Re: non ablative, non antifouling bottom painting question??
Yes, i had thought of that as well....only real reason to re-paint is to a) make the transom look better (I rounded over the top and clothed/epoxied the exposed marine ply beneath the original aluminum cap then painted) So I have a nice bright white paint above the waterline on the rear of the transom and the original gel-coat below is a creamish color. Just aesthetics really.... b) I also have some gouges in the gel coat on the front of the keel...my thought on that was to feather smooth w/ epoxy mixed w/ cabosil, then maybe even add a strip of cloth/epoxy to make it even more indestructable (almost). I don't really want to re-gelcoat the area, figured a couple of coats of a aqua-blue or red something paint on the bottom would look sharper and be easier to do...
Otherwise, I may just concentrate on finishing up my rigging and fish-on...(I ran all last summer & fall w/ nothing but an ignition, a throttle, a tach and a baitwell and put some monstrous redfish in the boat...) just gearing up to put the bells and whistles on for this spring.....vhf/depth/dual bat's etc...and eventually a stereo and two bean bags up front for the scantily clad bimbo's to sit upon......Thus far I do love that hull for the waters around here..trade off on stability vs. pounding, but she's nice and run's pretty damn skinny. Also, SC DNR used Mckee's a lot round here and I swear the man will pick on a seahunt/bayliner before he checks my mess (not that I would ever hit the water under-equipped/papered etc..)
Yeah, this was my first restoration of a fiberglass boat...bought the hull, trailer and a blown 140hp EV for $1200...3 years and 4k later actually put it in the water....one after thought, I wouldn't attempt to convert a dual console to a CC again...but one thing I do know is there ain't any boat quite like it on the water....anywhere..console came from the Mckee factory in fairmont, interesting story, went in, shot the breeze about the project, shop foreman pointed out a CC on the floor ripped out of a 18' bay classic and said "this one would probably work our real good for ya w/ some FG repair" I sez "Howmuch would a console like that go for??" He sez "special price for you only today, right now, you back your truck up to the bay and help me load it in your truck and it's yours....I'm tired of stubbing my toes on it and want it outta my shop" I went back 2 months later and found the right grab rail for $50, threw him $80 and rolled on....Mckee was truely a first rate customer oriented family run boat company, hope they get straightened out and back in business soon...besides, i didn't want a boat w/ the word "Boston" in it....no offense, I'm just a diehard southerner (although Boston's alright in my book as they directly collaborated w/ Charlestonians during the "Tea Party"...Charleston concurrently blockaded the harbor against the king's ships at the exact time the bostonians tossed that tea overboard..... I need to get up there one day.