UPGRADES IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN DIY topsides paint job: an old girl gets a new look Story By | Jennifer M. Smith author of Green Ghost, Blue Ocean K ermit the Frog lamented that his complexion made him too ordinary. On the contrary, our green sailboat always made us feel distinctive amidst fl eets of white-hulled boats. But owning a green-hulled boat does have its drawbacks. Some sailors hold a superstition that green boats are unlucky and sure to run aground. More scientifi cally, dark-coloured hulls absorb heat. In tropical climates and hot summers, our boat warmed up quickly causing added power consumption due to the ongoing use of fans and the extra demands on refrigeration. Dark paint over lighter primer shows every chip and scratch, and dried salt on a dark hull is equally visible. We're not superstitious, but, when we determined it was time to re-do the twenty-year-old topsides paint on Green Ghost, we made a radical decision: we decided to paint her white. We also decided to do it ourselves. Crosshatch pattern in existing paint. Solvent test start. Adhesion test fail. Solvent test pass. 46 CANADIAN YACHTING | JUNE 2023