To say I've been busy since the last time I sat down and wrote a blog is an understatement!

I totally underestimated how long it would take to rub the boat down, undercoat it and apply the final coat of paint. Fortunately all the paint was supplied by International Paints, so I didn't really have to worry about buying it. I started by rubbing down the old bright yellow paint that has covered the boat for the last couple of years of its life. Not having done this before I attacked the boat with a power sander and plenty of enthusiasm. After a bit of help from friends and a few long weekends and what looked like a warehouse full of dust I had finished. I then washed the boat down and started to mask the hatches and fittings ready for paint. What I thought would take a few hours ended up taking nearly 2 full days just to get all the masking done correctly. My paint was delivered and so I got started on applying the undercoat. I was supplied a white undercoat but no red undercoat. So I was advised to mix the white undercoat to the red top coat that would be used for the hull. This left a bright pink hull which really didn't look great, but I had to carry on. See photos for pink boat action!

2 days later the boat was undercoated. At this point the paint supplies came down to have a look at the boat and were very impressed with the work I had done. They then told me it needed to be rubbed down again. I recruited the help of a friend and managed to get it done in a day. After a wash down the boat was finally ready for its final top coat of paint.

Roger from International Paints offered to come down and help me apply the final coat of paint, which was a great help. Roger used to paint luxury yachts in the Caribbean and I learnt a lot of little tricks from him. I realized for a nice finish there is a lot more than just slapping paint on. After weeks of working into the night the boat was finally finished. I was so pleased it looked great. Thanks International Paints. See pictures.

After one job had finished I was straight onto the next one. Half the reason for getting the boat finished in good time was to make it up to the South Wales boat Show. I meet Ben who organises the boat show back in January at the London International Boat show. He saw my boat on display and asked if I would display the boat at his show. I agreed and the 6 months from January to June rolled past at a phenomenal rate.

The show turned out to be a great weekend. The charity the crossing is in aid of also made an appearance and had a stand next to me. The general feedback I had on the project was great from the public. Again the most common question thrown at me was "Are you nuts?" It was all good fun though.

I learnt one very valuable lesson over the weekend, and that was; Sun cream is not for poofs! I got quite badly burnt. That will not happen again.

Any way as I finish this blog I'm already thinking of my next job. So out for now from Captain Ketch, aka Atlantic Adventurer.