Smoooooth

Well, after all the fun of getting the boat together comes the hard part--finish work.   All that surface needs some (or a lot) of attention to make it a decent surface for the paint and finish.   I suppose I could sail it as is, but that would be short lived economy.once the boat starts coming apart.

It seems that the about half the cost of a lot of boats is in the finish work (paint, varnish, fiberglass, etc).  I suppose one could also lose a lot in bells and whistles (fittings, etc) but still, a lot of attention needs to be placed on the finish, as that is the only thing that will protect your boat over the long haul--no paint=no boat.   


So, back to sanding.   The hull sides of this boat are 1/4" Luan, and at this point there is a reminder that it might be prudent to buck for beefier materials next time, as the Luan plywood is two rather wimpy laminations over one of decent thickness--really easy to sand through these outer layers--making getting off any of the glue drips a distinct challenge.   I guess that's why I annoy James by going after them all the time whether it's on my boat or not.   I'll be even pickier on the next build, down the road.

That white mark is not a good sign, as it means that the outer lamination has been sanded through, in an attempt to remove a glue drip (which I suspect is the unsandable PL Premium).  The only advantage of this is that the lamination is VERY thin.  Of course this area will be covered by epoxy and fiberglass, so this is not as terrible as it might appear.

I am not going to go for a mirror smooth finish as this boat is not going to be a showcase piece.  It will be nice, however and I intend for the finish to look good, so the worst of the bumps and lumps have to go, but in the end the boat needs to float and sail first--eye candy is a side benefit.   Never ending fun--and this is just the outside!