SmoCo Sailingvideo
[Ep 41] First 2 Weeks in the Boatyard & The First Project is Past Schedule
7 December 2025 · 16 min · 831 views · El Tomate, Mexico
What this video covers
Armand and Liya spend their first two weeks hauled out at Marina Seca in San Carlos applying Coppercoat antifouling to their sailboat Cosmo, a bluewater cruiser they have sailed over 2,000 miles down the Pacific coast and into the Sea of Cortez. The project covers two barrier coats of CK246 epoxy primer followed by four coats of Coppercoat on each side, with the critical timing detail that the second barrier coat can go on once the first is tacky but transfers nothing to a finger — a point Armand confirmed by calling Coppercoat USA directly.▶ 1:52 Pot life runs 20–30 minutes, exactly as labeled, forcing the crew to mix in smaller batches.▶ 5:15 Sanding with 320-grit to expose the copper proves far more labor-intensive than Coppercoat's instructions suggest; sandpaper loads quickly, one orbital sander disc melts off entirely, and Armand borrows a replacement from a neighboring boatyard worker.▶ 11:55 A boatyard scheduling miscommunication delays the rudder drop by a full day — the crew is moved to a pit at 1 p.m. instead of 9 a.m., unprepared to drop the rudder on the spot, and is moved back without completing it.▶ 13:28 Separately, underwater lights are fiberglassed flush into the hull before barrier coat and Coppercoat are applied over them.▶ 15:17 Coppercoat's sanding requirements are harder to meet in practice than the product's documentation implies.
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