When I got to the boat today, the first thing I noticed was that there was some masking paper covering the side of the toe rail.
Because of the giant tarp structure over the entire boat, I couldn’t see what is under there until I lift up the flap and climb aboard. Today started like all the rest, and as I walked down the dock, I leaned over the side of the boat where I board and laid my handful of tools onto the deck. As soon as I did, I could see a bit of “white” along the gunwale where it had previously been painted primer gray. I hopped up on board to check out the rest of it and was pleasantly surprised for sure.
As soon as I stepped aboard the boat, I noticed that the front of the coach house had been painted as well. I think it was only the first coat. The yard does this method of surface preparation whereby they fair and smooth the surface, prime it and then sand and smooth it again. They then like to use a gloss paint as a first coat to see if any other areas need to have the surface corrected. The shiny nature of the paint allows you to notice any variations or “checks” in the fiberglass very easily. You can see our earlier blog post that goes into detail on this and has an accompanying video to show how well it works. I hadn’t talked to Michael or Lionel from the yard so was not sure if this was just that first coat for checking the fairing or the actual first coat of paint.
Whether it was a first or second coat, I was pleased. Initially, I had thought that we were going to use a matte finish for the paint on the house. We chose the color of “Bertram White” which is just slightly off-white color. I wanted the eye to go to the outside of the hull first and felt that the offsetting black and white would drive your attention there first. What I noticed about the paint that they used on the house, is that it was glossier (is that even a word) than what I thought it would be. I liked the way it worked, but I was imaging the difference that we have seen when we have varnished our interior and the difference between gloss, and flat spar varnish was noticeably different.
I had thought that the fiberglass work on the superstructure would not be smooth enough for glossy paint. We covered over the existing surface rather than building an entirely new exterior which I knew would result in a slightly varied surface, which I was ok with. But, when you look at these photos, I am shocked at how smooth it is, and even the slight variations in the surface don’t look bad at all. In the pictures down the sides of the coachhouse is where you can notice it the most. Frankly what makes it show up is the reflection of light.
The lighting in these photos isn’t great because of the halogen work lights and the blue tarps over the top, but the paint looks really good. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when all the tarps are up and off of the boat altogether.
From the cockpit facing forward toward the companionway, you can see how beautiful it looks. It looks a little yellow from the lighting, but I can assure you it is white. All in all I am trilled with the work so far and it is going to look like a completely new boat. I am smiling in side for sure !!