Winter 2023-24 we decided to refurbish and refinish this Sabre 42 Classic. The hull had been paint patched for over a decade and the luster on the old Awlgrip finish was no longer able to be kept up. The project started in early winter of 2023 in Beaufort NC at Bock Marine Boatyard, where we could setup outdoor tent coverage for the vessel while spraying.
Boat bottom was in far worse condition that we hoped. This was the vessels first haul out and an Out of water survey was not done before the purchase. Therefore it required a full vapor blasting and refairing below the waterline, which expanded the project scope immensely. Water intrusion into the keel, rudder and signs of unsolved blistering issues were laid evident by the vapor blasting. Only solution was to cleanout the old issues, skim with new fairing, lots of sanding with the air file and other tools. Followed up with 2 coats of 2000e Epoxy Bottom Protect and then 2-3 coats of new bottom paint.
Topside refinishing budget was a little more limited due to the bottom suprises. Instead of fully sanding off all old topside paints, we did a rough sand with 80g and chipped away and loose looking paint. Then primed the surface with a thick coat of Alexseal Finish Primer. Contrasting color was added on the last coat and we sanded the finish primer to reveal blemishes, which were then filled and faired and more finish primer reapplied and sanded again before prepping for final topcoat.
Final Topcoat was 3 – 5 coats of Alex Seal Flag Blue. The last 2 coats were a 50/50 mix of color and clearcoat.
