Starting at the bottom...

Spring has been busy thus far.  Among a growing list of among about 45 tasks to be completed prior to launch, refinishing the bottom of s/v Island Bound was the first to be completed.  She has been historically bottom-painted with VC17m from Interlux, so I decided to keep things consistant and used the same paint.  VC is a bit unique among bottom paints in that it's not ablative, like so many are.  VC comes in quart sized cans with a bag of copper powder (copporous oxide) in the cap that needs to be mixed with the liquid contents of the can before application.  VC is a very thin, smooth paint and therefore does not need to be sanded down and removed before applying a new coat. 

You only need to spot-sand patches that are peeling or showing through.  VC also dries extemely quickly, so you don't want the can sitting open very long and you don't want to leave paint in the roller tray.  As an alternative to a roller tray, I put the mixed VC in a clean ketchup bottle and squirted the necessary amount directly onto my roller prior to painting.  This keeps the VC from evaporating.  It goes on fairly easily and shows a nice bronze/copper color (red and blue are available).  The color will turn a grayish-brown after it's been in the water for a bit.

Anyway, here's what the new bottom looks like:

       

Comments

  1. Anonymous27 May

    Kevin she looks great. As a fellow Irwin owner (1972 32' aft sloop) I too love these boats. We sail out of South Haven. Did Whitehall to SH last May 9th (cold) in 12.5 hours. These boats are faster than you think for their tonnage.
    I must admit yours looks a lot better than ours. Is your 28 MkIV really a 1976 or is it newer?
    I was looking at you mast down pic and she looks great.
    E-J

    ReplyDelete

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