If only I didn’t sleep in again today I would be able to report that I have sanded the hull ready for the final coat of high build. But I did lie in bed watching Sunday so I didn’t start until 11am and I am about an hour short of finishing the sanding for the second last time on this hull. I have about the last 3 meters of the inboard side of the hull to sand and a tidy up of the chines which I figure to be about an hours work and then I can apply the third and final coat of highbuild to the hull. I will get that coat on tomorrow and then I am busy Tuesday which is fine because you cant sand this stuff for about 24 – 36 hours in this temperature anyway.

The paint was still not fully set today but I worked on anyway. The only hassle this creates is that you have to clean the paper of build up every 10 minutes or so, but again this is about the time that my muscles start screaming for a rest and cleaning the paper is just long enough a rest for my shoulders to go another 10 minutes.

Here and there I sanded through the highbuild to the bog again, or more accurately to the resin coat over the bog. The resin is very hard and I haven’t sanded through it anywhere so the hull is still well sealed. It is heartbreaking to sand through the highbuild but with each coat the areas of highbuild sanded away diminish and sanding through is just a sign that a high spot is gone and by definition the hull is fairer. Progress. The fact there are so few areas now and that they are such small areas and that there are now no lows that are not being sanded fills me with confidence that there is now only the thickness of a coat of paint until the hull is fully fair. In fact I think the hull is now fully fair but a final coat of highbuild will finally seal the hull and show a uniform finish ready for final painting, but that will come later when the boat is completed.

I am still not sure yet if I will spray the final coat of highbuild or roller it on again. The finish of the sanded highbuild is extremely smooth now. I am not sure if a roller will send me backwards in finish or not. If I can use a roller it would be my preference for 2 reasons, set up time and clean up for a roller is much easier and I will not have overspray and paint mist with a roller.

We have decided that by next weekend I will definitely have the final coat of highbuild on and sanded so I can use next Saturday to apply the 2 or 3 (not sure which yet) coats of copper epoxy resin to the waterline and below, then all of the following weeknights for last minute jobs and tidy up before turning the hull over. So the date for turnover is set for Saturday 29th July. How exiting.