Every boat deserves a high-quality paint job – and more so when a boat has a very noble purpose.
Sailability Gold Coast is a local volunteer organisation that provides a safe and friendly environment for people with a disability to participate in the sport of sailing. They have several boats that clients can use for their training and that provide them with unique and meaningful sailing experiences.
Recently, Spirit, one of the boats that is used by Sailability Gold Coast, needed new paint work. Sailability was looking for a locally based company
to give the quality result without a massive price tag. “The last job on the boat was nowhere near what it should have been quality-wise, so they have been very wary of who they wanted to deal with,” explained Kiara Casey of Spraytech Marine. “After meeting with Zac and having a discussion about the work to be done, Sailability decided Spraytech was that company.”
Spraytech took on the work with the full commitment to provide the best service and high quality paint work for Spirit. “We were committed to providing the best outcome for Sailability because they do such amazing work for the community, and their vessels should reflect that. We also love helping those that help the community,” emphasised Kiara.
“The paint work was horrible,” exclaimed Kiara. “It had been hand-rolled with very little care to how and where. The non-skid had been created with just the paint and a sponge making it very uncomfortable to touch and not particularly a ‘non-skid’ surface.”
The most difficult part for the company was at the start – removing the existing paint to obtain a proper base to work with. “To remove the paint was the biggest part of the job,” said Kiara. “It had been laid on so unevenly and thick that sanding wasn’t a time efficient option. So with a lot of paint strippers and manual labour we brought the boat back to bare. Without doing this, the finished product wouldn’t reach anywhere near a suitable standard.”
After stripping, Spraytech then sanded and reapplied high-build primers and quality gloss finishes. They did not add any special features, but made sure the new paint, the non-skid coating and the stickers were of high quality. “Having proper non-skid is definitely an added safety measure. Having properly applied primer and the coat finish will preserve the vessel longer. A well presented boat always helps morale, too,” Kiara stated.
“Sailabiilty said they couldn’t fault it, and that they were over the moon,” according to Kiara. “As for our team, it was an awesome experience! Seeing a vessel go from its original state, to leaving the shed looking like a brand new boat is exactly why we do what we do.”
Published in the April – June 2020 edition.
