This boat model was designed in the '70s and has sold about 100,000 units. This particular boat is an '83. I bought it used in about '95 and had it for 4-5 years. It sat outside since. The new owner wanted to start sailing it again and asked me to look it over and make sure everything was sound rigging wise.
After I got it I had to ask for time to do some work on the gelcoat. I emailed pictures of one small section I had done and he gave me the OK to do it all.
This boat had some nostalgia for me. My daughter and I, and my late brother and I used to club race it. My wife and I fell in love sailing on it, and we named it after our first child -- Hannah -- i.e. Hannah Banana b/c of the two banana shaped hulls.
So, I did it for a fee, but it was practically minimum wage (maybe 2 or 3x, but that's about it). It was a good experience and I learned a lot about how gelcoat works w/o having to experiment on my $25K powerboat. I have done half way jobs on boats before only to have them come back in no time looking just as bad. I think this one should last if kept up. I sent him on his way with bottle of
Meguiar's #50 and said to apply it 1x or 2x a season.
I'm very new at gelcoat and auto polishing, so there is only one way to go -- up and better. It was very tedious and back-breaking. For example, to do the inside of the hulls requires you to squat under the trampoline. Everything is squatting. The hulls are 16 feet long with three surfaces each. It has to have 100 to 150 sq/ft of gelcoat.
Enough rambling
. Here are the steps I used:
-Wash (with washings here and there in between when appropriate)
-Scrub non-skid top decks with scrub brush and toilet bowl cleaner to remove mold
-Cut thru the bulk of the oxidation / chalk with a wet sand using soft Gator Grit block 320 grit (
http://www.gatorgrit.com/item3583.htm) I used this because I started with 400 grit wet/dry paper, but I was going thru it so fast (about every two square feet). I switched to this block and lasted much longer (two for the entire boat). It wasn't too harsh and didn't leave scratches that I couldn't get out later
The wet sands below were based on what area I was working on. The inside of the hulls under the trampoline weren't as bad as the top surfaces, for example. The outside top edges and the contoured areas around the pylons were particularly bad. I used either Gator or 3M wet/dry paper.
-Wet sand w/ 600 or 800 wet/dry
-Wet sand w/ 1200, 1500, and/or 2000 wet dry
-PC w/ yellow LC pad applying 3M marine rubbing compound; buff out w/ MF bonnet
-PC w/ white LC pad applying
Meguiar's Fiberglass Color Restorer #44; buff out w/ MF
-PC w/ white LC pad applying Meguiar's Auto Swirl Remover (it was the only thing I had at the time that was between the last and next steps)
-PC w/ black LC pad applying Meguiar's One-Step Cleaner Wax #50
-PC w/ black LC pad applying Meguiar's Marine Pure Wax #56 (two coats)
Last step: listen to wife say, "when are you going to get that damn boat out of the driveway?"
I also did the 26 foot mast with 1500 grit wet paper. The black anodized surface came out looking new.
Here's my gallery with many of the before and after shots. I have a new digital camera that I am getting used to, so I need to get better at taking photos too.
Here is my gallery for all the shots:
http://autopia.org/gallery/showgalle...=31372&cat=500
Some specific before & after shots:
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
Linear Mode
