She's Got A New Dress On

Well, I'd like to think all the sanding has paid off. After applying 2 coats of primer and sanding after each coat, I'm all sanded out for awhile. I had intended to use the foam roller and brush tipping method, but the white "hot dog" rollers kept falling apart after half the boat was coated and left foam trash in the primer which required extra sanding.

Bow and 2 coats of primer.

Primed stern.

So, after almost 3 hours of the first top coat, she is starting to appear the lady.

Bow with 1 coat.

 

Stern and 1 coat.

Originally I intended to bright finish the stems,  but I sensed it would appear too fussy and elected to paint them instead. I lost control of one of the gains at the top of the broad plank at the stern, but all others look fine. This gain is likely at the waterline and will escape notice.

Collecting the rudder hardware took 3 separate orders from Hamilton Marine, WoodenBoat, and Duck Trap. Nobody had a pair of anything. The rudder gudgeons are actually Wilcox-Crittenden parts. That company's hardware business is long gone. Classic Marine did have all the pieces, but at perhaps at 2.5 times the cost.

I may elect to cut the pintels off and use a rod a la Jim Luton's method. The unpolished transom gudgeons are from Duck Trap.

I'm planning on turning her over this weekend and add another finish coat at the end of the job. On to more construction in the meantime. 

Sand Jam Thumb Cleat Epoxy

Boat work has been sporadic. Things are getting done, but when so much of it has been fairing and sanding ... what is there to report? Nonetheless, here are some items for the record.

• I bought this little paint scraper that is fantastic in combination with careful use of the heat gun.

1.5" wide scraper. Good addition.

• I fabricated the jaws for the mizzen boom from cherry scraps. I decided to angle them to better receive the mast. Ganging them together allowed for easy belt sanding. Glued, screwed and plugged here:

Jaws ganged for sanding.

Starboard jaw attached.

• I've a couple old Herreshoff open base cleats that I'll likely use bow and stern, but there are a few jam and thumb cleats needed for the 2 booms. I found a photo online that I adapted for this application. All done with drill press, jig saw, belt sander, file and sanding block. A final hand sanding will precede shellac and varnish.

Jam cleats.

Thumb cleats.

• Lastly, I got a coat of epoxy on. Mike at RAKA suggested heating up the boat and then cooling it down as epoxy is brushed on. He said the wood pores would open and soak up the goo. This I did with about a 10% thinning with denatured alcohol. A few areas got a bit thick and exhibit some sagging which will require more sanding. The random orbital sander should make it quick work. I may be able  to then prime for paint. We'll see.

Stern.

Dark laps are where the "purple" fairing compound is.

Boat Hookie

Sometimes you can get tired of laying on long epoxy parts. The sentiment hit me 2 days ago. As a diversion I picked up the rudder construction again, fiddled with the kick up controls, but didn't come to a happy resolution yet so, I decided to craft a boat hook.

Most of my computations, receipts, notes and drawings for this project have been kept in this notebook.

In it is my rough sketch of a long, light and sturdy boat hook. The hook is a scrap of hard oak and the shaft is of glued cedar. At just over 8' it should store well in the boat and float handle end up if dropped overboard. We'll see about that.

I had thought about lashing the parts, but dowelled things instead. I gave it a flat blunt nose for more pushing off surface. Some progress pics:

Rough cut with jig saw.

tapered with jack plane and belt sander

Finessing with files.

Rough cut for scarf.

Joined, dowelled and coated with "soup".

Shaped end.

All in all I have maybe 3 hours in this thing. It is handier, lighter and I think prettier than any of the several aluminum and telescopic versions I currently own. With a single coat of the "soup" (equal parts turpentine, tung oil, and pine tar). It is not the best smelling sauce, but it can grow on you. Maybe not for the rest of the family.

The kayak paddles I've put it on have worn very well. It also won't give you blisters like varnish can. Easy to apply, it simply wipes on and buffs off after 20-30 minutes. These pictures show it wet, but after a few coats there is a nice satin sheen developed.

Well, back to the long epoxy parts.

So, Its the New Year! Where are we?

Happy New Year! We're looking forward to longer days and the eventual warming trend. The Holidays were busy and good. Enjoyed seeing the family.

I did slip in some work on the boat here and there. Save for the starboard outwale, I'm right where I had hoped to be. She is ready for some finishing and really looking like a boat! A sweet one at that. The thought of that first sail drives me onward.

I'll list the tasks:

1. a 3/16" x 1/4" (6mm) strip of ash was epoxied after trimming the shear. 
2. out wale edges were rounded over with a 1/4" rounding bit on the jury rigged router table. Thankfully the plunge router stayed still. It has "adjusted" itself before to terrible results. None this time. I will further shape the top outer edge once boat is upright. That edge is about 1/2" round, but has some rolling bevel to it. Hard to judge it upside down.
3. outwales were scarfed with a step after some practice in pine. I used a combination of hand saw, hand plane, file, and belt sander for final fit. Got good results sneaking up on the fit.
4. out wale ends were fitted to stems with small bevel and belt sander finesse.
5. I epoxied the outwales on and then could reach the small 1/2" rubstrake I added. A first attempt to nail the strake on was a fail. The hammer just bounced, even after drilling pilot holes. Aesthetically I did continue the holes every 12" for accent. The solution was to overreach the out wale with a clamp and 2x material every 8". Worked fine.

Ash shear trim to hide and protect shear ply edge.

Long shot of outwale clamping and stained shear plank.

Fitted outwale at bow

Outwale clamped.

Rubstrake clamping.

Clamping and nails. Nails failed really.

Port aft quarter.

Port bow.

Looking like a boat.

Graphite powder for the centerboard and reddish phenolic micro balloons arrived for fairing. That is the next step really. Tally-ho!