Painting my topsides.

[Stemar]

Jissel had been painted when I got her and was ready for a fresh coat. I sanded and filled and sanded and filled and sanded ad nauseam and a bit more. Then I primed, and sanded and filled and primed and sanded a... Well you get the point. Then I got a painter to do the top coat. We used two coats of a two-pack paint, can't remember what. I rolled it on and he tipped it off with a Jenny brush. It looked great. 15 years of sailing and bouncing off pontoons later and I've had to touch it up with whatever I had to hand and, close up, it doesn't look so good, but from a couple of boat lengths you can't see the touch-ups even though they aren't quite the same white.

I don't regret all the hard work I put in, but I haven't got the same energy now so, if I had to do it now, I'd slap on a couple of coats and go sailing. No, it wouldn't look as good as the first job, but on a 50 year old MAB? She isn't a classic, she's an old tub that gets me out on the water. I want her to look tidy, but I'm not looking to win a concours d'elegance.

 

[V1701]

Agree with Stemar, a fellow Bowman 26 (50 odd years old) owner commented that they maintained her "to an agricultural standard", which (looking at the boat) I took to mean clean, tidy, properly maintained and serviced. I think (with the older boat) that's not a bad standard to aim for and if you do you'll be achieving a reasonable balance of time spent on maintenance, etc., time spent enjoying using your boat and safety...