I’ve been reminded about how crappy sanding a boat can be. I must have whinged about the job a fair bit as Noel bought me an electric sander today – and they say romance is dead!

This gift is almost as ‘romantic’ as my first wedding anniversary gift, ‘The 12 Volt Bible’!! But that’s a different, (and a rather incredible), story (more details here).

With the pipes clean I turned my attention to the next part, preparing the wheelhouse roof for painting.

First I removed all the loose paint, then I became a sanding maniac. My sore knees, stiff muscles and the fine coating of ‘dust’ reminded me how much I hate sanding.

But a good painting job is all about the preparation and after one full afternoon and a full morning – hurrah! I could finally paint!

To the paint, I added Rustol Owatrol, Antirouille Incolore, the French equivalent of Penetrol, which makes oil-based paint stick and flow better. I added fifty percent to the first coat, ten percent to the second coat. The mixture is very good at covering rusty parts of steel, provided there are there no loose flakes.

The first (‘scratch’) coat went on well and highlighted all the bits I missed. The dapple pattern from the rain that followed left me a bit peeved! But, the second coat (and final) is now on and I can play plumber next – extending the ‘down-pipes’ to the water tanks.

My new sander and I will work on the rest of the boat . . . soon . . . when I recover!