It took Melissa three days, but Apsaras’s hull has now been polished and waxed from bow to stern. Melissa bought a Shurhold polisher (thanks Dr. R for the recommendation!). It’s an orbital polisher that goes slow enough that even an untrained flunky won’t risk burning through the gel coat. Its still a ton of work, but not nearly what it would be if the polishing were done by hand the way we did the top deck.
Melissa polished the stainless and aluminum on the deck too. Before having left Seattle, Erin suggested she get some Bar Keepers Friend for cleaning the stainless steel stove. And as luck would have it, when Melissa checked with Practical Sailor (her favorite web site), they recommended the same stuff for all the deck hardware.
The boat looks practically like new!