I’ve begun the ‘enjoyable’ task of applying new antifouling paint to Sweet Pea’s bottom. I went over the old paint with a scraper to remove any loose bits (the port side was worse thanthan starboard – port faced the sun where she was stored); then sanded with 80-grit to assure the new paint has a good bond.
Hydrocoat goes on just like any other ablative paint. The big differences are it is water based so not stinky, thinned with water and easy to clean up. Much more enjoyable to apply than other paints. The five or so months Sweet Pea will be in saltwater will be a good test to how Hydrocoat does keeping the bottom free of growth.
The motor mount’s plywood clamping board required a lot of maintenance. At least twice a year a coat of varnish needed to be applied … well it has been five+ years since IveI done that and the board is beyond saving. Plywood is now replaced with HDPE ‘Starboard’. This was a quick task once I found a source for the piece – ended up getting a boat that was only slightly larger from Catalina Direct.
Modern boat line is plastic so after cutting the ends are burned to keep the fibers from fraying. This works well but sometimes fused ends break apart during use and you end up with a fuzzy mess. To make Sweet Pea’s lines more durable I’ve whipped the ends.
When crawling under the cockpit it was obvious the lower gedgeon needed rebedding. Friend Gary assisted by holding the external side of the bolts while I was under the cockpit (why he didn’t want to crawl under there I don’t know … being wedged into a small space fun!).
The bottom paint and the standing rig are the only to large tasks that remain. Getting very close being ‘finished enough’ and heading to the Salish Sea!
M17 #375 - SWEET PEA 
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