[oldbluesplayer]

ESD - I've been wanting to strip the bottom since I got the boat - it probably had 30 years of accumulated bottom paint on it, the previous, and original, owner, kept it in the water - that bottom paint was so thick, and yet so leached out from immersion, that it looked like the boat was wearing a worn out scotch-brite pad, as a diaper !! So, I can't wait to see what a slick bottom does for performance !!!

How ? Dirtiest job I ever did - jack the boat up, crawl underneath, and go at it with a disc sander - 40 grit and 80 grit, then with an orbital sander with 100 grit ---

Warning !!! if you do this, wear a respirator, face mask, and coveralls !!!!! and even at that, I could only stand 2 hour stretches at most, and crawled out from under looking like a blue raccoon from the dust - strip in the laundry room, and head straight for the shower !! there were nights I just could not bring myself to dive in - overall, it took me 6 or 7 sessions, 1.5 - 2 hours each - and absolute arm breakers, holding a power tool up over your head.

I did hand wax and machine buff the hull sides tonight - and my arms just about fell off, but it looks good.

Now, back to that front bulkhead. And a trailer hub that needs to be stripped and new bearings installed.

Bill