Painting the Hull

Back on the 19th/20th February 2011 I painted the hull of the yacht then known as "Vic". Having asked for advice on the YBW forums I posted there once the painting was complete. Here is a rewritten version with some pictures.

This is a pic of what the hull used to look like, it was a little bit battered in places but smooth enough to avoid any major filling work. Another reason for the painting was simply that I didn't like the colour. I know it's not a good reason to completely repaint a boat but that's the way my mind works.
To paint the topsides I first sanded with 240 grit paper on an orbital sander to give a good key for the new paint to stick to. This was a fairly quick job and we probably should have spent longer on it but the days of February are short and cold so a fairly quick onceover was sufficient. Next, the whole boat was washed as thoroughly as we could and dried. Being February, the drying was helped along a bit with a t-shirt which was ruined but died in a good cause.
Next came the painting, and here I was glad to have a team of three. Had I been alone I don't think the finish would have been as good and the painting would have been significantly harder. First, masking tape was lined up along the boot top, or top of the antifoul as it was then. My brother took the lead and did the cutting in at the top and bottom using the Hempel Brilliant Enamel in "Brittania Blue". I then followed with a mini foam roller putting on the majority of the paint and then my dad followed me to "tip off" with a brush. We then waited for the paint to dry and removed the masking tape.

Once thoroughly dry the bottom of the hull was scrubbed with soapy water and allowed to dry. A new layer of masking tape was added on the topsides and red Cruiser Uno antifoul paint rollered on to the bottom, again with foam roller. This time two coats were painted on to ensure the bottom stays as clean as possible.
Finally a new cove line was added. This is a plastic tape purpose made for the job and is very sticky indeed. I lined this up along the bottom of the topsides above the antifoul.

 I think you'll agree the new paint job looks far better.