more than this but will do for now.

Here is the hatch almost ready for painting. It has been fibreglassed in the same way as the rest of the boat. You can just see the rails glued on the underside of the hatch. I will use plastic or vinyl strips on the sliding surface to make the action smooth. I also will add mahogany trim to the front at a later stage.

Cabin fairing

Time now for more noise and dust :)
I have applied some more epoxy fairing filler and been at it with the sander.

In the photo you can see I have positioned a flood light to shine down the side of the hull to help show up any areas which need extra attention.

Beam Mounts

I have made all 8 beam mounts needed for the boat.

These I made from a large piece of Mahogany which I put through the thicknesser and cut to shape using the saw bench and router.

The cabin and deck is now fully glassed also.

The red lines you can see are where I marked where the joins in the fibreglass cloth are.

Fibreglass

I am part way through applying fibreglass on the deck and cabin. It is slower progress than the bottom of the hull due to the more complex shapes, however the warm and dry weather at the moment makes it easier to get a good result.

Here are some photos of cloth laid out ready to go.

As I mentioned in earlier comments, there are different methods to apply the cloth. It has been a good learning curve by doing the relatively simple shape of the bottom of the boat before doing the top as the top is harder to do. But I am getting the hang of it. What works for me is to cut the cloth to length and spread it out smooth over the surface and tape the over hanging edges in place and cut for corners etc before putting any epoxy onto it. Then just wet out the cloth  in one direction, coming back where I started with a sharp blade to trim when it is starting to gel.

I have been surprised by how you can get the cloth to go over very tight radius edges without getting air bubbles if done carefully.

Cabin Done

Here it is.

With the cabin finished, the port hull is now structurally complete. Lots of things still to add though, but a very nice stage to be at where I can visualise how it is all going to work.

I have filled all the screw holes and gone over the corners with the big 50mm router bit. It is now ready for a layer of boat cloth.