One of the biggest jobs we left Yat Lift to complete was applying a new gelcoat. These additional few layers of epoxy (300 microns, to be precise) help strengthen the integrity of the hull. If you can afford it, it’s money well spent.
The hull was then primed with an anti-foul primer (a lovely pink colour) that we then anti-fouled ourselves before dropping it in the water. Anti-fouling, for those who have never done it, is a simple but very messy job! It took me a week to get rid of the blue paint from my skin and jewellery!
All the old lettering had been taken off and the white fibreglass above the water line had been buffed up. When the sun shone on Esper she glistened, and it was so good to get rid of that stupid ‘Dersu Uzala’ name from before! The new lettering, which I designed and got cut back home in London, went on at the end of the week. We wanted a simple but classic font that wasn’t too busy but wouldn’t date either. A friend of ours suggested ‘Trajan’, which was originally taken from the plinth of an ancient Roman stone carving. Ooooh! Coincidentally the BBC TV programme Antiques Roadshow also uses Trajan in its credits, but don’t tell anyone!
We replaced the boss anode and the prop anode, and moved the shaft anode down closer to the prop.
If you like our content and would like to support us, we will give you ad-free access to our videos before they go live to the public, discounts in our shop, access to Jamie’s iconic full-res photographs, and supporter-only blog posts. Click our ugly mugs for more info!
