Watching epoxy cure

is like watching paint dry, only worse! I guess you just have to keep plugging away while the epoxy cures. It usually takes 24 hrs till you can unclamp a part and move onto the next. These next few parts will take awhile!



This is one half of the bottom panels. As drawn by the architect they're just a tad under 29' long. We'll be adding 39" to these for the hull extension we've planned. The slits in the panels are called "Kerfs". They're there to help the panel bend when it's ready to form the bow of the boat.

These panels are so big I have to do them in halves then join them up. It's going to get tight once they're both assembled. I'll have two similar side panels to do after these.

The first half of the first bottom panel got glued up today.



I got bit by a runaway tape measure. Sliced my finger to the bone. Add to that a giant sliver in the pad of my left thumb and Schmeezus that hurts! Paper towel and hockey tape make a good temp bandage. Hockey tape is almost as good as duct tape in an emergency! ;-)

Last week the stringers got glued together. Not very exciting I know. That's about it for this week.

Making a lil' headway now

Moved the two sides of the cabin top outside.



They'll stay here till next summer I'm guessing. They'll be wrapped up neatly in the tarp to keep them dry and safe.

Moved onto the bulwarks. These are pretty simple joins so I did both sides at once. First time I've done that. We'll see how they turn out.



When the bulwarks are done I'll start on the bottom and side panels. That'll take a bit of forethought to juggling the parts once they're assembled.

That's it for now. Shower then off to the Flea Market to see what treasures I can find. ;-)

Well Blow Me Down....

or blow me away!

We're pretty lucky we don't get much really bad weather in this part of the world. My heart goes out to those down south recovering from the weather that's befallen them this week. We felt the tail end of the storms that caused so much devastation in the States. Anyhow it was blowing 60-70 MPH here yesterday and that's highly unusual for us. The plans I bought for the bow shed said 70 mph was the max for the design. I built it to plans and doubled the size of the stakes that went into the ground. Now I think that was a good idea. When I got home last night the shed was still standing but taking a pretty good beating from the 40+ MPH winds. It moved quite a bit and had blown the bottom of one of the big doors in. I backed the doors up with a 2x8 and tied the shed to my boat and my garden shed. If it takes flight now I'll have to go to Oz to get my lawnmower! ;-)



BZ to Stimson Marine for a great shed design.

Boat building is a lot like

watching paint dry. Well more like watching epoxy cure to be exact. Who said this boat building thing was fun? I spent most of the Easter long weekend (4 days) waiting for epoxy to cure. I even stepped up the process by putting a tent over the splices and warming them with a small heater.

Here's one half of the main cabin roof getting flipped. I used my electric winch which worked perfectly. Essential when working alone I'd say.



I apologize for the crappiness of the photo.

The second half is underway and will be flipped tonight so I can glass the joints on the backside.

That's about it for now. I know, boring stuff. Sorry.

I wish Mother Nature

would get the seasons figured out! Sheez! Doesn't she know that epoxy just doesn't cure at 0 Deg C? C'mon now!

It's been slow this week. I managed to get a few panels put together and another taken apart and put back together (long story, don't ask).

This is one half of the main cabin roof. The two lighter panels are the cabin extension and the cockpit extension. Overall it's 16' 5" long! It'll have to be done in two halves.



Here I'm gluing up 5 splices at once. I'm learning as I go.



This is the forward cabin roof I did early in the week. Had to cut it in two and add in the piece I forgot! Doh! I hate grinding fiberglass! *scratch scratch* The nasty sh*t gets in places I forgot I had! ;-)