5.23.2007

I knew I forgot something



I know, I know. Sometimes we get wrapped up in life and forget to do certain things. The fishing has slowed down, but there have been some extra shifts at work. Went to Moab for a long weekend (highly reccomended). Blah blah blah.

Fairing is the time when a majority of boat builders lose interest in their projects. There is the tedium of filling, coating, sanding, fairing, recoating, sanding (sanding) {sanding} [sanding] and then sanding. There is the specter of how long they have worked and how far away the end is. There is the layering of projects that need to be finished.

None of those have slowed me down. I just have been too lazy to post. I post in the evenings, and I would rather hang out with my wife than sit and stare at the computer.

Oh, and the photo at the top is a stirring stick that I forgot one day, and stuck to the boat. Oops.

ONWARD!

So with little fanfare, Pete, Brady, Sean, and the Toddler came by to give the el-rollo treatment to the considerably heavier hull. So little fanfare in fact, that my photographer (who stated she couldn't help lift due to her being the photographer) didn't snap any shots. Ah well.

So first she was back on her lid and on the jig (in combination with the uber sawhorses assembled underneath):



Then add some baby-poo:



Or was that phenolic balloons and silica...

Knock it down:



(scroll back to the top and note this is where I stuck the stirring stick, with a mighty bond, to the boat)

Then recoat, though I did a rather ass-like job:



Then sand again...

Then forget to take photos on that sanding.

Then slob on ANOTHER coat, this time with a little silica, microspheres, and a little talc to make it sand nicely.

Then forget to take photos of the coat.

Then SAND AGAIN.....:



Then bust out the quickfair for the low spots, mix up some microsphere and silica goodness for the fairing of the transom and the aft end of the bottom to remove the tape induced hook:



Here is a linear look down the hull to get an idea of the fairness (though it looks better in the photo than it is):



As it sits tonight:



Over the past week Ive burnt through roughly 75 50 grit sanding pads, 10 sheets of 60 grit stick on 1/4 sheet, 4 sheets of 9x12 50 grit, and a roll of carpet tape. Oh, and my rotator cuffs. Its been a good deal of work since I tried to longboard most of it. As it turns out, that takes a LONG time. Longer than I have. I got back aboard the random orbit sander wagon, although it has left me with a wavy surface. Thats not necessarily due to the sander, moreso due to my inept, random, unfair, and anti-smooth application of fairing compound. Do not, under any circumstances, have me do your drywall.

On that note, has anyone looked at the calendar lately? Its like a week and a half to June. I am a miserable failure. We now have two choices. One, accept the loss as one of laziness, lack of skill, and repeating projects due to idiot mistakes. This is the course of builder error. Two, we can blame outside factors. Started in Oct, and had exceptionally poor weather, not gonna get any epoxying done when it was 10 below zero at night. Or the plywood issue. My long term readers may remember my 5 week long wait for plywood that was stuck at the border.

I vote we blame everyone else! It can't possibly be my fault we are behind schedule. Or yours, if your project is behind. If we blame others, then we can continue working with no remorse.

Due to contributing factors, I am going to add the 5 weeks I missed to the finish date.

July 4th.

Wish me luck.

Anyone in the pacific NW that wants to help out, see the boat, or help flip it over, just send a comment and let me know!

Im gonna go rest now, Ive got sanding to do tomorrow.

E

5.04.2007

Fumes

Normally when these blogs get bogged and beleaguered, lost and left alone, its because the project has decelerated, been neglected, or stopped. Not This!

Since the surgery, I was feeling pretty puny, but better each day. I also have to shave at work, so I haven't been while Im off. Thoughts?



Instead of slacking off like most bloggers due to apathy, I have just been so stinkin' busy on the boat that I haven't had time to blog. Part of this is because I work on the boat until 5 or so, then blog until the beautiful bride shows up from work. Lately other things have been taking this time up:



The bite is ON! Sean has been hosting all this spring, we developed a system, and reliably catch 2-6 of these pigs a night!

Sean with his:



Another monster:



Isn't this a boat blog?

Shes gone from a hollow shell of a boat, albeit right side up, to a stiff, strong structure thats ready for bottom fairing and paint. Let's dive in!

This is my filleting tool kit:



One homemade filleting tool, one stirring stick of scrap ply, and one mail-provided plastic card. The stirring stick is convenient to have in a wide width and about 4" longer than the cup you will be stirring in. The card is great for cleanup and for smoothing areas that the filleting tool can't get appropriately. When you travel, keep your door cards. They have personal data you don't want to share, and they make a GREAT tool.



I've been asked about the filleting tool before, so here it is. It was a piece of hollow dowel that held a railing off the wall in my house. I cut a 1/4" slice off it, and epoxied it to a scrap of mahogany taper that was going to be burned anyways. This tool makes smooth, clean fillets in just about any corner, it's just a hair bigger than what the designer reccomends, but just makes beautiful fillets. I reccomend making one.

All the guts mocked up, tape cut, and prepped for fillet/tape:



Bow sections filleted and taped up:



Laying fillets in the passenger area:



Filleting the engine compartment and slopwell:



Taping begins in earnest... The main passenger area:



Taped up motorwell and splashwell:



I was fumed up and feeling artistic. This is one of the flotation/storage wells on the side:



Feeling triumphant at the end of a 9 hr glassing frenzy:



Anyone wanna help me flip this thing over tonight or sunday?

E