Primed and . . . oh who knows?

Paul had said that all the imperfections show when you prime it.  I thought, that can't be true; the primer will hide things.
Well, friends, the primer does not hide things.
The primer shows you what a derelict you are, even if you've sanded the poor thing within an inch of its life.

I used the hand long blade sander, the 5" orbital sander, the 4" square hand sander, the detail sander , the filler, the epoxy, the heat gun . . . I used everything except dynamite and what do I get?

I get "eh."

 Note the big-ass hole still missing a dutchman.
Actually it looks okay for a "10-foot paint job," as Don would say.

But I am going to cheat.
Tomorrow I am going to fill the little puckers and cracks I had not noticed, sand them down, and prime again.
I do not think that is breaking any maritime epoxy laws.

Paul has said that now I should put on the seam compound.
But the compound he left me is brown, and says "for under water use only."  And unless Jeff Brown heads straight to the bottom when it launches, the topsides are above the waterline.

So is this the right stuff or the wrong stuff?  If I use it the poor thing will look like it has convict stripes.  I called Paul yesterday to find out how to use it.  I got the vague notion that paint thinner and a rag are  key.

Cripes, I'm going to have to call him again.

As you can see, I still haven't stripped the transom.  Plus there are little rot-holes near the stern that I have to fill with epoxy.  As my father used to say right before he went out on each charter, "Oh, boat, boat, hang together."