Tornados, Do-Overs & Dumb Luck

Ever hear that little voice in your head? Ever hear it sound like Keith Darby saying "now do you see what I was talking about dumb ass". Well that was what I heard as I looked at the Baltaplate finish. At first, it looked pretty good; but as I got more into it with the wet sand I discovered a bigger issue. The paint went on well, but there were rough spots under the paint that were not smooth enough. Darby said to "hit the boat with a 220 grit finishing sand and feel it for smooth spots". I did it once, but then put more paint over it. Well I should have done the 220 sand again because I had a ah ha or maybe an ah shit moment. I knew immediately that the paint needed to come off.  It was worse than the thin spots. It was bumpy and thin. In one word - It sucked.  

Soooo the Baltoplate is off, again. I have been hitting the bottom with 220 grt and it looks a lot better. There are 3 or 4 small spots that are going to require some filling. I plan to hit the filler and possibly go after the paint again this week. Everyone on internet forums as well as the folks I speak with locally say I need to hit the bottom with an 80grit sand for the paint to stick. I believe that Darby wanted me to paint the baltoplate over the 220. I can always go back and hit it with a light 80 grit sand, but I would like to see how it works on the 220. I have sanded through so much paint so I am going to try the rudder with the 220 and see how it goes. I'll post it up. 

Working to make SBRW (Southern Bay Race Week) and then a Tornado hits. Everyone was okay but the club was trashed. Boats and windows broken as well as the event cancelled. There was no way to host the races on Saturday and Sunday. I really felt bad for my racing buds. As much as I wanted FBG to be out there, I was not terribly upset we are running behind. I would hate to end a 3 year refit by being trashed by a tornado. Most of the club is back to normal and everyone seems to be focused on the next event. Good luck to everyone that is fix'n their boats now too.


Oh yea and we got a slip - A tornado slammed boat is getting hauled off by the insurance company - We are going to reside on the D dock in slip # 5. Now having a place to go I am going to get busy to get there. Has your boat ever been hit by a tornado?