Epoxy and Paint

Masking

In lieu of fiberglassing the entire boat, I opted for two coats of sealing epoxy before painting. I used S1 Sealer, which is the Canadian functional equivalent of Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (CPES) in the USA.
To ensure a primary bond when installing the seats, I first masked off all parts of the dinghy where the seats would attach.

Epoxy Coating

These photos show the inside of the dinghy after two coats of S1 Sealer.

Sanding

Once the epoxy had cured for a week, it was necessary to sand it lightly to give the surface some "teeth" for the paint to adhere to. I used a 5" 3M hook-and-loop sanding pad. I've found the 3M sandpaper to be much higher quality than other brands, with less tendency to load up with sanding dust.
For an operation this small, it's also better than using a power sander, which would have the tendency to work too quickly.

Hull Primer

The epoxy was followed by two coats of Pettit 6149 White Undercoater.

Hull Paint

The dinghy then received two coats of Pettit 3106 Semigloss White. I chose semigloss on purpose, due to its ability to hide small flaws.

Masking (again)

Once the outside paint had fully cured, the dinghy was placed on its cradle again, to paint the inside.
To avoid double-coating many parts of the inside, I masked off all parts of the inside that would later be painted with nonskid paint. Plastic vapour barrier was taped in place, and the edges marked with a dotted line to make them visible when painting.

Inside Primer

The inside was now given its initial coat of 6149 White Undercoater. Coverage is lacking in places, but this is what multiple coats are for. I did most of the painting with a roller, only using a brush when absolutely necessary.
The most difficult part to paint was the bottom of the seats. I had to use a small mirror (shown on the seat, photo 1 above) to see what I was painting. Even then, I was often working mirror-image with my wrong hand.
3M fineline masking tape was used on the gunnel to mark the edge between the plywood and mahogany. The result was better than I've experienced even when using blue masking tape on other projects -- a very clean line.

Primer, Second Coat

The second coat of primer resulted in much better visual coverage of the surfaces.

Paint, First Coat

The first coat of 3106 Semigloss White continued to improve the appearance. The ragged inside edge of the paint is of no consequence, as it will be overlapped by the nonskid paint.
The under-seat areas are also looking much better by this point.

Paint, Second Coat

The second coat of white paint completes the white painting of the dinghy.

White Paint Completed

I didn't dare to remove the masking tape and plastic while the paint was still wet, for fear of messing up what I'd just completed. These photos were taken the next day, when the paint was dry.

Name Graphics

The time had finally come to apply the name to the dinghy. The font is a copy of the Sony Playstation font, called Zrnic. It was designed by Ray Larabie, of Larabie Fonts.
Finally, the important part: the name! "No Regrets" named herself during the course of construction. Yes, the name is taken from another song by Tom Cochrane, who was also the inspiration for the name of my Tanzer 22 "Brave and Crazy". As construction of the dinghy dragged on over three years, getting more complicated all the time, I resolved to do the best job I could, and also to have no regrets about any design or building decisions.
To apply the name, I made several alignment marks on the dinghy using masking tape. These gave me the centerline and an offset down from the gunnel. With the name positioned correctly, a strip of masking tape was applied across the top edge (not shown), and then the backing was gradually removed as the name was smoothed down to the surface.

Masking for Nonskid

When purchasing the fineline masking tape, I had been assured that it would conform to a small radius quite easily. I must have misinterpreted one of those words: conform, small, easily. All my initial tests with the 3/4" tape resulted in a crumpled mess when rounding a corner.
I finally resolved to tape the corners straight, mark a radius using a small plastic cup of the correct size, and then use an x-acto knife to cut out the radius. Any cut into the white paint didn't matter, as the nonskid paint would fill the cut.
Details of the various corners on the boat:

Nonskid Paint

The first coat of nonskid paint completely changed the appearance of the dinghy. I used Interlux Interdeck, on the recommendation of several people on the Trailer Sailor Message Board. As they had found, this paint is rough enough to provide traction, without being so rough as to wear through your shorts!
All the nonskid painting was done using a short-nap mohair roller. It simply isn't possible, or at least it's VERY difficult, to get the proper texture when using a brush. I found that two coats were sufficient for very good coverage. A third coat in some places didn't improve the appearance noticeably.

All Painting Done!

With the masking tape removed, the dinghy is now complete! I used a small dental pick for lifting the tape. This allowed me to get under the edge of the tape without risk of damaging the underlying surface, as compared to using a knife.
© 2018 Melissa Goudeseune