I've been building a Queeen Charlotte 17 by Pygmy for the last several months as time allows and am finally to the point where I have glassed the bottom and getting ready to finish up. I would like to solicit some advice on sanding and finishing. I've put several coats of epoxy on the bottom and am now flipping it over to put more coats on the rest of the boat since I only have one coat on.

What I would like to know is after doing this how much sanding needs to be done? This is the one thing that is the biggest mystery when it comes to boatbuilding. The manual basically says and now you can sand and varnish your boat. It seems there must be a bit more to it than that. What am I looking for? I assume a smooth finish and a consistent coat over the entire boat?

Next what methods of sanding should I use hand, random orbit? Maybe a lot of this is a personal choice thing. I'm looking for a nice finish not something everyone looks at and says, "He should have sanded more". So any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

Dave Caudill