This week is the last job in the shop before launching, buffing the topsides.  After I buff  and add teflon polish she is good for the summer, unless I haul and have time for another polish coat. For buffing I use Aqua Buff and have always had great results with this product.   It is designed for gel coat and comes in 1000 grit to remove scratches and 2000 grit to bring out the shine. Stay tuned for next week when the shows name will be, In and OUT of the Boat Shop, to better describe the summer season. Congratulations to…

Whew, the bottom is done.  Be prepared to take twice the time you think plus to do a quality bottom job.   You can not rush the sanding.  But the Merka products discussed last week help make the job easier. Hopefully you can follow my recommendations in the video and save yourself days of sanding, and come out with a bottom job you will be proud of. The Pettit products are great, and I think Black Widow bottom paint is the new standard.  Being able to buff out the surface with Merka Aberlon pads and water makes a shinny smooth finish. …

I felt it was important to pass on what I learned with rollers and abrasives while doing the bottom.  This was shot just before I did the last 20 sq-ft of the bottom, so I had most of a week behind me sanding. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes.  All the products were new for me from barrier coats, bottom paint, and abrasives.  So check out the video if you are going to do a race boat bottom job, and hopefully my tips will make your job easier.  And best of all save you days of sanding. Next week…

This week is part one of the two part bottom job.  I will go through my preparation process, and applying the two coats of Pettit Protect Barrier coats.  How it worked for me, some tricks I found, and what did not work.  Hopefully this will help you if you decide to do a full bottom job. If you can hire someone to do your bottom, I suggest it.  I have done a few bottom on my own boats but do not do this full time.  This is an art form to really have it dialed in and get perfect bottoms.…

I have a fun video this week.  This is from 2015 when I did a lot of single handed miles on my Express 27.  There are a few clips of my buddy John with his Olson 30 when we traveled to Maine on our annual singlehanded trek.  Enjoy the video The bottom job video with new Pettit Black Widow bottom paint and their barrier coat is just about done.  More sanding today. In the mean time enjoy some fun clips from the Expess 27, Kincora, which was a great ride. And remember, Have Fun Every Day Sign up for the Vimeo…

With the sailing season starting in Southern New England I thought is was a good time to dig into the archives, and give you a treat.  This is a video I took in the summer of 2009 sailing my Quest 30 Samba to CT, to see my brothers.  Conditions were great in both directions, and it is a fantastic memory.  I hope you enjoy the ride? Next week will be the bottom job part 1. Sign up for the blog to get weekly updates, and my In The Boat Shop Vimeo channel to see the weekly show an this video.

Well here we are only weeks from launching and the jobs finally are getting scratched off the list.  This week is the finished cockpit video showing the new singlehanded setup. What a fun process, and one I look forward to using in a few weeks.  I hope this has helped you think about the best way to set your boat up for shorthanded sailing? As always I am happy to answer questions.  Sign up for my blog and In The Boat Shop Vimeo channel to receive weekly updates. And where you will find this weeks video at the top.

Since I will be spending so much time in the cockpit sailing Kincora, it is only fair I spend a lot of time dialing it in.  So this week is part 3 of the now four part series on modifying the cockpit. The pod was painted with Kiwi Grip and kept pretty smooth, but still with some non skid. And with the pod rigged with fantastic Ronstan hardware it is ready to install.  But first we need to prep the surface, and apply some more Kiwi Grip to all the foot chocks. So sit back and enjoy the video on…