Good progress made this week on a number of fronts. We had a visit from a representative of Altex paints who gave advice on finishes. They also provided a significant discount on the sealer and varnish we will use when we start recoating. Thanks to Pasquale, Robert and Coral who met the guy and explained what we were trying to achieve.

Sanding of the interior continued on Tuesday and Thursday and is now about ninety per cent complete. We turned the boat over on Saturday and started on the exterior surfaces. After experimenting with sanding, heat gun and paint stripper, we found that a heat gun followed by sanding is the best option. As we have three heat guns, we will be able to make good progress over the next week.

Robert Tearne is away for two weeks. By the time he returns, we plan to have finished sanding the outside, turned the boat over and completed sanding the inside. The centreboard case has already been removed so Robert can start building the new case in two weeks. We will also need to fill some scrapes and gouges and then seal and varnish. We should be ready to repaint by early to mid-August. There are five coats of varnish and they need to be done on consecutive days so a big effort required. Five days for the outside and five for the inside.