The Deck II

After my experience with the primer, I decided to take the Interlux Interdeck to a hardware store for them to mix professionally – ie, put it in a machine and shake the absolute bejesus out of it. The clerk was good enough to do this free of charge, and even opened the can afterward to make sure there were no clumps left. It worked.

            I sanded down the bumps left by the primer on Eurydice’s deck and gave the whole thing a light once-over to rough it up a bit, then brushed away the dust and wiped the whole thing down with acetone.

            Between the high wind and the clouds gathering overhead, I hesitated to paint. The weather hadn’t called for rain, but everything told me it was coming. I could feel the atmosphere growing denser, so I held off, had a tea on the veranda, and waited. After about half an hour the dark clouds began to lighten, and I could see some clear sky in the east, where the wind and weather was coming from. I decided to risk it and lay the paint. I later found out that it had rained only 10 kilometres away.

            The paint went on thicker than the primer, and it took nearly half a can for the first coat. I’d hoped to have enough Intedeck for two coats and part of the interior, but the first coat lead me to believe that I’d only have enough for the deck itself.

First coat of paint, tape still in place.

            The next morning was windy again, and I found several blackflies had managed to secure themselves to the deck by landing in yesterday’s drying paint. I picked out what I could and painted over the rest. It was a relief to be taping off the deck for the final time, and I was happily surprised to find that there was still a quarter can of Interdeck left over when I was done painting – at the very least, this will be enough to paint the seat tanks and centerboard well inside the cockpit, and I think that I still have enough blue topside paint do to the rest of the interior.

            Unfortunately, I’m going to need a bit of that blue paint to fix a couple of spots on the exterior of the hull. I slipped twice while sanding the bit of deck above the transom, and the masking tape pulled off a small chip near the same spot. At least it’s all roughly in the same place. If there’s a next time, I’ll tape it off even for the sanding.

            Eurydice is getting a lot closer to the water. Two more days of painting, and I can start putting her hardware back in place. Those two days will have to be next weekend.

The finished deck.