Another day at the office

Some times you just have to be reminded that this boat once floated. This particular photo was taken in Cows Head harbor in Maine near Machias Bay.



Today I removed the tarps and the supporting framework. No more stooping and cursing everytime I move around on the boat. Its all wide open again.

I went back to sanding until I wrecked my sanding pad... for the second time. Seems the hook and loop sandpaper disk departed the sander and I didn't realize it. I noticed the paper wasn't cutting too well so I leaned into the sander a bit to help it out. Leaning on the sander when there is no paper attached melts the fine plastic hooks in the hook-and-loop system in a matter of seconds. I will order a new one tonight but I won't have a working sander again tomorrow. That might not be a totally bad thing. I really want to apply fresh primer to the deck and hull but the temperatures really aren't there yet. It is frustratingly close but a small delay would probably be better.

I did the final trimming on the 3/4" plywood that will make up the underlaying portion of the cabin sole. It fits now and let me tell you it is a real pain getting it to that point. Nothing is smooth or fair or symmetrical so it takes many attempts to get it right. The final shape is a twisted, warped looking thing that fits pretty tightly around the edges of the hull/keel part of the boat. I am putting it back at the height of the original sole ... I think... I really am not that sure since I started the project a year ago and I have long since ground out any remaining clues. The plywood is 17 inches below the settees. On top of the plywood will be another 1/2 inch of decorative wood strips so the drop from the settees to the floor will be about 16.5 inches. There is also four inches of foam cushions on the settees so it should be fine. It was a comfortable height for me( who cares about anyone else) the last time I had a finished sole installed.

I am searching for a type of wood to use for the decorative layer. I plan on teak veneered panels in the main saloon so I would like to choose something else so I don't have too much teak to look at. I was wondering about cherry but I have never seen it used as a flooring material before. My boat neighbor suggested maple and I could stain it to whatever color I wanted. This actually makes sense to me.

Since I have to wait for a new pad for my sander I will probably finish up some details on the bilge water tank and make a divider in the bilge for separating a small 'cool food storage' area and the rest of under sole area that I will use for general heavy boat hardware storage (extra anchor chain and the like) tomorrow.

I am still looking for photos of my settee construction.

Dinner time.