This weekend we finished epoxying the boat. Sunday we finished sanding, then put down a coat of liquid on the inner surfaces - floor, seat sides and tops, sides, transom, deck, centerboard case...
It's starting to feel like summer here, getting warm in the afternoons, and the first batch of epoxy we mixed up was too large and it started hardening in the roller pan before we we could get it out and rolled onto the wood. My dad had to run to Lowe's to buy more roller covers and a new roller pan (we obviously weren't prepared) while I tried to salvage what we had done with a brush. When he got back we finished the first coat successfully by mixing epoxy in small batches and pouring it directly onto the surfaces to paint, using them as roller pans - by spreading out the epoxy it slows the hardening process. Meanwhile the original roller pan with all the hardening epoxy in it was steaming in the trash can, about to spontaneously combust!
Then we waited for the first coat to get tacky so we could add a second coat. We thought it was at the perfect stage when we started adding the second coat, but some places had already hardened! We were able to recoat most of the boat, though, which was good because it meant we didn't have to sand the entire thing between coats.
Today we sanded the surfaces that needed a third coat (deck, floors, and seats). Then we applied a third coat on the floors and seat tops first - adding no-skid after painting them smooth - so feet will have some traction in the boat. When we were finished shaking on the no-skid, we coated the seat sides and deck, being careful not to get the no-skid stuff on the roller so we wouldn't contaminate surfaces that should be smooth.
Tomorrow will be spent varnishing mast, lug, boom, and all the rudder/tiller parts.
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