A job we never wanted to do.

Initial Sanding to the Yellow Primer

For almost the past 2 months we have been sanding the antifouling paint off the hulls.  It has been the most miserable and dirty job we have ever done.  The paint was thick and hard but we couldn't be too aggressive and sand through to the epoxy hull and damage it.  A yellow primer was used in Grenada and now, when we were sanding, that primer coat was our indication that we were almost through the paint.

Wet Sanding to the Yellow Primer

20 Grit Sanding Disc got dull way too quickly

 

The Tyvek Taliban

We went through a stack of Tyvek Suits, hundreds of sanding discs, and hundreds of sheets of sandpaper.  The dirt under the boat turned blue from the river of paint slurry that the drained off the hulls.

There was even Blue under the Yellow

Blue Slurry Sludge

Most of the hull was easily accessible and you could usually sit on something.  Down lower, you were sitting on boards on the ground but the worst position was sanding the very bottom.  The sander was usually overhead and the slurry was spraying off the disc at Booker and draining onto my head.  The face shield helped but would get so dirty, it was impossible to tell if I was approaching the yellow layer.

All Sanded and Ready for Paint

I remember applying every layer of antifouling paint over the past 10 years.  Over the past 2 months, I got to see every one of those layers again. 
Never again will I let the paint build up this thick.

 

Spray Painting the Epoxy Primer (Jotun 87)