Hi all, well, this should make Court smile...I've sold the Hinckley and decided to opt for my T37 over my HB40. I don't need cache, I like to go fast. I heard from a member who lives in SW harbor and works at Hinckley. He said I was nuts for going with the Bermuda 40, that Pilgrim will sail better. Now, having owned and worked on the HB40, I can tell you the construction is just amazing. Unparalleled. But the Tartan is a great boat and I've worked hard to address any common T37 problems she had.
So here I am, preparing to launch. To my current projects/questions/decisions. I took all the bottom paint off to do a barrier coat out of obsessive compulsion. In the sanding, in spots where I went through the whitish (I guessed gelcoat but I've had opinions it's a white barrier coat directly over the glass?)...anyway...in spots where I went through to the glass there are tiny 1/8th in "blisters". The boat has been on the hard for years so the hull is dry. Will they fill when all done and splashed? Varying opinions. A surveyor said don't worry, west system the spots I've exposed and barrier coat. But others say shave it and barrier coat. Others say shave and apply a layer of fabric, fair and barrier coat.
Now I'm really a lucky guy and here I have a friend who is very reputable, the best in the Annapolis area at this type work. (Bayside
Boatworks@yahoo.com/ Jeff Hickman)...he'll probably shoot me because he's so busy...but he's giving me a great price on either way I go. He's the one who strongly recommends I fabric. And trust me, he doesn't need the work. My boy works harder than anyone I know (and I'm a marble man)...I digress...
The bare fiberglass is covered with "white spots" up to a half inch in diameter. Jeff says they are blisters under the surface of the glass that will eventually open up. So the shaving will eliminate them and the vinyl-ester applied fabric will seal and strengthen the hull. So I'm pretty sure I'm going to do it. Any thoughts? I'm thinking the extra layer will make the hull bulletproof....