Technical Tips & Hints
painting the hull
Roger Lowe has recently (2006) repainted the hull of "Curlew" and sent some notes which may help you decide whether to paint or not and, after that decision has been taken some notes on the steps taken.
Curlew was bought in 2004, she had been neglected for a couple of years as you can see:
The following photos show the the white hull at epoxy stage. I had removed the rubbing strake to re varnish, simple but laborious as there are loads of screws. The trick in painting is to have 2 of you doing it – one rolling, one tipping off. I did it on my own and it is harder – but achievable. If hit hard, as my accident proved, the paint doesn’t flake, and I was impressed by the top coats’ adherence to the epoxy primer and the epoxy to the gel coat.
Curlew went afloat afloat is May 2005, and is kept in a "poled" mooring where she gets some knocks every now and again. Roger's views are: " I think she looks a lot better, time will tell on the longevity of the colour but the guy from Blakes said at least 4-5 years. Like “%*! to a blanket springs to mind. Do it again? Yes but in a shed with 2 painters and I would thin the epoxy and top coat a little more to get a better “Flow” finish. I can see my face in it, but with my visage I am not sure that’s a recommendation
