The first photo is what we look like now with the bottom paint completed. The sccond photo shows the shells which were in the starboard engine strainer. These had to enter through the small holes visible in the strainer and then grow in the strainer. The lower left corner was one shell growing attached to the strainer. Wonder why the stbd engine ran a little hot at higher RPM's? The last photo shows Muriel and Shelly painting on the bottom. We all three worked on applying bottom paint on two days.

July 21, 2010 Sunshine's bottom is finally done. We have filled and faired all the blisters and applied six coats of barrier coat. Now we have finally gotten the antifoulant bottom paint applied. All that remains is to install the zincs on the transom and a couple of coats of hard bottom paint on the running gear which has three coats of barrier coat applied and ready for bottom paint. After appling the bottom paint I was poking the paint out of the raw water strainers on the outside of the hull and noticed the sound of shells rattling on the inside. When I removed the strainers I found the strainer for the starboard engine was full of shells. Evidentually they enter through the 3/32"holes and then grow inside the strainer.

It feels great to have the bottom of Sunshine looking so good and ready to go. It will be a few weeks before we launch because Muriel is having cataracs removed on Tuesday and I do not expect the Dr. will want her out in the heat for a while.