The final item was to attach metal strips to the bottom of the keels. To minimise electrolysis with the copper in the antifouling I chose brass for the keel strips. The metal was attached with countersunk brass screws and set on a layer of epoxy filler. I made sure that the screw holes were primed with epoxy filler prior to screwing home. A pair of  mini keels has been cut from brass angle and will be fitted to the inside face of the keels once the boat is turned and on its trailer.

The hull with topcoat before and after application of antifouling paint

I wanted to obtain the best finish on the hulls that I could achieve and purchased a water based polyurethane top coat that Marg had used on her dinghy. I had a finishing spray gun that I used on woodwork many years ago and tried to spray paint the topcoat over the sanded epoxy undercoat. I did not have much success. Obviously I am not a spray painter or I expect too much of myself. The paint went on patchy - overspray dots and when I tried to apply thinned paint I managed to create lots of runs. In desperation I posted a query on the Yahoo Jarcat group site and received several replies mostly indicating that the paint I had chosen was extremely hard to use.
 
Maybe it wasn't my ability solely. I ordered a different brand of paint ( two pack reaction lacquer) and after waiting for a week was able to attempt to spray this new product. The lacquer was nowhere near a safe as the polyurethane. It required thinners (as opposed to water) and had stringent safety precautions. I was however after a good finish so all fired up I mixed up the first 200ml of paint and filled the spray gun. Disaster!!! This paint was no better than the previous - my inability shone! I reverted to the original paint and a foam brush. This is what Marg had used on her boat and the finish was acceptable even though it showed some brush marks.
 
By sanding between coats with 240 grit wet and dry sandpaper I was able to acheive a reasonable (though not showroom) finish. At least I was progressing. I applied thin coat after thin coat till the surface was consistent with minimal brush marks.
 
I then used masking tape to define the design waterline (well actually just higher than the DWL) and brushed on two coats of epoxy antifouling paint. This paint contains a high proportion of copper and is very thick. It indicates that you can spray the paint but not how to thin it on the can. I used a brush (brushes ) and was satisified with the finish.
 
I discovered when applying the epoxy undercoat to the transom that by inserting a spacer ( a steel washer) in the needle trigger in the spray gun that the needle would open more widely in the orifice and allow the thick paint to be sprayed without clogging. How come you always seem to find out what you were doing wrong just near the end of the job??