Despite the blazing heat in the shed the guys are hard at work resurfacing the seams on DORADE’S bottom. Every seam along the length of her bottom has been scraped to remove any loose compound. The seams were then wire wheeled to promote adhesion of epoxy primer. Tomorrow the seams will be payed with two part poly sulfide caulk. Once cured, this caulk will be sanded fair and the hull will be readied for paint. Picture 5 shows the work being done to fair the transition between the garboard plank and the keel. Picture 1 gives you a glimpse of the new prop, shaft and strut assembly. Also note the rudder in place and primed.
Update 7/30/2011
All the hardwork reefing the old seam compound has really paid off. The bottom looks 100 times better! With the seams filled and the fairing complete we rolled a primer coat of bottom paint on the hull. Once the primer coat dried we sanded the hull again to work out any small imperfections as best we could. On Thursday night Ben and Joe from Diversified Finishes sprayed three coats on the bottom. We choose Pettit Trinidad SR which is a hard bottom paint with excellent anti fouling. On Monday we will move DORADE into the main building and reposition all the blocking so fairing and painting can be completed. Picture 17 is an excellent shot of the finished product. Looking mighty fine!