The video is in French. The whole job is written up in English below.
There are weekends where the plan is clear, the tools are ready, and the work follows. And there are weekends where the weather decides for you.
That weekend was both at once.
Greg is back
I am not on my own this time. Greg — who you glimpsed in the first video — is here to lend a hand. And honestly, on a job like this, having someone next to you changes everything. While one sands, the other prepares. While one mixes, the other applies. The work moves differently.
The aim for the weekend: make progress on the skin fittings. Sanding, filling, and if all goes well, the first coats of epoxy. The kind of job that looks simple on paper and very quickly reminds you that nothing on an old boat looks like what you had planned.
The routine, step by step
Before fitting anything, the areas have to be prepared. Greg sands the skin fitting housings while I deal with the anodes and the speed log — that little propeller that spins and measures your speed. Both come out without too much trouble.
Where it gets awkward is on some areas of the hull. We find old impacts, holes, laminate starting to show where the antifouling was taken off too hard. For every problem the same answer: degrease with acetone, grind a bevel with 40 grit all round the damaged area, then fill with Watertite — the two-part epoxy filler you use before the protective coats go on.
We also take off the earthing plate. And then a mystery: when it hits the ground, it does not sound like metal. If anyone in the comments knows what the material is, we will take it.
An aside on SVB Marine
A big thank-you to SVB Marine for the skin fittings — because there are a lot of them, and this refit does not fund itself. SVB is the site we have used since the start of the project: an enormous catalogue (deck gear, electronics, electrics, ground tackle, clothing, charts), competitive prices, and above all delivery that actually arrives — which, from Évian, is far from a given. They ship worldwide too, which matters for the rest of the project once we are under way. The code CQSEVIDENCE gets you a free item in the parcel, your choice — strap, bucket hat, cap or glasses retainer.
Sunday: too cold for epoxy
The night was lively. Strong wind, the boat moving on its props, not much sleep. Sunday morning arrives with just as much wind and a feels-like temperature close to zero.
The problem: epoxy needs at least 5 °C to cure properly. We are below that. No way to put the protective coats on the skin fittings in those conditions — it will not dry, it will not key, and the work would have to be done again.
So we adapt. Rather than force it and botch the application, we do a dry run of fitting a skin fitting to show you how it works. The principle: a dedicated tool lets you install from outside, single-handed if need be. You slide the skin fitting into the tool, apply Sikaflex 291i generously to the flange, push it in from outside, and do up the nut from inside. Clean, watertight, and in the end not that complicated once you have the right tool.
Monday morning: sunshine, at last
We sleep at Greg’s family place rather than on the boat — a good decision. Monday comes with sun. The wind is still there, but at least the temperature is up.
Greg sands the filler we put on the day before while I put on the first coat of epoxy — a Hempel Light Primer, thinned 10%, with a roller. We start with the rudder, to test how much material it takes and work out what to buy for the whole hull. The result: the rudder is clean, white, without a trace of blue. Three coats in total will be needed, with 6 to 8 hours of drying between each.
The rest of the hull will wait for another weekend with better conditions.
And the antifouling?
We are not talking about it yet. But the question came up in the video, and the answer was clear: it is a subject in its own right and it will get its own episode. If you are following that question — and you should, because our approach is going to be a bit different — stay subscribed.
The refit goes on. Next time: finish the epoxy coats, fit the skin fittings for real, and start talking seriously about antifouling. It is all on the CQS Evidence YouTube channel.