Happy Holidays!

The winter holiday season is a great time with lots of family and friends. Not so much boatwork I am afraid.

I managed to get away for a few minutes to oil the backsides of the cherry paneling.



I also managed a quick trip out to check on the boat. (She is just fine.) Last week I mentioned the difficulty in getting the 3/4 inch plywood sole to fit. Here is a picture looking into the forward starboard end of the main saloon cabin sole.



... and the approximate shaving necessary to get it all to fit.



A further complication is that I tabbed the plywood undersole with 14 oz. biaxial cloth which is strong and... rather thick. The plyboo cabin sole sits on this tabbing putting it about 1/8 of an inch above the plywood undersole. I had cut the access holes in the undersole deliberately undersized to support the hatch covers. In the original sole, the hatches were supported by nailed and glued fiddles which were coming loose. My idea of the plywood undersole with the undersized holes was an effort to improve the design. There is no question that the new design is much stronger. I just never factored in the thickness of the tabbing. I think I am going to simply rely on the wonderful gap filling properties of epoxy rather than figure out a way to have the entire plyboo sole sit flush on the undersole. I am not up for cutting a step that large in the plyboo. Next time I will come up with something better.

More relatives are arriving and I have to cut the posting short. Here's to hoping for a free weekend of boatwork soon!

Big planks into small planks

... and not much else I am afraid. Big snowstorm left me shoveling for most of the day Sunday.

Pictures from last week:

I started with some cherry that I took to a friend's shop.



The boards were cut into thinner strips - 2.5 inches - a dimension chosen for roughly the visual effect I was looking for but more importantly, maximizing the stock we had to work with.



The shiplaps and beading were cut with a combination of routers and tablesaws. It took some trial and error to figure out the best way. We spent more time on the project than we expected. A nice router table and $150 router bit would have made the the cut on the first pass. We didn't have that. It wasn't too bad though.



Yesterday, with the storm forecasted I spent some time tightening down the tarp which had settled in and loosened a slight amount in the past few weeks. We have had several days of 50+ mph gusts so I wasn't surprised. The staking system is working well and the structure isn't moving anywhere and looks good.

After that I went to work on the cabin sole bamboo plywood. It is taking a lot LOT longer than I expected to get the right shape for the sole. The problem is that the angle between the hull and sole varies widely from near vertical to over 60 degrees. Making it that much more tricky, the curves are not anywhere near fair and are instead 'lumpy and bumpy and wavy'- both the outer curves of the sole and the angle between the hull and sole are highly irregular. With the bamboo plywood sole 3/4 inch thick I am removing a lot of material through trial and error. I have about eight hours of hand planing into the project. I am real close now but I still have a bit more fussing to do. I would have a few pictures to show what I am talking about but I left my camera in the car and in the 20 degree temperatures the camera battery quickly went dead. Inside the boat with a small electric heater going its about 60 degrees - a benefit of an insulated hull. I will try and get some pictures next weekend.

In other news, I made a bid on Ebay as a lark for a bronze cowl vent.



These things usually command a lot of money but this time I got lucky and won the bidding for $66. Its a bit smaller than I thought but a very well made and hefty chunk of bronze. I quite like it. I am not sure where to put it though. I know I need something to draw in/out air from the anchor locker which has clear air flow to the bilge and aft cockpit area. I am not sure this particular cowl is the ticket. It seems too small but then again it is really a small boat so maybe it will work. I know that no ventilation makes the insides pretty moldy and stale and it could be a long expensive wait for something bigger.



and that's it.

The next posting will undoubtedly be after the holiday so Merry Christmas everyone!

Short and Sweet

It was a busy weekend of socializing and boat talk. I managed (with some help) to turn some larg-ish boards of cherry into smaller boards and sawdust. The camera is here and the computer is there so no pictures this week.

Boat work is on the schedule for next week so I expect to have something interesting then.

Happy Chanukah

'tween the holidays

Miniscule progress. I felt better about the lack of progress when I remembered that it has been the same slow going between the holidays every year. There is just too many other demands on my time.

First on the list was shoveling out the driveway and walkway after the first snow of the season.



Things that did get done:

I scaled back some of my cherry tongue and groove paneling plans and was able to buy enough to get me started. The plan is to visit a friend and mill it up next weekend.

I also picked up a few fir 2x4's which make excellent interior framing. I had a need for some thin strips for non-Triton boat projects so I ripped strips off of two 2x4's making a pair of 2x2's. I plan on using these around the galley countertop and engine cover.



Other than turning as much wood into sawdust as usable product my homemade ripping guide worked quite well. The store bought guide didn't adjust in enough to make the 3/16 inch thick strips so I clamped on a longer strip of scrap wood and it held quite well and didn't move. It helped that I have a $120 Forrest saw blade on the saw. Expensive blades but they cut super smooth and easy.



We had some 50mph gusts this week which I found pushed the blunt aft end of the boat structure around a bit. I found six short metal fence stakes at $1.50 a piece that I think will do the trick. They are about 3 feet long overall with 2 feet buried in the ground.







Finally, I pulled the engine battery which completes the winterization for the season. So far the structure is holding up fine (other than a little wandering) and has withstood two storms with 50+ mph winds. The boat is completely dry and airy. My heater, radio and worklights are installed and hopefully I will find some space for some quality time with the boat in the near future.

em tasol wantoks.