I love those moments when you plain get lucky. There are ten spots on deck that ring hollow with a hammer. Three or four rise up as a bubble a maximum of about 1/16 inch. The others are detectable only with the hammer. Only three pop slightly when you step on them. I spent a while this morning drilling these features boring through the top layer of fiberglass and through the end grain balsa and, of course, stopping upon touching the bottom layer of fiberglass. None of the balsa cuttings brought up by the bit appeared the slightest bit wet or discolored. There was no detectable odor that would suggest wetness . The acid test for moisture according to Casey is shown in the photo - plastic wrap taped to the deck. Following two days in the hot sun there was absolutely no water vapor evident in any of the ten taped areas - a fantastic result. I am dealing with separation not caused by water which leads one to suspect this is simply the failure of the typical lousy bond of polyester resin.

Epoxy was injected into all of the holes until they would take no more. The slightly bulging ones were weighed down with a short 2x8 wrapped in clear packing tape and sacked with a pile of bricks. Happily, all are in the nonskid.

The second photo is of the same area following sanding and the application of a tiny bit of filling. I barely had to get into the fiberglass to make the area nice and flat. No more popping and the hammer rings nicely. The deck is nearly ready to prime - at least once I finish with the teak.

The bottom is in great shape. First, there were no blisters. I have been told by a reliable surveyor that blisters in Hinckleys are unknown. I certainly know blisters in all of their various guises having spent plenty of time in boat yards. The worst case I can recall was a horrible looking Valiant that cost the owner a fortune to repair. Second, the hull looks fantastic - sanded all the way down, coated with epoxy and then filled numerous times to remove most every hollow, ding, scrape, and pit produced by 41 years of bottom jobs. It is important to fair a surface at different times of day in order to take advantage of the changing light illuminating the hull in different ways. The glossy surface produced by a coat of epoxy helps emphasize problem spots. This process can become obsessive.

I went overboard with the epoxy barrier ending up with seven to nine coats fortified with West System additive. One of the guys at Plano Marine dropped by to tell me that "she ain't a piano." Apparently my fidgeting with the bottom for so long is a bit ridiculous. Perhaps he is right.

Antifouling paint is on the horizon.