Team Seacats

I got the first three coats of color on the bottom of the hull tonight. A little 320 grit wetsanding of the primer and it was ready to go. I’m very pleased with the results, she’s incredibly fair and even side to side. A few of you are probably wondering why I choose blue…First, I needed a dark color that contrasts well with orange – since that’s the color of the gelcoat that will first be sprayed on the plug and eventually form the outer shell of the mold. I started to paint it black, but the second thing I needed, was a color that I could still mark on lightly with a fine sharpie. I have to make a parting board to go around the model in order to separate the two mold halves and I need to make a few little marks so I can be sure to get the parting board as level and even as possible. If I had painted it black, it would have been difficult to mark it without marring the finish. (thinking about it again, I probably should make the parting board before I apply the final finish on the plug).

I’ll get up a little early in the morning to heat up the shop, flip the hull over, and set it in the cradles so I can paint the topsides. It should cure enough to wetsand again by the time I get home from work in the evening. Then I’ll mark some key components on the hull with small vinyl tape and dots (mast position, cockpit cutout marks, shroud mounting points, keel hole reference, rudder post reference, etc.). Then a clear coat will go on followed by some very fine wetsanding and buffing. I’m hoping to get the final finish done by this weekend so I can start on the parting board Saturday morning.

Originally uploaded by Team Seacats.