Preparation

I went and shopped for boat paint today.  It did not lower my panic level at all.

A gallon of anti-fouling paint runs between $100-$300 these days

We have no idea what we are doing.  I mean, we are familiar with the concept, but we have never done it before, and we don't want to screw it up.

As I understand it, our primary goal is to fix some of our sketchier through-hulls.  We will only be painting if the weather cooperates or the hull looks really bad.  There is a good chance that we will have to haul again in the spring to finish the bottom properly.  The problem with now is that winter is coming.  It hasn't snowed here yet, but the temperature needs to be at least 50F and dry for paint to cure completely.  We would be cutting it very close.

We know for certain that this boat has not been out of the water for 3 years, so this will be a good opportunity to see what the bottom looks like, and use that to make decisions about future work.  We expect, best case scenario, for the bottom paint to be worn and needing to be fully sanded off and redone.  While we are at it, let's also expect that there is no surprise damage down there. 

I will keep you updated.