Refit Reality Check | Cold Weather Ends Our Deck Painting Progress

This week aboard our sailboat, we made huge progress on the deck refit — but the weather had other plans. Our main goal was to prep and paint the rear deck, including the sugar scoops, helm stations, and transom alley. The process started strong: days of sanding, fiberglass repairs, fairing, and priming. Everything was ready for paint… until temperatures in Virginia dropped too low for proper curing. So for now, we’re calling it “good enough” with primer — the paint will have to wait until we reach warmer weather farther south. It’s not the finish we hoped for, but that’s real-life boat work for you. In between coats (and rain), we also tackled several smaller but important jobs: ⚓ Rebedding bolt rope rails to prevent leaks 🛠️ Rebedding safety rails for better security under sail 🔩 Replacing deck hatch latches for smoother operation Even with the setback, it’s satisfying to see progress — and we’re one step closer to having a freshly finished deck when spring returns, or we get south to warmer weather. ⛵ In This Episode: Deck prep & priming process Cold weather challenges in Virginia Rebedding rails & hatches Real-life DIY refit aboard our sailboat ☝More about us, our adventures, and how we do all this on our website. More about Roam here ⛵️https://sailingroam.com/our-sailboat/ 📲 Keep up with us on social FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/sgsailingroam INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/sailing_roam ----------------------------------------------------------- WE'RE GERI AND SHAWN. A couple travelers out chasing the horizon, meeting the people, and capturing it to share with you. We’ve chosen to Roam the world by boat because, let’s face it, the most interesting path is rarely a straight line. As we learn to let go of our American drive to finish, and embrace the meandering routes across islands, oceans, continents, and people, we hope to gain a better sense of our world and our place in it. The path won’t always be comfortable or easy to find but, it will always #roam Here's an index of the video in case you want to see something specific: 00:00 Teaser clips 00:12 Intro to episode 00:25 Channel intro 00:43 Re-bed bolt rope rails 03:54 Re-bed deck hatch latches 04:39 Re-bed safety rails 06:35 Prep deck for paint 07:05 Sand 07:20 Patch swim ladder holes 09:56 Remove weather stripping 12:55 Fairing 15:02 Sand fairing 15:18 Prime the deck 17:10 Remove tape 17:33 Wrap up project 19:24 Wrap up episode 19:49 Like/Subscribe and Bye! 20:12 End card ----------------------------------------------------------- #SailingLife #BoatRefit #DIYBoatProjects #CruisingLife #SailboatMaintenance #SailingCouple #SailingYouTube #SailboatRefit #FiberglassRepair #BoatWork #deckpainting © Sailing Roam 2025