Building the West Mersea Duck Punt (Episode 16)
"Smooooth strokes, up and down....paint, don't tickle!"
Series by Rusty Knorr
I have finally found something I hate more than epoxy! I hate primer, priming, paint, painting, and anything to do with a brush, roller, or paint can. Well, there is nothing for it, so I started rolling, and brushing, and cursing. The next time I build a boat I am rolling it right into an auto body shop and having them spray the whole damn thing. I can't believe I didn't think of it before! Genius!Â
Still, it is nice to get rid of the hideous plywood/epoxy combo finish and turn the boat sorta white. Unfortunately, it is getting quite cold and although the primer is drying, it is not really curing. I had the Punt upside down while priming the bottom, and after a week of sitting curing the primer still scraped off the hull when I rolled the boat to primer the interior. Either the primer was not fully cured, or it did not fully bond to the epoxy. Either way, I came to the conclusion that I don't really care. I am just going to slap white onto this thing until it's covered, and go sailing! This is not a show boat, as I have said before, and I built it to use, not look pretty. It is going to get scratched up, knocked around, banged by rocks and scraped by beaching. I am going to be patching and painting it anyway, so why should I care if it looks perfect from the start? Unlike having a new car, I am really looking forward to that first legitimate scratch so I can claim it as a real boat! Maybe the paint will finally cure next year...
A couple of views so far, with only one coat of primer…
I guess the next post will be the Punt fully painted. I still have to do some rigging and build that interior plank so we have a few more posts to go before we close this chapter as first time boat builder. Stay tuned! •SCA•
So, Rusty, how do you feel about sanding?
Nice boat.
Nice lines!