On the subject of the right tool for the job...

On "doing some good"  (cruisers and future cruisers take note), needful reading (really), and some (not very good) news from the war on science trenches...

Just about every time I'm in a boatyard I see folks struggling to take off old bottom paint using the wrong tool for the job. You know the sort, something like this...

or this...

Usually made worse by using a too fine grit sandpaper which not so much removes bottom paint but polishes it.

It's really painful to watch.

Sanding a bottom is a big job and it takes some serious oomph along with some real grit to take off years of accumulated bottom paint. My go-to tool for such mayhem has always been a big 15 amp Makita angle sander with an eight-inch disc of 40 grit which, if you're not careful, can go right through the hull. It's heavy, powerful, and has a mind of it's own but it removes paint and fouling at an alarming rate. Which is the whole reason you want to use it.

Beware of tools that have steep leaning curves! Which is not to say not to use such a beast but that a little practice and testing before you start using it on your hull is just good advice.

Speaking of which, I have a new sander from Porter Cable called the "Restorer (AKA Multi Surface Restoration Tool) that looks like it might make bottom paint removal and gelcoat peeling jobs go even faster and my recent tests show great promise...

Sort of the byproduct of the mating of a belt sander with an electric plane it kicks some serious ass with the added advantage that it's actually designed to avoid the copious dust problems that big disc sanders are prone to. Plug in a shop vac and you can work as clean as possible with something that eats paint with gusto. The other thing about the sander is it's a lot lighter than the Makita and more easily controlled which is no bad thing.

Prices on the unit seem to be all over the place but Loews seems to be selling them (and the sanding tubes/accessories) for a whole lot less. I think I paid $79 for mine. Definitely worth checking it out.

Listening to the Kingston Trio

So it goes...