Today (Easter Monday in NZ) I had a go at taking off some of the finish on the outside. A previous owner globbed on some fabric (I don't think it's fibreglass). Bought a Ryobi random orbital sander with the hook-loop paper. Not recommended for this sort of a job. The stuff does cut through the fabric and resin (there's perhaps 1 to 1.5 mm of the stuff on the hull, so it takes some work to get through it). After about 15 minutes running on high speed, though, the bed on the back of the sandpaper degrades and won't hold to the hooks on the sander any more - so that's not a suitable option for getting the finish off.
Tried the old "busted hacksaw blade shop-knife-scraper" tool - an old industrial hacksaw blade with some sharp square corners ground onto the side opposite the teeth (after grinding off the teeth). Works a treat - peels through the finish much faster than even 40 grit sanding disks on the Ryobi.
Spent about 75 minutes on the boat today - This is (as anticipated) going to take a while. Must get a more substantial chunk of steel to make into a scraper so I can use both hands in a full grip - the one I have now is a little short, and it's hard on the old thumbs...
Good to be started back at the boat...
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