Primed Cockpit

Yesterday turned out to be a great day, so I priming the entire cockpit. I'd also planned to put the first coat of cetol on the handrails and companionway boards, but ran out of time. However, I did finish getting them ready, so I'll try again today if the weather holds.

I took the hatches off, stacked them on the ground next to the boat, then painted the whole cockpit, including the sole. I saved the small section of side deck next to the ladder for last, and painted it as I climbed down. Then I painted the hatches and put another coat on the the leading edge of the bow. I had already staged the handrails, etc., next to the boat, but it took too long to strip the last one -- I used a heat gun to remove the old varnish -- so I didn't have time to paint.

I might give the cockpit one more coat of primer, but will have to look at the forecast later today before I decide. I'll need to roll the final coats in the same manner, but can't paint the hatches off the boat if there's any chance of rain. I can, and probably will, put a coat on just the sections where I need to remount hardware, but would prefer to do the whole thing and get if over with.

I can roll a finish coat the day after a primer coat, and could do the same with subsequent finish coats, but I need to be more careful with them since they take much longer to cure. I also need to give the last coat a few days before I can remount anything. I guess that means I need to be done no later than mid to late week, but since it's the cockpit, I could even do some of it after she get into the water.

Zoe watch:

We dropped by the bar after our walk to watch Roy Oswald (former Astro) pitch for Philly, but couldn't see the game since they didn't get the right channel -- it was on cable. I wanted to let the paint fumes dissipate before we went back to the boat, so we hung out for a while. It was sorta busy with people watching some football game, so I had to put her on my lap to keep her from getting stepped on. She likes that better anyway because then everyone sees her and comes over to say hi, otherwise, no one even knows she's there.

After we got back, I followed the game on my laptop -- I don't get cable either (haven't owned a tv in over 20 years). Roy pitched great and even got a hit and scored a run. It was a good game. It would be cool to see him pitch to Lance Berkman in the World Series, but I still hope Texas makes it.

Update:

I just looked at the 10 day forecast, and it looks like I'll have sunshine through Sunday. I thought we were going to have a few rainy days this week, but if this holds, I might just finish.