I put ECHO in the water on Friday. The mast goes in this week.

It was a long haul. The boat sat out of the water for several years.
This year I decided to get it finished and started work in early
April.

Here are some photos showing the fairing work, and final result.

Is this worth any points?

http://community.webshots.com/user/night_sailor

Click on ECHO Reborn for the slideshow.

I have to say it was a hard difficult job. Nearly two months of work
with rarely a day off, plus about 110 hours of sanding help from my
brother. I figure the job would have cost about 20-25,000. Materials
cost about $2000, and labor for my brother another $2400.

Once it was painted, using tip and roll and two part epoxy, I got many,
many, complements. Everyone in the yard came over to talk to me about
the boat. It seems that whenever I do a big job like this, people are so
impressed that they want to meet me. I put the paint on thin, sanded
between the three coats and it came out like it was sprayed.

I made my own copper epoxy bottom paint--time will tell how well it
works.

I spent the yesterday working on the engine--one little check valve
was broken on the fuel pump--but it took hours to figure that out. I
should be out sailing in it in a few days.

Oh, and a friend of mine sold his Etchells and forgot to give the
buyer his spinnakers. I got a brand new tri-radial for free! This
has been a great month for me.

Bart Senior