I have had a very productive month. I have just one last light sand of the hull to do until the dreaded sanding is over for a while. Whilst all sanding is hard work, this last light sand will be the easiest of all. I have applied the third and last coat of highbuild today. I really did scrape the bottom of the highbuild drum but managed to complete the coat with the tiniest amount to spare. I actually thought I might run out before I completed the coat so I decided to not coat the underwater areas until I had finished the above waterline areas figuring if I did run out, the underwater area would be next covered with 2 coats of copper epoxy so would hardly matter anyway. But in the end I just scraped through with almost none left. So out of 20 litres (16 litres of paint and 4 litres of hardener) I got exactly 6 coats, 3 per hull, 3.333 litres per coat.
Even though I still have a light sand to finish the hull, it is already very fair and this last sand will basically just make it smooth as well. (There is a very big difference between smooth and fair). And even if the highbuild is sanded through here and there it is of no consequence because this is still just an undercoat for the paint which no doubt will also have another coat of thick primer before the actual paint goes on, then a number of coats of clear gloss over that. Fair is the absence of ripples, highs and lows along the length and are acutely visible the moment the hull is glossed. So if you want to see if the hull is fair, wet it. You will soon see. The last sand uses the 240 grit paper and is more like a polish in many ways as the finish is semi gloss.
As the un-sanded last coat best shows what the hull might look like later when painted white I have included some angles of the hull to show the various chines. When sanded here and there the highbuild will be worn away and makes the finish look blotchy until it is finally painted.
In the next few days I should have given the hull its final light sand and should also be able to apply the copper epoxy anti foul coat before the weekend. I will then remove the temp bulkheads and get started on the internal tapes, the only other part of the hull build before turning it that is not yet done.
Finally for this month, Jo has added to her page, you can read her contribution here.
