“That looks great,” Rick said as he gripped a handrail and bent to look at the galley walls and ceiling. The paint wasn’t dry yet. Its pearl color seemed to bask in his admiration, and added a glow to our ongoing galley refit.
Painting is such a simple skill, and it can give a whole room a lift. I wanted to share the process with my kids. Someday, they will want to brighten an apartment or house and it helps to know how to do it. Our galley, however, is complex, with newly varnished cabinetry and floors. I work fast and have little patience with tight corners. The trim and hardware seem to taunt me at every turn.
Perfect Painting Project
Enter the saloon table. The underside of our saloon table was an eyesore. The leaves bore the marks of fingers raising the leaves to study or to have a meal. Sometimes the slides would get stuck, and a person, maybe even a guest, might tuck their head under and see the aging paint beneath, harboring dust in the corners.
The leaves were a perfect project. Rick agreed. Karen was excited at the prospect. We were set.
I bounded off the boat to run an errand while Rick and Karen remained.
When I returned, Karen was working on the table. Half an hour later, she was removing the hardware. I hadn’t envisioned us painting the entire underside of the saloon table. But I liked her enthusiasm. She worked feverishly, unscrewing the 56 screws holding the slides and leg supports.
Now, we had crossed the Rubicon. We would be painting the table in its entirety.
As our sailboat is hauled out on dry land, Rick carried our saloon table and the leaves down a set of steel stairs and placed it on a crate below our boat.
This afternoon, Karen and I finished preparing the underside for painting under the shade of our boat. We scraped away the old varnish. We sanded and washed the underside, paying special attention to the corners.
When we were confident that the underside was clean, we began taping and arranged our tools for painting.
The painting took much less time than Karen would have liked, but she enjoyed the process.
What We Learned
I learned that I need to mix more epoxy paint and that I should have used a foam roller. Our galley has texture where a mohair roller works perfectly. But on the underside of the saloon table, a mohair roller tended to skid on the smooth surface.
We left our boat tonight with a sense of satisfaction. Karen learned a new skill and we are eager to put on a second coat of paint tomorrow.
Paint Details
Nippon EA9 Epoxy Paint (two-part)
Colour: Pearl
Finish: Low sheen
Becoming a Sailor 