Spring Cleanup

As is normal, winter left a mess in the shed. When Mother Nature decided to blow the top off the shed and let in the snow & rain it whipped up quite a mess. It looks like the white Tyvek is starting to disintegrate and falling into the boat as a fine particle. *sigh*

Spent most of today just cleaning and organizing.

Little more organized!

Wrapped the engine in plastic to keep some of the schmutz off of it. Also fabbed together a stand for one of the 100W LED lights I bought.

Quick & Dirty light stand.

It just clamps onto the boat hull so I'll be able to move it around where it's needed. Going to have a look tonight to see how well it lights up the boat in the dark. I've got one more to setup as well.

Tomorrow's task is to clean up my epoxy bench.

Greatest minds have the messiest desks!

I'm thinking a shelf might help hold some of the lighter stuff.

That's it. Not actually boat building but one of those things that goes along with it.

Standby....

Years in the planning

and only minutes in the execution! Start to finish less than 10 minutes but it's taken 7 yrs to get to this point! The whole process went just as I thought it would. Slick as sh*t!

Flying high ready to swing into position

Just landed on the engine beds.

Final position will depend on the rest of the drive line.

It'll sit there for now. I'll clean it up and wrap it in plastic to protect it from dust etc. Now I can get on with the remaining drive line installation and framing.

Standby...

Wheels Up!

Yesterday and today I cleaned up the shed a bit. Got the uprights in place to support the I-beam that'll lift the engine up and into the boat.

First step was getting the engine off the trailer. It spent the winter there under a tarp. Doesn't appear to be any worse for the wear.

Back on the ground, safe & secure.



First up on the list this morning was getting the uprights in place to support the i-beam. Simple 6x6's. Held in place with ratchet straps.

Some of you might remember the gin pole? Well it's been repurposed! It's only gotta hold long 'nuff to get the engine up and into the boat~! *Fingers Crossed*



Wheels are up and she's holding the weight of the engine/trans (565 lbs) with no problems. No moans or groans or cracks coming from the bow shed either.

That's it till Friday when I plan to hoist that anchor and put it in the bilge!

Standby.....

Winter just won't let go!

Holy frig! Who's doing the 'Snow Dance' out there? Please stop!!! It's mid-April and we've got 6 inches of snow with half inch of ice on top of it! Enough already! *sigh* </rant>

Ok, got that out of my system.

With all the snow & rain the boat shed is flooded. It's a quagmire in there. I'll need 3-4 days of good weather to dry it all out. My buddy Andrew was by last week to help patch a blowout on the shed.

Andrew "Monkey Man' Miller patching yet another blow out on the shed.

Good thing for Andrew. He's been with me on this adventure since the start. I wish I could have him on the project all the time.

Sad day last week. We had to say Goodbye to our Project Director. Poor ole' Squirt had been suffering from the ill affects of kidney failure and other issues. We tried hard to keep him going but in the end we failed. Sorry Squirt. :-(

Squirt AKA The Project Director 2004-2018

I've got all the supplies I need to hit the road running on the boat this spring, weather permitting. Epoxy? Check! Fiberglass? Check! Wood Flour? Check! and the list goes on. First task however will be to get the engine off my trailer and into the shed. I should have the I-Beam braced & ready to lift the engine by Saturday. We'll see how mucky it is and if we can move the engine.

That's about it for now.

Standby....

Goals for Next Year

So after a very disappointing year in the boat shed I've got to try to get this project on some sort of track. I'm thinking I'll set some goals to be met.

1. Finish Rudder: Final fairing & infusing reinforcement (glass and carbon fiber) layer. Paint.
2. Install Engine: New motor mounts, fasten down into place. R&R all hoses & starting circuit wires.
3. Install Skeg: Seal and bolt in.
4. Install Rudder: Finish rudder stuffing box mount & down tube. Install bronze rudder bushing.
5. Install Prop Shaft: Install shaft tube and bearing carrier. Install shaft and have custom cut to length. Reinstall.
6. Frame E Install: Main bulkhead install.
7. Finish Tabbing: Almost all internal joints need another layer of tape and/or fillets & tape.
8. Tank, Water Heater & Battery Beds: Fabricate and install all six tank beds and one each for batteries and hot water heater/pumps.
9. Aft Framing: Complete last three aft frames.
10. Raw Water Inlet: Install raw water inlet for engine cooling.
11. Exhaust: Run exhaust hose and thru-hull so that engine can be run every few months.
12. Crash/Bilge Pumps: Install crash & bilge pumps in engine space

I think I can do that much this upcoming boat building season. It's a lot of work and I know I'll need some help for some of it. We'll see how well the old body holds up. Hoping to get a good head start on it in the spring, weather permitting of course. 

Standby......