Do onto others . . .

[Levitation]

Feeling a bit guilty here... We spent the day at the marina grinding on the bottom of Levitation in preparation for bottom paint... When you are in your seventh decade the ego is definitely writing checks the body can't cash... After two hard days on a job I thought would take 4 hours, the bottom is sanded, has been power washed, scrubbed down with grease remover and power washed again... The sanded gelcoat squeaks when you drag a dry finger across it... Tomorrow we paint and I am contemplating whether to wipe it down with acetone in the morning ( hours more) or take a chance and start laying on the $700 worth of epoxy primer and bottom paint...

Anyway, that is not what I feel guilty about... A fella walking by complimented me on Levitation (happens all day long), then hesitated and finally asked if I knew anything about OB engines... I said a little bit... He told me the tale of woe that he bought a used pontoon boat with a pair of 50 hp engines - older carburetted engines... It ran so nice they decided to leave the river and go out into Lake Huron, where they got smacked around in the chop, and one engine quit... So now he is tied up next to the fuel dock with one engine... It was clear he was asking for help but was too shy to come right out and ask... I suggested he has water or junk in the gas tank and the rough water had stirred up the tank and it clogged the filter/carb....

I struggled with my conscience... I am reasonably handy with engines but if I break off my job and get caught up in his troubles, there goes my chances of launching before Tuesday starts another work week... Unfortunately, I did not to make the decision to help... I salved my conscience by giving him a brief description of how to flush the fuel line and how to look for the filter ahead of the carburetor... And I went back to my job... But my conscience bothered me the rest of that hot afternoon... I could tell he didn't have the mechanical experience to flush the tank and lines and worse he probably has junk that got past the filter and into the carburetor and there is no way he can take it apart and clean it - probably doesn't even have the tools... So, I did not do onto others as I should have... It kinda took the pleasure out of finishing a nasty prep job for bottom paint <sigh>...

 

[Portugeezer]

You painted a good picture with your story, brother, and it's a cool story. It reminds us all that we should try to help our neighbours when we can and however we can. But "can". . . that's the key word, isn't it? I know how the guy was feeling. I too have no idea where to start to look for a solution to a boating problem (just ask Andrew). When somebody like you points me in a logical direction, though, I have a place to start and I learn by doing. Your neighbour has not one, but two engines he will need to know how to maintain over the years (unless he has deep pockets). You sent him in a logical direction and when he meets an obstacle such as a plugged carb, he can either puzzle it out for himself or again approach another boater. Perhaps another time you will find yourself in the same situation but with plenty of time on your hands.

No, friend, I think that either brushing him off or stopping your labours in order to help would both have been worse scenarios. You need not feel like you let the man down. Thanks for sharing.

Portugeezer

 

[Levitation]

Thanks for the kind words... Well, every decision has consequences...

Anyway, this morning I did decide to wipe the hull down with acetone - just could not convince myself to cut corners... So my son and I went at it... It went faster than I expected so I lost maybe an hour... We taped the waterline and I finally broke out the first gallon of Pettit 7400 epoxy primer... That stuff is thicker than the crude coming out of BP's well and the solids in the bottom were essentially immovable... I broke the first stirring stick on it and bent the second one...

Throwing in the towel I broke out the power tools - luckily from experience we go into overkill mode and bring every tool known to man and a couple we can't identify - the half ton pickup was almost dragging bottom going down the highway and this was just for a paint job... It took a solid 20 minutes with a half horse right angle drill motor and 30" long paint stir we use for 5 gallon cans, with the gallon can clamped between my feet to keep it from spinning... The stuff is too thick to pour our of the can into a bigger pail for mixing, and when you add the catalyst it runneth over the edge of the can unless you are careful to the extreme... Getting it finally mixed to my satisfaction we started rolling and brushing... Nasty and messy business under the hull, and power boats have more ridges and strakes than the round bellied sailboats of my wasted youth - plus the tunnel... The boat is partly on cement and partly on gravel... Kneeling and sitting and sideways and supporting my weight on one hand as I did the olympic two and a half gainer(s) under the boat was hard on my aging body... By now it was pushing noon and the temperature stood at a solid 90 degrees... We broke for lunch...

2 hours later we went for round two... Mixing the primer was the same exercise all over... This time the gravel was even sharper and my arms were trembling as I held one in the air rolling paint and partly supported myself with the other... We got done about 3PM and I was sucking air... The plan had been to slam 3 coats... Go for supper and as late as we could still see, slam a quick coat of bottom paint before hanging it up for the night... By three it was all over... I crawled into the cabin and threw a white towel out onto the pavement to let Murphy know he had won... Round three awaits for another day... We had a constant stream of visitors, the guys asking "Say, what kind of boat is that?" and the wives saying, "That is soooo cute."....

To be less facetious, I had the early stage of heat stroke - chills, dry heaves, and slight confusion...
Anyway, we are home... I have showered and sucked down cold water and feel almost human again... The admiral has a grandchild in tow, so my job is to ferry them to the local restaurant so grandma can show her off...

cheers...

 

[notaclue]

denny, i am also in the process of bottom painting the [bee] i won"t be doing the epoxy primer but was just going to apply 2 coats of petite . i am nearly finished sanding and the hull is now a light powder blue. but extremely smooth to the touch.. how soon after wiping it down with acetone can i apply the paint? will one gallon do the entire hull / i waas going to do 2 different colors so as to know when i need to reaply the coat that is wearing off. because of my sanding i have lost the actual water line so thought i would mask off the boot stripe and paint from there down. thanks for your already shared info . and recomendations on any advantages to other paints would be appreciated... looking forward to your response. steve and tina [CHRISTINA BEE] 🙂

 

[Levitation]

Steve and Tina... With acetone you can wipe with one hand and paint with the other at the same time.... It evaporates faster than you can wipe... Turn the paper toweling every few swipes so you are not carrying contamination to the next surface...
Get heavy neoprene gloves... Acetone will go right through anything else... Ours came from Tractor Supply and are for mixing pesticides, etc. with sleeves up to your elbows... Possibly vinyl gloves will stand up, but you will have to test... Don't use bare hands with acetone as you will absorb enough within a minute to stress your liver...

If I read you correctly you are planning on putting bottom paint over the gelcoat without an epoxy primer... If the boat is mostly trailered it could work... If the boat is going to be wet slipped, I would strongly urge you to rethink that... While todays' gel coats are resistant to blistering, they do not match what an epoxy barrier can do...

cheers

 

[Levitation]

Oh yeah, it takes about 3/4 of a gallon to do the hull one coat...

 

[notaclue]

thanks denny,, do you have a preffered paint that would work with my application, the boat will be in the water appx 3-4 months this year, if that.. steve

 

[Levitation]

Since you mentioned Pettit, I recommend VIVID...

 

[Kamalani]

Since this conversation has drifted onto a subject that I have questions on, (bottom paints), I am going to start a new topic "Trailer Boats & Bottom Paint". Please feel free to weigh in on that for me. Thanks.
Alex, "Kamalani"