Blue Turtle Cruising

Painting the exterior hull of Blue Turtle

I mentioned in my last post that we have no shortage of boat projects right now. While I was busy refurbishing the interior walls, Randy was finishing up the exterior hull paint. As some of you may know, we began painting the exterior of our trawler in the spring of 2014.  Since this is a big project we’ve had to break it up in sections. In 2014, we painted the outside cabin area and up to the bridge, leaving the topside bridge and hull for another time.

This spring, Randy decided to tackle the hull—down to the water line all while leaving Blue Turtle in her slip at the marina.  He started it in March and got the majority of it done but because of the wind and boat traffic that time of year, he wasn’t able to finish down to the water line. Last weekend with calmer wind and low traffic, he was able to finished it up. And boy, does she look beautiful now! I can’t wait to snap new photos of her in the Dry Tortugas/Keys with her bright new finish.

We still have to paint the topside of the bridge and some areas on the lower deck but that will probably be a job for next winter.

The project started with Randy washing the area to prep it for paint
The project started with Randy washing the area to prep it for paint
IMG_7485
Next, was taping it with the help of Corey
With the area taped, it was ready for paint
With the area taped, it was ready for paint
Randy uses the dinghy to paint the starboard side
Randy uses the dinghy to paint the starboard side
Randy finishing up close to the water line last weekend
Randy finishing up close to the water line last weekend
Before (left) and After (right)
Before (left) and After (right)
Before (left) and After (right)
Before (left) and After (right)
Before (left) and After (right)
Before (left) and After (right)
Check out our shiny new hull!
Check out our shiny new hull!
Little by little, Blue Turtle is starting to really shine
Little by little, Blue Turtle is starting to really shine

4 thoughts on “Painting the exterior hull of Blue Turtle”

  1. She looks gorgeous! We are getting ready to paint our Defever and are wondering how to keep the paint from running. How did Randy paint the strakes without the paint running? I commend him for doing such a great job, and in the water no less! We are on the hard and not sure how ours will turn out. Love your blog. Keeps me going when I get discouraged with all the restoring problems.

    Reply
  2. Congratulations on your tying the knot! My wife Lisa and I just purchased a 1975 defever passage maker up on the northern end of the Chesapeake bay and will be bringing it to Texas the first of August by way of the icw. Just wanted to get you opinion of the Passagemaker. Any input or suggestions about the boat would be greatly appreciated.it has the single Perkins 6354 engine. Thank you for any comments.

    Reply
    • Thank you Tim! Congrats on the boat purchase! We love our PassageMaker. It’s a good quality boat that has held up well considering the age. She really handles the waves well. We also love the fact that it is a single screw. Makes troubleshooting and maintenance so much easier than having to deal with 2 engines…plus it sips fuel! Good luck with your boat 🙂

      Reply

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