Painting the Waterline

On real boats, the part of the hull that is submerged under water is protected with bottom paint. This bottom paint is an anti-fouling paint that prevents marine animals and plants from attacking and destroying the hull. It also help to keep marine barnacles from growing on the hull.  This is why most hulls are painted two different colors. Bottom paints are generally a dark color and flat in appearance.

The waterline is the color separation line, (on some boats, this is an actual painted line that flows around the circumference of the hull) and also the level at which the hull of the real boat floats. It appears as a straight line in the Side View on the plan. However, because the waterline is laid on the curved surface of the hull, it can be frustrating to make it appear straight when viewed from the side.

Roger's Notes: There are many different techniques for locating the waterline on a hull. For a model of this size, the following Midwest feels that the following technique works quite well.  Later I will discribe the technique I used.

Apply white paint to the sides of the hull. Be sure the paint covers the sides well below the waterline shown on the plan.

                 Click on image to enlarge

Measure the location of the waterline at the bow and transom as shown on the plan.  Mark these locations on the bow and transom, as shown.


                 Click on image to enlarge

Paint Application


For the boat on the box top, here is how Midwest did it:  the entire finish was applied with soft camel hair brushes! Applying this type of paint with a brush gives the appearance of an older boat that has been re-painted several times, and is very realistic.

With the exception of the natural wood parts, all of the bare wood was first given two coats of K & B primer, including the radio and battery compartments. The primer was lightly sanded with #320 grit sandpaper between coats. Two coats of colored paint were then applied.

The decks were given five coats of clear urethane, brushed on. #400 grit wet or dry sandpaper was used to wet-sand the decks between the second and last coats. All of the rails and moldings were given one coat of clear urethane to waterproof them.

Note: If you are going to apply a natural wood finish (clear) to the decks, it would be best to finish the decks first, before painting the rest of the model. Cover them with masking tape to prevent any paint from coming into contact with them.

The display stand was stained with mahogany wood stain, available at hardware and paint stores. No other finish was applied, giving the stand a weathered and rustic appearance.

Note: Midwest states: Before starting to paint your model, you may wish to read through the rest of your manual to determine if there are any other wood parts that you want to make and paint at this time (such as the winch stand). Also, note that the hull is to be painted before the spray rails are added. This is done to allow the waterline to be easily masked for painting.

Roger's Notes: Boy how I do things differently!  Much more to come on the techniques I used to paint my model.