One of the most unpleasant jobs for many boat owners is anti fouling the boat. The paint is smelly, expensive and on top of that the shape of the boat means that you spend a good part of your time on your back getting splashed with paint. For this reason it is essential to keep the paint out of your eyes (I am not wearing them here as I was trying to operate the camera and pose all at the same time) and the vapors are not good to breathe either so now I wear a good organic respirator when applying the paint. By the way if the respirator is doing it's job you can't smell the paint at all, forget those disposable type masks they are ineffectual and allow the fumes straight through. I suspect that applying the paint in the open air is less hazardous than working in an enclosed space, like say a garage or workshop where the vapor do build up. Nevertheless I think it best to wear a respirator even outside.
Incidentally a far greater health risk is presented if sanding anti fouling, the boat should be tented over and a slight positive pressure should be achieved within the tent via means of a small fan, neither the EPA or your next door boat owner will thank you if you sand in the open air. The dust is very insidious and unless contained goes everywhere. It is also illegal to allow the dust onto the ground, it should be captured and disposed of as hazardous waste.
Actually removing all of the old bottom paint is something that I think I will have to do next year. Although I use Micron extra, an ablative paint there is still a build up on the underside of the boat which I would like to remove entirely, inspect and fair the boat and then reapply. That's going to be a big job but I think that it would be worth it and give me a little extra speed.
One of the best machines is the Festool dustless system, expensive perhaps but it does capture the majority of the dust. I might just have to invest in one.
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