After several years in the water—and almost three decades of existence—the author's Westsail 32 was ready for a thorough bottom job as well as the repair of some blistering. Here, the paint and gel coat along the boat's waterline have been ground down to raw glass in preparation for refairing.

Earlier this year, reader and occasional contributor Fred Hatch found himself facing a quandary common among boat owners. The topsides of his 32-foot sloop were well faded, and small blisters were beginning to show along the waterline. Would he be in for an ambitious haulout and big yard fees, or might there be other remedies? He recounts his haulout saga:

Because it had been a couple of years since Tarwathie's last haulout—and the boat had spent much of the interim in tropical or semi-tropical waters—my wife, Tonia, and I were a little apprehensive about what we’d see when she came out of her natural element. We could see from the…