Sanding/Painting Daggerboard Trunk?

I'm refurbishing a small 10' sailboat with a 1/2" wide daggerboard truck. My questions are these:

- How do I sand it?
- What do I paint/coat it with once it's cleaned up?

I don't have a lot of width, so I want to protect the trunk and also have my daggerboard insert and remove easily.

Any inputs appreciated!!

 

What material are we talking? GRP I guess? Some pictures?

 

Sorry, It's fiberglass. You can see in one of the pictures the existing paint inside the trunk has peeled off and needs to be cleaned up and I'm wondering if there's a special low friction paint or some other magic material I should be using and any other things I need to watch out for.

thanks,

 

What does the foil look like? I would start with a good clean smooth foil and once that is done you can stretch tape/glue clear vinyl on it to protect it and create enough clearance for it. Then use a thickened mix of epoxy (microfibers and some other thickening agent) and brush it in enough quantity but not less to fill the cavity once you have placed the covered board in it and rig it in the right position. Once cured it will have as smooth of a finish as your vinyl/nylon bag of the foil's surface and just enough clearance so it doesn't stick. A heavy gauge carpet bag had done the trick for me when my daggerboard was lucky enough to be just the right size in circumference so no extra taping stitching was required.
If you care to have that white coating look add a white die in the resin. Sometimes, and it is a good idea, closer to the bottom there is a wider section where a splash seal goes, something like a strip of carpet to prevent water from splashing up through the trunk. You should consider haing the trailing edge sharpened a bit as well if you have no foil already.