Take it from a guy who's been married for 23 years - the idea will fly if it's "hers". Suppose you had a minor hand/wrist injury about the same time that you had to sand the hull. "Honey? Would you mind helping me a little with this project? How about trading some laundry for some sanding?" And when she understands how tough and endless the work is, she'll give you the opening you need to suggest the ROS. Voila!

: I've been lurking around the board and archives for a couple of weeks while
: preparing for and starting my first boat (arctic tern). I've been able to
: find answers to most of my questions so far, but now need help with this
: one.
: Most people seem to be using random orbital sanders, so, in prep for a Home
: Depot excursion later this week, I added one to my shopping list. This was
: challenged by my wife on the grounds that we already have a palm sander.
: On the spot, I couldn't come up with a better justification than something
: along the lines of "but all of the other kids have one". I've
: used up a lot of the available supply of tolerance and indulgence in
: getting the kit itself and taking over the basement. Any help on this?