The paint job - poly tunnel love

All has been going well. Whilst Nigel has been working hard at tidying up the body of the boat we have been working on odd jobs too.

The batteries have been on charge as whilst we are in the polytunnel we cannot run the engine and so cannot charge the batteries to use the internal lights and water pump. Fortunately we are plugged into shoreline electricity and have 24hour access - one definite perk in terms of marinas.

We begun our work at the stern, sanding away old flaking paintwork and rust around the railing...


and chiseling off paint on the deck.


This was a team-work effort where lots of elbow grease came in handy.


After priming the stern railings,


I have been painting it up in a semi-gloss orange to compliment our already vibrant colour scheme.


This is how it looks full colour, notice the black uprights too!


The edges of the windows have been taped up to allow for a clean painted edge...


The cabin sides are looking fabulous after a coat of primer...


and are sanded down for the next layer.


It is this gradual process of careful brush layering and sanding off that builds up to the mirror finish.

The doors have had a good coat of gloss, showing lovely reflections shimmering on it.


and the hatch too...


The chimney holder is due to be painted up in black gloss and we are having to consider a new chimney as the old one has become damaged from the heavy levering off before entering the poly tunnel.


This photo shows the bulkhead at the bow, with the 'mouse ears' paintwork still currently in burgundy. The plan is to work on these ourselves (with some paid help!) at a slightly later date.


The roof has had a coat of non-slip paint in cream which is practical all round.


And Nigel has removed the mushroom vents to give them a coat of paint...


Leigh has been working on the wooden structure of the cratch cover, sanding down and varnishing.


And we've managed to complete some odd jobs such as securing the lid to the gas locker and sealing off the wood at the stern doors to make it water-tight.


In addition we have lined up the gunwhales with masking tape ready to apply the non-slip layering.


We have already done this at the stern, a nice layer of primer dusted with silver sand, swept away and primed again ready for a coat of gloss paint...