Taking the Starboard Bottom to Gelcoat

August 16, 2015

After a couple weeks of not being on the restoration of Alva Anne, I was finally able to give at least one day of the weekend to her.  The day's focus was to take the starboard bottom to gelcoat, to prepare the surface to fill and fare voids in the original glass layup that could present future issues like osmotic blistering.  To be sure, there were a few voids that I stumbled upon in the coarse of removing the old barrier coat and bottom paint, but the voids that I did discover were not in the numbers that I anticipated.  The "blistering" that I noticed in the bottom belied a generally benign substrate.  The blisters that I saw across the bottom when the boat was hauled out and placed onto the trailer was more likely the result of a poor attempt at a barrier coat application.  My personality, albeit  a sometimes costly and time-intensive flaw, would not allow for a casual sanding of the bottom and a new anti-fouling coat prior to launch.  No, I decided to, needed to, take the bottom down to the original gelcoat so that I could properly apply a barrier coat with a purpose of at least providing another epoxy-based layer of protection against water intrusion. 

I donned the full-face respirator at 11:30, and knocked off at 7:30.  

Three pictures, 31 40-grit pads and 8 hours later...the canvas is now blank.  Port side will be next, followed by filling and fairing, barrier coat and then new anti-fouling paint.

Total Time: 8 Hrs.