Going to the boat yard is always a mad dash. You make the appointment to go in, at some point you get in, then you sit around a while and then the work starts and can move really quickly. I’ve been trying to act as the project manager for the work and make it clear that I’m going to be closely monitoring all the work. Why? Because no one cares as much about your boat as you do.

I’m happy to say that blasting the bottom went really smoothly (har har). Actually it was all sanded down. Now we’re fairing it, which means taking out any high spots that were missed and filling any low spots (if any).

It’s also a chance to inspect all the thru-hulls. Here we’ve stuffed some sandpaper in there so sanding dust doesn’t get up into the boat.

Speaking of sanding dust. I wasn’t there when the sanding started, but i quickly realized that they hadn’t taped up any of the thru-hulls. We were greeted with sanding dust on the inside as a result. Oops. Again, no one cares about your boat as much as you do.

One time I found the debris of a thru-hull change literally swept underneath the engine. It would have taken all of 30 seconds to setup a dam to prevent that from happening. I was cleaning out detritus and parts for months (it’s not exactly an easy place to get to). No one cares about your boat as much as you do.

With all the paint off we’ve got all the underwater stuff nice and shiny and inspecting it for wear or damage. here the refrigerator keel cooler is nice and clean. Looks good and ready to keep us in nice and efficient shape. Net to it, a sacrificial zinc, ready to be changed out.

The only other work is changing one thru-hull. That thru-hulls is corroded on the inside and it’s getting changed out.

Everything else looks nominal.

Next we will apply a barrier coat by Interlux. This will serve three purposes, first it will create a moisture barrier that will prevent blisters. Not that it’s a big issue on the Hallbergs, with the thick layup, painted bilges, etc. No blisters were found during the paint removal, after 20 years. That’s really awesome. Next, the epoxy that will smooth the bottom and create a new fair surface. Finally, it will create a perfect bonding surface for the paint.

For the paint itself, Interlux Micron 66. I’ve had the hots for this paint for many years, if I can say that. Then, on our trip on Mahina Tiare III we got to see it in action, and that pushed me over the edge. Now, we have used Sea Hawk Cukote for the six years we’ve had the boat. It’s a wonderful paint, it’s served us very well, the folks at Sea Hawk have been awesome, I have no complaints. So why would we switch? Mostly because of where we are planning on sailing, in warmer waters and outside of the Salish Sea. There’s nothing like seeing something for yourself (in this case on Mahina) to be “sold”. I will heartily recommend Cukote to anyone locally, and hopefuly I won’t regret the decision to jump ship (har har) to Interlux.

As a racing sailor for so many years, the bottom of the boat is the only thing that mattered. How fair it is, how many blemishes there are, how smooth can you get it. I spent part of a winter down under the race boat smoothing it with 600 grit sandpaper day after day to get it just right. I haven’t worried about the bottom on the cruising boat. We’re not trying to win the nationals. But once the paint started failing and the layer after layer and layer of paint was built up ridiculously all over the boat, it was time to do the work. And now that we’re doing it, I just have to say, I’m super excited about having a lighter boat, fair bottom, smooth paint job that’s going to serve us exceedingly well over the coming years.

Fuel efficiency, speed, ease-of-cleaning, it all adds up.

The reduced drag is a real thing. You really have to be careful on your first trip back to your marina after the new bottom. As I learned many years ago when we did the fairing and sanding, the drag is considerably different. And when you cut the engine like you have a 100 times before and expect the boat to slow down and for the drag to stop you right at the dock finger, with the new bottom, you may just find that the boat doesn’t slow down when you expect it to and you might find yourself hitting the dock, like I did, on that first trip back with the new bottom. A small lesson in physics and a chance to say “Whoa, that’s smooth!”.