First Coat of Bottom Paint

I rolled on the first coat of bottom paint on both hulls yesterday, after sanding the final barrier coat of clear epoxy to 80 grit and washing with soap and water to remove any trace of blushing. I was quite pleased with how the hulls below the waterline turned out. They are fair and smooth, and the Petit Vivid bottom paint was pleasure to work with, much better than any other anti-fouling paint I've tried. I took it to my local hardware store and had a friend who works there put the gallon can in their automatic paint shaker, and when I opened it I found it just the right consistency for rolling. The color coverage was good, as you can see in the photos. This is just one coat.

One coat took less than a quart of paint. I guess I bought too much, buying a whole gallon, but it's cheaper to buy a gallon than three quarts, and I was afraid two would not be enough. At any rate, I'll have more than enough to do three coats before launching and if the shelf life is any good at all, enough for the first bottom job a couple years later.

The plan now is to finish fairing the hull topsides from the waterline to the sheer, and then to get primer and a first coat of topside paint up to at least the topside chine overlap. When this is done, I'll put a second coat of bottom paint on before turning the hulls right side up. The third coat will be put on when everything is finished, shortly before launching.