Goals and Restoration Schedule

As I previously stated, the Merit met my four buying requirements:its fast, trailerable, big enough to sleep 2-4, and relatively inexpensive(for now). Now I have to consider how I will use the boat and how much money/time I want to put into it. I have never raced but I would definitely like to at some point. I would also like to take the boat to the San Juans for a couple of weeks in the summer. So I am going to restore/outfit the boat in a way that allows both of those goals. I have divided the work into four phases: the bottom, the topsides, the deck, and the cabin. My plan is to do the bottom first, followed by the topsides and the deck. I will work on the cabin while I am waiting for paint to dry on the rest of the boat. Here is a rough breakdown of the steps and products I intend to use for each phase.

I. Bottom
Intro: My primary concern with the bottom is the crack between the keel/hull joint. From what I have read this is common problem and often referred to as a "smile". Keel flex seems to be common on late model Merits, but this boat was built in 1980. Upon inspection the first two keel bolts (towards the bow) are sealed in white paint and look to be in good condition(as you can see in the slideshow pics). When I took the pictures there was water in the bilge so I didn't get a really good look. (Note:this water is just rain water as the boat has been sitting uncovered in Oregon for a year). The to bolts furthest aft were even harder to see because of dirt/sediment in the bilge and the eye hook plate on top of them. At first I was a little concerned that these bolts were not tightened down, but not I think this has something to do with the plate/lifting eye. So once the boat is dropped off at my house I will suck the water out of the bilge and get a better look. I really don't want to drop the keel and rebed it and from what I have gathered this procedure would only be worth it if: A. the boat was going offshore or B. the boat was really expensive. So this brings me to the plan. I will outline my plan for the bottom now and try to post the rest soon.

A. step 1-paint removal
1. Remove old bottom paint using gel-coat safe stripper, large two-handed scraper, and random orbital sander.
2. Grind down cracked areas in the keel.
3. Repair keel: I still have some confusion about this step but my plan is to first remove as much debris from the crack
as possible and fill it using sikaflex 291 lot or 3m 5200. I have heard arguments for and against both of these
products. Some say that 5200 is too permanent and inflexible. There argument was that this joint was naturally going
shift a bit and that a product like the sikaflex would allow for this. But I have also heard that the sikaflex wouldn't be
strong enough. Some have also suggested epoxy. So if anyon has any suggestions I would really appreciate it.
4. Fair/repair keel and hull with epoxy. I just ordered the west system epoxy dvd so I should have a better sense of this
process soon. I was also planning to make some NACA 14 templates to help the shaping process.
5. Prime with vc-tar 2
6. Roll topcoats with vc-17m