I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in...

You'll need all the usual supplies, plus lots of beer (See THIS post!) if you have help! Here is a photo of Gypsy Wind, so you can get an idea of her condition before I started.
As you can see, the paint is a bit faded, and there are some scratches. About what you'd expect after six years and 30k miles, from the Great Lakes, to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba and the Bahamas.


This photo shows some of the growth on the bottom of the boat. Despite this and worse below, I sailed up from Deltaville the day before this photo at 7.2 knots (a knot is 1.15 mph for you landlubbers), or over 8 mph. She's a fast boat,
and faster still with a clean and scrubbed bottom!
In addition to painting the topsides of the boat, I'm going to have to scrape and paint the bottom as well. An ugly job, but not as painstaking as painting the hull.

Let the fun begin - or how to paint your boat, and survive

If the title of this entry doesn't make your heart go pit a pat,

then you're in the wrong blog! It's over 90° here in Schroeders Yacht Systems in Urbanna VA. My boat, Gypsy Wind, is at last on the hard so that I can paint her. I've just finished two very painful hours at the working end of an orbital sander, and the port side forward half of the boat is sanded. At that rate....
A bit of honesty here - the true reason for this blog is to give me a legitimate excuse to knock off before I fall from the ladder. I can also justify this on the basis that the tale of this labour of love I'm engaged in will become an article in SAIL Magazine, as well as a video on amateur boat painting. Special thanks to Interlux, who have graciously supplied the materials for this long overdue job. I used their products the first time I painted Gypsy Wind, and she came out looking fabulous!
So, with all the required disclosures out of the way, I'm now going to have an ice cold beer, take some photos of the job to this point, and get ready for the next blog posting.
If you're planning on painting your own boat, follow along as I return Gypsy Wind to her previous glory. Feel free to contribute your own thoughts and suggestions. I may or may not ignore them, but I will read them.
My next blog will contain some photos, some history and some thoughts on how to start on this job.