But the weather forecast said that it should clear up around 13:00 and sure enough, after raining on and off most of the morning, although not hard, the skies cleared and the rain stopped.
However, I wasn’t going to take the forecast’s word for it and built a temporary shelter under which to work that will also keep off any rain that may fall, thus ensuring that none does.
This is the arrangement this time, with sufficient clearance not only to stop the tarpaulin from touching the hull but also to allow enough space for me to work under it.
Worked well.
This is the result after the second copper epoxy coat. All the keel bands have been liberally coated and since I mixed up far more than I needed, I spread the remainder around the hull with a roller, concentrating on those areas that looked a little thin.
What it quite interesting is the colour of the copper powder used, from a different supplier, is a different colour to that used in the first two coats. Not that it matters since it will all be underwater and will go green quite quickly.
Now all that remains is to work on the inside of the bottom of the centerplate slot, removing any sealant squeeze out and making sure that there are no gaps anywhere or rough spots. However for this work to be done I need Shoal Waters to be on her side. First one side and then the other and for two reasons. The first is that I can’t access the slot as she is now, it’s too far away from where I can stand and too high. The second reason is that I will need to put in some epoxy in places and having the hull on its side will mean that the epoxy is pulled into the place where it is put, instead of dripping through the slot and into the cabin.
So, the next task is to finish the inversion blocks.
Time for a cup of tea.