[quote=ckalousek]Thanks for the great comments! What was supposed to be a simple fix of leaks over the winter became a full on project. I knew the port hull leaked, so I took the top off the bow, only to find the internal bracing was cracked. That meant it was probably cracked internally starboard too. Fixed them both and put the tops back on.
I also ran a strip of carbon down both keels from the bow to the daggerboard trunk. Now the thing looked ugly, so the next step was to repaint.
I worked with my graphic designer at work to get a basic sizing of the hibiscus design. I know from watching too many motorcycle shows there is a way to print the graphic so it's easily removable. I also had traced the original deal on tracing paper as I couldn't find the correct decal. It took a long while, but http://x-tremewraps.com/ in Villa Park, IL could handle both the easy to remove stencil and producing the decal (which I wanted to have metal flake in the blue. It was cheaper to get a vinyl graphic than paint it on) from trace.
Because I was running out of time (summer had already started and the boat still needed to be painted and I didn't want to take the time to learn to spray the paint) I found a company that paints fire trucks and big rigs that could fit me in between projects. I had the paint (ppg car paint and clear coat. the boat doesn't sit in the water unless its being sailed, so no need to gel coat. Plus all the fancy expensive race boats use car/clear, so why not a 30 year old boat?) specially matched per paint chips I picked up at Lowes (couldn't use normal house paint). Dropped the boat off on a Friday, with the hibiscus stencils, paint, and a few basic instructions and let them go at it. The hibiscus are painted on and the Nacra 5.2 a vinyl decal.
After a 4 week delay waiting for the new tramp to show up, I finally got the boat out sailing. Next project is to figure out a better way to keep the rudders locked down. The Nacra system of old blows compared to the hobie system.
If time/money allows, maybe new sails with a hula girl or skull/bones. manufactures seem to think white is fast. It may be, but it's not as fun.
As my old roommate likes to say; sail fast, take chances, have fun.[/quote]
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