Now that the tearing down of the boat has done and the dust has settled, let us turn to the latter part of this huge project. Actually there is still tearing apart going on as I was still removing little things from all over the boat, including the windshield, wiper, the navigational lights and so forth, but everything seems to be falling into places.
How much fuel can this thing carry? Where am I taking this thing? Or what kind of fishing am I thinking in these harsh waters of these United States of America? These were the type of questions that bugged me throughout this project and especially when laying the flooring.
I made a huge mistake in leaving the old tank at my old house in Oregon, now I have to buy new fuel tanks. Already purchased the tanks on Amazon, each tank can hold 35 gallons of fuel so as of now, the boat is ready to carry a total fuel of 70 gallons. Am not sure how far that’s going to take the boat but if I am thinking Tuna fishing then we are talking about at least 100 nautical miles offshore… wow. Long drive! I still have one more room on the boat for one more tank, that’s leave very little room for the catch… lol. Freakin small boat man.
To my relieve, the Transom has done, the motor well is in, and the flooring has laid. Now the easy and fun part of painting the entire boat. But before that, I had to sand the old paint down trying to take off the chalky peeled paints so that the new paint can be attached. It was a very meticulous job and one that has to be done so not to waste your time. I think this is the most important thing in the painting process, let’s call it the preparation part. It must be done right the first time so you do not regret it.
Weather plays a huge role in how you approach your painting process. And since I do not have the privilege of an Island weather, it makes it a lot more complicated. You have to work or paint in a temperature of no less than  50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) and with the minimum of moisture in the air. Another problem I have is that I have no access to a boat OVEN…. yes to bake the boat! :)… And you know what? My oldest son told me we should cover the boat with Tin Foil and let it baked under the sun. Not a bad idea. We just have to run to Costco for a huge Tin Foil bag… 🙂
This is not part of what I learned via the Internet but while in Japan, yes in Yokohama. We used laundry soap to wash down parts of boats before we painted them. So as you can imagine, this is not the first time I painted a boat. This is the first time I did it all alone by my body and soul. lol. And fully enjoying every moment of it.
There is a twist to this boat making process. I was going to let it sit this summer and just enjoy my vacation but my Friend Mark from work challenged me to finish this damn project. He told me since I built the shed before the boat, it means the boat is going to be sitting around for another 5 years! lol. Thanks to my friend Mark, I am very close to being done with this project. I was up very early this morning to pull the boat out under the sun to dry it up very good and to warm it up a bit before I put the Bikini Blue on there. Don’t ask me why they call that paint Bikini but I think I like that name. lol.
So here we go. In the afternoon, I should have a bit more story to tell you about the Bikini Paint and if I still have a positive look and feel of it. We shall see. If I do not like it, then it means I aint say nothing about it. lol.
Hello friends again. Good Afternoon from the Puget Sound. Well the first Bikini Blue coat has been completed as you can see in the following pictures. It came out pretty good. We’ll have to see when all is said and done. It took me about 30 minutes to complete the first coat, using a roller and a brush. I will have to go back to Home Depot again for more good brushes. The normal brush I got didn’t turn out good as the fibers kept falling off and onto the paint. The roller was awesome!
Well between painting and baking the boat under the natural oven (the sun), I was able to put two layers on. The boat looks pretty new now, at least the top side. I am not planning on touching any other parts until tomorrow. There is an 8 hours wait between coatings and that is if the temperature is above 90 degrees. Today was hovering between 80 and 85, no more. It’s only today that I wished I am in Dallas to get the boat baked well. lol. Sorry Dallas folks, but I really do not know how you guys handle the heat down there. lol.
I am including more pictures of the painting job that I did today. The baking part was not too bad at all. The sun was out and there was no wind at all so it was a pretty good day for painting. After we did the second coat, then we just spent the afternoon taking in the sun as well as the many commercial airplanes that fly by our house on their way to SeaTac airport… Great time with the boys!