That’s right! After experimenting with a 3M product meant to chemically remove paint from the bottom of Sundown, we decided that the results weren’t satisfactory and we’d spend a lot of money only to have to go back over her bottom side with scraping tools. So we sharpened the chisels, sucked it up and went to work. We spent about 10 hours total scraping off all the old bottom paint. (Check out our Photo Galley for several photos of the job.)
It made us feel a bit blue (again, check out our Photo Gallery to see what I’m talking about) and the work did a number on my shoulders. I had a knot in my left one the size of the Rock of Gibraltar and limited range of motion. When I mentioned this to my acupuncturist, Inger Giffin, she suggested a Chinese massage method call Gua Sha, which literally means skin scraping. It stimulates blood flow and restores health to affected areas. After a few minutes of less-than-comfortable treatment, my shoulder and neck felt much better (I recommend it and Inger!).
During the procedure, the thought came to me that Sundown underwent a similar procedure as we scraped and scraped to remove the stagnant layers of paint so we can apply new paint and restore her original beauty. That said, we have a decision before us. What color should we paint Sundown’s bottom side and the boot stripe just above it? Obviously, her original bottom color was a medium blue with a darker blue boot stripe. We’re thinking she needs a change, though, so why don’t you help us decide which color combination to choose?
If you want to suggest other color combinations, just comment on this post. We’ll be ordering paint soon, so don’t delay!
As a personal preference, black looks great underwater. It slims her hill and gives a “neat” presentation. This allows for any color coordination topside and interior too. I do think that green would look classic and maroon (red) just makes her look and go fast!
We’re thinking along the same lines! Go figure.
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