I started this thread way back, when in some ways I had no real reason to. For various reasons my build (Trouper 12) has taken much longer than I had planned or hoped. However I am now painting - at last.
Like Steve I'm using Jotun two pot paints, and it's been interesting. Using information I picked up from the (very helpful) people at Shepherd Marine (who sell Jotun), this forum and the HBBR forum, I've worked on the principle of adding 10% thinners and putting lots of coats on, mainly with rollers, without too much concern for the smoothness of the finish; and then taking back with fine sandpaper to get a smooth finish. With the Penguard epoxy primer that was 4 coats on the bottom and decks, 3 inside the hull, and using mainly 600 grade paper. It's worked a treat.
The Hardtop AS (high gloss) on the bottom and HB (semigloss) on decks and inside is in progress. There are 5 coats of AS on the outside of the hull, and I'm doing the decks etc now (probable three coats planned0, before getting down to the final finishing. Alternating between the two, as one must with turning the boat over, means that each stage when finished has a week or so to cure before being finally finished off (see below). Quantities, in case this helps others to work this out - for my beamy 12 footer, 5 litres of primer and 2 1/2 litres of each of the colours, plus the relevant primers (which are different), has been just enough, including doing the rudder, dagger board etc. Colours - I chose green for the hull (which has turned out a bit 'brighter' than the British Racing Green of my Storm Petrel, but I think will be OK): and 'light sand' for the semigloss (as I hoped, this turns out to be a rather pleasant cream colour). There is also some hardwood to be clear-coated - I'm going to use Seacoat.
One reason for reporting back is because I'd be grateful for some detailed advice about grades of wet-and-dry for the final stage. This is following Andrew Denman's advice (reinforced by someone on the HBBR forum with experience of it) to wet-and-dry smooth, and finally polish with T-Cut. I've never used wet-and-dry (I have had to use T-Cut on various cars over the years!). What grades should I use? - I know it comes in grit grades in the 1000s. Presumably one works with a bucket of water to hand, and frequent dipping? Any other tips from Andrew and other experts would be VERY gratefully received.
Just out of interest (or dis-interest, more likely), I abandoned my (rather silly) idea, floated somewhere earlier in this thread, of a waterline and faux-antifouling. Daft, that was.
Last year, somewhere in the Forum, I reported on problems arising from sharing my boat-building space with nesting swallows. They're back, and the first brood (four, same as last year) have just fledged. Prior to their arrival this Spring, I suspended a tarp as a false ceiling for them to function above, and me below. I managed access arrangements and flight paths which the swallows adapted to without complaining (to me), and we've co-existed very amicably. There were also long-eared bats last year using part of the building as a communal nursery: I haven't seen them so far this year (no, I did nothing to discourage them, which would be illegal and against all my instincts).
The rain has been something else.....
Michael