How "Rassvet" became yellow

Scratches on the yacht

Getting aboard means bringing the boat against land or another boat. Called ‘berthing’, it often becomes a little adventure. If lucky, just a fright; if not, deep scratches in both memory and hull. Last year, for instance, I fell overboard, leaving the yacht to the wind, which happily rubbed her against a steel ferry. That soured my mood for the whole season.

Why do chips matter?
Most yacht hulls are made of epoxy resin reinforced with many layers of glass cloth, sometimes with a plywood core. Osmosis lets water enter, causing fibreglass delamination and rotten plywood. A protective layer, such as two-part gelcoat, keeps it out. Scratches and chips damage that protection and expose the hull to the elements.

A quick repair
As soon as the scratches appeared, I tried to fill them with gelcoat. But its runny consistency doesn’t suit vertical surfaces: it flows like thick honey. It also needs over 15°C and takes one or two weeks to dry. Almost impossible in cold weather. How does anyone manage? This winter, I decided on a proper repair, paying extra to keep the yacht in a dry shed.

Preparation
First, open out the damage and deepen it by a millimetre. I bought a Dremel 4250 rotary tool for €90. Excellent, though a light and air blower would help.

Filling
Because of the cold, I used €26 Hempel epoxy filler instead of gelcoat. It dries in two days at 5–10°C, suits vertical surfaces, but needs Hempel Light Primer afterwards. Very thick: my flat Japanese filling knife filled the grooves well, but lifting it pulled material away, exposing the edges. I had to overfill, leaving little mounds.

Sanding
Once dry, level with 180–240-grit paper, keeping the whole sander disc flat. Dust can envelop you like fog, so vacuum extraction, goggles and a filtered mask are essential.

Mistakes and lessons
1. The yard pointed out that groove edges should taper gently for even filling. Mine had vertical walls, making everything harder. They drew it on a piece of wood, and I immediately saw my mistake.
2. I hadn’t mixed the epoxy and hardener thoroughly enough. Two consequences:
– the mixture was too thick, creating bubbles that opened during sanding
– little unmixed ‘rice grains’ broke away during sanding
Who knew mixing epoxy components could be so difficult?

Despite the flaws, valuable experience. The yacht improved, and I learnt plenty.

#maintenance

Painting the hull

My yacht still had her original 1975 gelcoat, oxidised and aged, with a collection of chips and scratches exposing the fibreglass. Some were my own doing. I wanted to freshen her up and, above all, fulfil an old dream: a yellow yacht! Knowing the difficulties of two-part systems, I chose one-part paint, easier for an inexperienced sailor like me. Comparing Hempel, International and Epifanes, I chose the last simply because the guide was clearer.

Preparation
Made a shopping list and bought everything. As far as possible, repaired the gelcoat chips and scratches. Removed everything removable: locker lids, handles, locks, hatches. Masked off the underwater hull, wood and metal.

Sanding the gelcoat
First, connecting the sander to the vacuum. I felt old: for the first time in ages, I had to read the manual. I learnt to open that mysterious vent on the vacuum hose when sanding — a childhood mystery solved. Three days, over a hundred 320-grit discs, and an abrasive pad for awkward areas. I liked my new Makita BO5041. A neighbour let me try his Mirka: faster and more efficient, but the Makita’s side grip tired my arm less. I tried three disc types: denser material worked better, with ceramic-alumina discs best. Afterwards, washed with Hempel Pre-Clean and degreased with Epifanes Fibreglass Prep Cleaner.

Priming
The hardest stage, richest in mistakes. Every action brought difficulty. First, an untidy coat of Epifanes Multi Marine Primer left unevenness and runs. Sanding clogged discs quickly, formed lumps and scratched the surface. Degreasing with Epifanes Fibreglass Prep Cleaner rolled patches of primer into clay-like pieces. Instead of removing imperfections, I added more.

Painting
This knocked me completely off balance. I’d badly overestimated myself.

For three weeks, every Friday meant polishing with compound equivalent to 400-grit paper, while manually smoothing primer mistakes with the same grit. Nine in the morning to nine at night, then degreasing again with Epifanes Fibreglass Prep Cleaner.

Saturdays were white deck paint: the cabin area, coachroof and foredeck. Then onto the ladder for side decks and the coachroof sides. About one and a half 750ml tins of Epifanes Mono-urethane per coat.

Sundays were yellow topsides, again about one and a half tins per coat. Once, the tray fell — paint-side down, naturally. A good reminder to keep a spare tin and not pour everything into the tray at once.

My technique: roll on a strip, spread it across the surface with crossing strokes, then level the thickness with light horizontal strokes.

(Continued in the next post)
#maintenance

(Continued; begins in the previous post)

What I needed for the job

Sanding tools:
• 1 × €127: Makita BO5041 random-orbit sander
• 1 × €12: Mirka protective pad, 125mm diameter, 33 holes
• 1 × €95: Bosch UniversalVac 15 vacuum
• 1 × €10: universal vacuum-to-sander adapter
Total: €244

Surface preparation:
• 1 × €5: 3M TOP TAPE masking tape
• 1 × €23: Hempel Pre-Clean Cleaner
• 1 × €10: wiping cloth
• 1 × €6: ten-litre plastic bucket
Total: €44

Personal protection:
• 1 × €10: three pairs of heavy-duty latex gloves
• 1 × €14: 3M safety goggles
• 1 × €39: 3M respirator
• 1 × €16: 3M protective overalls
• 1 × €11: headtorch
• 1 × €7: anti-fog spray for goggles — otherwise they steam up
• 1 × €5: ten pairs of heavy-duty overshoes
Total: €102

Paint and primer:
• 1 × €45: Menzerna Fast Gloss FG 400 compound, one litre
• 125 × €0.22: 125mm hook-and-loop P320 ceramic-alumina sanding discs
• 25 × €0.22: 125mm hook-and-loop P240 ceramic-alumina sanding discs
• 1 × €0.50: 400-grit abrasive pad
• 1 × €0.50: 180-grit abrasive pad
• 1 × €35: Epifanes Fibreglass Prep Cleaner
• 1 × €18: Epifanes Paint Thinner, one litre
• 2 × €31: white Epifanes Multi Marine one-component primer, 0.75 litres
• 5 × €39: yellow Epifanes Mono-urethane, 0.75 litres
• 5 × €39: white Epifanes Mono-urethane, 0.75 litres
• 1 × €18: black Epifanes one-component high-gloss waterline paint, 0.25 litres
• 6 × €2.25: paint trays
• 2 × €1.10: roller handles
• 10 × €0.80: foam rollers
Total: €625

The result
Painting protects the fibreglass and simplifies upkeep as well as improving appearance. Every five to ten years, I can lightly sand and add another coat. No annual polishing: just wash with water. Am I pleased? Overall, yes. Close up, my mistakes show. Perhaps I’ll fix them in a few years. For now, looking at my little yellow swallow fills me with warmth and happiness.

#maintenance

A non-slip surface

On a visit to the show in Düsseldorf, I could try different non-slip finishes. Epifanes sold polypropylene beads separately to mix with paint, or ready-mixed paint. I’d had a bad experience with something similar: during training at Moscow’s Sailing Academy years ago, a man-overboard exercise on that coating cut my palms and scratched my Apple Watch. Unpleasant. Ruled out immediately.

Nearby was KiwiGrip. I went to feel their finish. Pleasant to touch and look at, which settled my choice.

What I needed
• A €196 kit: four litres of white KiwiGrip in four one-litre pouches, a textured roller and multilingual instructions. My boat took exactly three litres. Four people at the marina had already used it and were very pleased, boosting my confidence.
• A €2 brush
• Sander and 80-grit disc
• An 80-grit abrasive pad, €0.50
• Alcohol and cloth, always aboard
• A €1 roller handle
• Personal protective equipment

Applying it
1. Masked the areas. Surprisingly laborious: a good half-day.
2. Sanded with 80-grit. Mostly by machine, astonishingly on one disc. Awkward areas by hand with the pad. About three hours.
3. Cleaned and degreased with leftover Epifanes Fibreglass Prep Cleaner, though alcohol would do. About thirty minutes.
4. Shook the paint pouch thoroughly, about ten minutes.
5. Squeezed several thick blobs onto the surface.
6. Spread evenly with the brush. Crucial: too thin gives weak texture; too thick creates bubbles and irregularities that collect dirt.
7. Formed the texture carefully and very slowly with the roller. Any speed created bubbles and splashes, complicating and dirtying everything. Painting took about five hours.
8. The instructions allow walking on it the next day, but recommend longer drying in cool, humid conditions, out of direct sun. The shed was 12°C, humidity about 70%. I returned after a day.
9. Removed the masking tape. Harder than expected: constant tearing, requiring screwdriver and fingernails. Almost six hours, sore fingers and a thirty-litre bag of tape scraps.
10. Refitted hatch, locker lids, vents and other fittings, generously bedding every bolt in marine UV-resistant sealant. Usually Sikaflex 591; this time, similar Tikalflex Contact 12.

How it felt
When I finished and looked closely, the emotion overwhelmed me. Two months’ work justified in a moment. Photographs can’t convey it: I was literally breathless with happiness. A passing marina employee looked at the deck and asked if I was proud. Then I knew: absolutely!

#maintenance

Painting the bottom

Perhaps the most important preparation for a new season is renewing the antifouling. It keeps marine life off the hull. A few shells or strands of weed hardly sound alarming, but they add weight and noticeably reduce speed. I’ve already described how hull and propeller fouling cut my yacht’s speed fivefold.

First, thorough preparation. The old paint had hardened unevenly, with barnacle marks and a yellow-green colour like slime. Sanding removes it. Last year I spent four days with a cheap Bosch sander amid clouds of toxic dust, which worked into my skin and past goggles and respirator.

This year, I made life easier with a more powerful Makita BO5041 and Bosch UniversalVac 15. Success: all sanded in one day, practically no dust. I sanded back to a smooth grey layer, the primer applied last season.

The steps
(Timings are for around 10°C. Check the instructions for other conditions.)
1. Mask transducers and sensors.
2. Sand with P80. Depending on the old coating and the tool — anything from hours to a couple of days.
3. Wash with Hempel Pre-Clean Cleaner. I mixed 50ml per litre of water, enough for about a third of the hull before the solution turned cloudy.
4. Optional, but recommended: prime damaged areas with epoxy primer. Once the cleaner and epoxy layer have dried completely, apply one-component primer. Focus on waterline edges, keel joint and projections that suffer most from sanding. Wait at least eight hours.
5. Apply two coats of self-polishing antifouling, no earlier than a month and no later than eight hours before launch, with eight hours between coats.
6. Remember to remove the tape.

Materials and costs
• 25 × €0.22: 125mm P80 ceramic-alumina sanding discs
• 0.15 × €23: Hempel Pre-Clean Cleaner, one litre
• 0.5 × €24.00: Hempel one-component Underwater Primer, 0.75 litres
• 1 × €130.00: Hempel Mille NCT self-polishing antifouling, 2.5 litres for two coats
• 3 × €2.25: paint trays
• 4 × €0.80: foam rollers
• 1 × €1.10: roller handle
• 1 × €14.50: telescopic extension pole
Total: €196.22

A minimum job, without which the boat can foul within a month or six weeks. Remember: antifouling works in water. Ashore, it gradually loses its properties and is virtually useless after a month. Where boats winter ashore, the bottom is treated annually. Where they stay afloat all year, it’s done every two years, lifting out for a few days.

The result
My second preparation for a season. Past mistakes accounted for, better tools, a much more efficient process. Apparently, everything under control. Yet despite experience and a clear plan, a little nervousness remained. Perhaps that reminds me the yacht is more than machinery: a living story that never repeats itself exactly.

#maintenance

Caring for the underwater hull
(A supplement to the previous post)

Over the last couple of years, working on the hull, watching neighbours, reading everything and listening to experienced owners, I’ve formed my own picture of what to do, why and in which order. Here it is, so I don’t forget — and perhaps it’ll help someone else.

🧼 Antifouling
Special paint that keeps marine organisms off the hull. The main types:
• Ablative (Ablative). Wears away like chalk, taking growth with it. Cheapest, but wears quickly, in four to six months, and unevenly, especially at the bow and rudder. Even gentle rocking wears it, not just sailing.
• Self-polishing (Self-Polishing Copolymer). Dissolves through hydrolysis as the boat moves through water. The most popular type for sailing yachts, but needs annual renewal and works poorly if the boat stays still for long periods.
• Hard (Hard). Contains high levels of biocides released through intense contact with flowing water. For faster boats, from ten knots. Old layers are difficult to remove and may crack.
• Silicone (Foul-Releasing). Creates a smooth surface from which growth slips off. Environmentally friendly but expensive, with exacting application and regular sailing needed to remain effective.
• Copper-based (CopperCoat). Copper powder mixed with epoxy, applied once a decade and virtually maintenance-free. But very toxic, banned in some countries, expensive and requiring particularly careful application.

🧱 Primer
Paint doesn’t adhere well directly to the hull. An intermediate layer is needed: either a compatible old coating — manufacturers usually publish compatibility tables — or primer, such as Hempel one-component Underwater Primer.

🧪 Epoxy barrier
Neither antifouling nor one-component primer protects against osmosis. For that, apply several coats, usually four to six, of two-part epoxy primer. Even that can eventually crack, so stripping right back and starting again every eight to twelve years is recommended. Labour-intensive, but cheaper in the long run than repairing osmosis damage.

🛠 Hull repairs
A fair surface helps reduce growth as well as improving speed. Once the epoxy is removed, inspect the bottom carefully, fill chips with epoxy filler, and remove and rebuild damaged laminate where necessary. Only then paint.

Perhaps in a couple of seasons, I’ll reread this and decide I had it all wrong. For now, it’s my way: slow, dusty and covered in epoxy from head to toe.

#maintenance

Paint matters

After hull work, damaged paint almost everywhere I’d touched. Deck marks from sealant and primer. On the bulwark, exposed epoxy. Resin on non-slip, yellow hull scratches after the lock impact . Barnacles along the old waterline. On the keel, exposed metal.

Something needed doing, at least to stop her looking like a workshop.

A new waterline

A yard worker showed me to lay tape in one confident movement, rather than short pieces. Simple until facing nine metres of hull with tape in hand.

Aligned by eye, using the season’s highest barnacles as the new height. Unscientific, but if the sea has shown where it wants to live, take notice.

P80 on the sander removed yellow below the new line; the rest of the bottom sanded to grey primer too.

Epoxy primer and antifouling

Five epoxy-primer coats for water protection. Roll, about eight hours, key with an abrasive pad, next coat. Alternating colours showed coverage.

Primer over the new waterline, over-sanded patches and rusty keel areas. On the keel, sanded to metal, rust converter, primer.

Two final antifouling coats over primer and sanded surfaces.

Yellow topsides

Dirt, dried water tracks, scratches. Aggressive cleaning would turn gloss into uniform matt. Neutral-pH cleaner and soft sponge: Yachticon Black Streak Remover worked well.

Scratches levelled with P400, small yellow patches. First coat foam-rolled: a mistake, too thin with orange-peel texture.

Mohair roller for later coats. Fuller, smoother application, better coverage. Still no invisible blend: close up, the patch shows, fresh paint shinier.

From three metres, she looks new. Any closer to an old yacht, bring understanding.

White deck

Same approach. Worn-to-base areas: Epifanes Multi Marine Primer, three Mono-urethane coats, P400 keying between.

Dirty areas and repair marks lightly sanded, covered with white patches. Tidy again.

Non-slip

Epoxy spills and chips on KiwiGrip. P80, fresh KiwiGrip, texture restored by stippling with a brush.

Blended well. Most importantly, non-slip again, rather than a memorial to spilt resin.

The result

Very pleased. Paint maintenance wasn’t as frightening as expected. No perfect blends on an old hull; local repairs remain visible. But the overall change was enormous.

People asked about the paint. Walking the marina, I saw passers-by stop and touch the hull.

Perhaps the best compliment. Or perhaps I watch too closely who touches my paint.

#maintenance