Sanding Port Bottom, Part 4

August 29, 2015

Wanting to finish the bottom on Alva Anne and needing to get to the repair aspect of the bottom job, I set out today to finish the port side.  I had two areas that still needed sanding on the port side; what I thought was going to be about an hour's worth of work, turned into two.  I unfortunately ran out of 40-grit pads, and not wanting to make a trip to stock up on them, I switched to 60-grit pads.  The smoother 60-grit pads definitely had an impact on surface removal performance.

The areas were fairly manageable in size, but the surface was stubborn.

At the end of a quick session however, I was able to finish up and clear the port bottom of the old barrier coat and antifouling paint.  I do have the areas beneath the sailboat stands, as well as the old boot stripe.  I will have these areas cleared through a few sanding sessions over the coming week.

In the picture below, the old waterline (darker red line) and the top of the old boot stripe (lighter red line) can easily be seen.  The previous owner had the antifouling paint as high as the transom - the small black triangle of paint on the extreme lower portion of the transom.  Having the antifouling paint at this height is quite a bit higher than what was originally struck coming out the Cape Dory boatyard, and I can't figure out why the previous owner chose to do this.  Anyway, I am taking the waterline closer to what was originally intended.  The new waterline that I strike will be between an inch and two inches higher than the original line.

A parting shot of the trailing edge of Alva Anne's keel and rudder.  I'm looking forward to repairing the issues in the laminate and gelcoat, and then getting some fresh paint on her.

Total Time: 2 Hrs.