Green Paint

From what I've been able to learn, phasing out and ultimately banning oil-based paint is on the EPA's agenda. The idea is that prolonged exposure to solvents can cause brain damage, which certainly gives me a Mulligan. The paint makers are working to develop acrylic paints which hold up as well as oil based paints and can be applied over old oil based paint. Anyway, for this boat I decided to get ahead of the curve and use the best acrylic (water-based, hence "green") paint I could.

There is a good Dyco paint store in my town, with knowledgeable people, and they tell me that acrylic paints dry fast but cure slowly, as long as a month. Their paints are not specifically for marine use, but they encouraged me to give them a try.

I bought a white semi gloss paint for the topsides, a light gray green for most of the inside, and a darker gray green for concrast color on the trim. I'll use red antifouling paint, which I already have, for the bottom, the centerboard and trunk inside, and the rudder below the waterline. When I first applied the light color to the risers, I was surprised that it looked almost white. Today I sanded and painted the centerboard trunk, and used the darker color on the cap. I decided that both colors are too light and that there is not enough contrast between them. So I took the paint back to the Dyco store today and had both colors darkened. After putting a second coat on the c.b. trunk (really does dry fast) I liked the lighter of the two colors but still wasn't satisfied with the amount of contrast. So I took the trim paint back to the store again. They started all over with a dark base, and insisted on not charging me for the new trim paint. Impressive: that will keep me going back to them. While I was out I also picked up a piece of spruce for the sprit and club spars.

So here is the centerboard trunk, with a swatch of the darker trim color just visible on the cap. I like the colors, which is important because I will to be looking at them a lot. Even more important, Mrs. Strongback likes them.