The 10-Foot Rule — Fit2Sail

There’s a half-serious, half-sarcastic “rule” when it comes to exterior finish on boats. Especially DIY finishes. I think if I’d paid a huge sum of money to a boatyard I would expect perfection. And while we’re shooting for perfection with our own work, the fact of the matter is that at some point you have to figure out what “good enough” actually means.

*why yes, this is the paint we’re using!*

Before we even got to the paint stage of this project, we’ve been talking about this “good enough” definition. We’re focusing on sealing on the wood, and we want the boat to look snazzy in general. Still, after the months of prep, it’s very hard not to want it to look amazing.

Here comes that rule I mentioned earlier.

While this may have been the best finish of all of the coats we’ve applied, if I got close on this one and zoomed in, there would be pieces of lint and bubbles you could see. But from a few feet away? I hope you’ll agree that it looks pretty sweet. All shiny and reflective and stuff. Just imagine that shine reflecting sparkly waves . . .

The 10-foot rule is just that. Do the finish work so it looks as good as possible, of course, but realize that you can’t let perfect get in the way of “done”.

It’s easy to second-guess yourself, to see only the flaws. Step back, take some time to appreciate what looks good, and go from there. People will see the shine and the beauty from 10 feet away - and if they’re getting out a magnifying glass looking for the problems, you don’t want them aboard anyway!