A Snail's Pace

Once we're done with this project, I certainly hope that the boat goes through the water faster than we're progressing on the boat. It was two and a half months ago that I declared us "almost done" preparing the hull for painting. In retrospect, I feel like Bush proclaiming an end to major combat in Iraq.

Since saying "almost done," we've done still more sanding and fairing and filling holes, and I'm starting to get frustrated. A couple of weeks ago, I asked Greg if we could set the end of 2006 as a goal for flipping the boat. This would require us to be finished sanding, fairing, and priming the hull, and painting the bottom. He said it was doable and we set 12/31/06 as a tentative date for flipping the boat. We pissed away the next two weekends doing more sanding and fairing and quite honestly, I'm tired of it. I understand that Greg wants the boat to be perfect, but eventually you need to say "good enough." Part of the issue is that the boat is a huge patchwork of different colors and textures. There are areas where the eye says "this area needs to be filled in a bit more," but the hand says "it's perfectly smooth." There is one minor area on the port chine, toward the front, that needs to be touched up, but other than that, I think it's ready to prime.

Greg agrees with me in theory, but in practice we end up sanding and fairing when I get over there. We're both tired of the routine and we're both failing to see real progress. I think it's time to finish up the chine and prime. The primer we've bought is high-build primer, so it will perform two complimentary functions. Because it's high-build, it will fill in the smallest flaws, and because a primer coat would make the boat a uniform colors, it would expose any remaining flaws.

Your thoughts?