INVESTIGATOR 563

Hi all. After spending so much time re building and repairing the issues I found with my Investigator, ( which was no fault of the boat itself, only of the misuse it suffered from others,) including re fibreglassing the bottom of the keel and the rebuilding of the centreboard pivot bolt holes in the centreboard case, as well as a new centreboard and after waiting for the Tasmanian weather to improve enough so that painting can take place, I am finally at the stage of hopefully making it look good . There were so many cracks in the gel coat that needed grinding out and filling which has now been completed. This can only be expected with any fibreglass boat of this age as well as the stresses placed on it by the use of a rusted out trailer which was in the process of collapse.
I have started the painting process.
I decided to use the 2 pack Norglass products and have applied the Shipshape epoxy primer to the under waterline section.
I was going to spray this on and because of the amount of upside down surfaces to paint, purchased a great spray outfit to do it where the paint pot sits separate to the gun which allows upside down painting. However, in the end, decided that a perfect finish on the under waterline section was not necessary so I have applied the primer with a mohair roller and 10% thinners added to the primer. The result was very acceptable, however, how much time have you spent upside down rubbing it down with 400 grit wet and dry. What a rotten job. Spent all day on it today and have it about 3/4 's done. Back and arms will never be the same again I think. Anyway, see below, some photo's of progress so far. Gel cracks ground out and filled. Masked up Ready to Paint Under waterline primed. The light grey you can see is just the sanding not washed off yet.
Hopefully I will finish sanding and apply the admiral blue Northane gloss paint over the next few days. Then it will be de mask and re mask so the top of the hull can be done, which I will spray.
Extreme care must be taken with spraying these paints and I have my sleep aplea machine set up to provide a positive fresh air supply and a 30 metre hose to feed the face mask so should be ok. That hose can be seen in the last photo. The apnea machine draws fresh air from outside at the other end of the adjoining workshop.

Peter,

That's going to be a beaut finish. This is a one day thing for me so really appreciate the step by step info.

Looking forward to the final pics.

Thanks Geoff. Me too mate as I am sick of wet and dry sanding, especially upside down and I reckon the blue will need two coats which means even more sanding between coats.
Cheers

Great job Peter and once again, your lifting stand is a work of art

Thanks Ozzie. I modified the frame slightly. I have now made four replacement arms with different pads on them so that when I come to paint the top of the hull, the other arms have angle iron pads which fit over the timber toe rail. They are padded so as not to damage the toe rail but this leaves the whole hull free to be painted. Just need to fit the other arms and slide the arm supports up the posts of the frame to correct height to hold the boat laterally by the toe rail. You can do one at a time without any risk of the boat moving off the jack stands. When I fit them, will post a photo.
Cheers

Took around 3 hrs to paint under the waterline using mohair roller. No need to tip it off with a brush as a really good finish can be hadtip rolling in the opposite direction and gives a great finish. Still used my breathing machine ( sleep apnea machine with a super long hose and could not smell the paint when applying it. I purchased 2 litres of paint which I had to get as two separate litres. Used over three quarters of a litre for first coat . Mixed the whole litre and added 5% brushing thinners. Now I still have another full litre to do a second coat which I think I will because when a strong light is held up to it, lighter shades in patches can be seen . They recommend 2 coats with dark colours and I reckon they are spot on.

Hi all, paint job progressing. First photo shows how I modified the support pads on the lifting frame so that I could paint all the above waterline in one go.
Second photo shows hull with white primer applied. Now to let it harden a few days, sand it down with 400 wet and dry and then top coat.

Congratulations Peter. Very inspiring!

Mate just checking your paint job.. great set up you got there you're doing a brilliant job..the boat will look brand new when you're done..very inspiring...cheers Paddy

Thanks Paddy. I certainly hope your right mate given the amount of work it has taken. I have found out that the longer you leave that epoxy primer, the harder it is to sand back with 400 wet and dry and I had to give it a second coat with the spray gun so it's now the second time same job but it's come up like a baby's bum