Every day it threatens to rain. Every day it doesn't. We wake up hoping to goof off for the day and the weather is just fine! We must be the only boat builders that hope not to work each day. We get up, check the weather, and go to work. Phooey! We plod along, break for lunch and go back to work. Then we take a 30-60 minute walk before we cook. Every day is the same, unless it rains. It's been humid a lot, that not-rain situation, so working is less than fun. One day morphs into the next, the weekly blog morphs into a repeat of last week's blog. Finally it did rain and fierce nocturnal winds blew off two hatches and dumped a pile of rain. How many times can I describe the process of coating the plywood, priming it, painting it? How many times can I describe the screw-ups before we all run away screaming "nononono"? I've written some 130 odd blogs and cannot remember what I wrote. Someday I will look back on this and laugh and beg them to loosen the strait jacket because I'm not crazy, honest! Ken. ATW. says I should look back to see how far we've progressed. I guess I should look at the pictures, but that prose! Reminds me of a feeble attempt at literature by a high school sophomore! Anyway, here's this week.
Budge 'n Ben (Budgenben, hee hee) put the port motor box in to see how badly we screwed it up. The box fits around the two lugs on the beam. That top hole is bolted to the lugs. We have yet to drill those lug holes, as they must be positioned then drilled to the correct height so the boxes are level. This is the fore part of the box.
Now the other end (aft) is another situation. You can see (if you look) that aforementioned motor box is designed to sit between these two lugs. You can also see (if you look) that there is something awry with the placement of the lugs on the mast beam! Crap!.......Again! If we put the motor wells between the lugs, they will not clear the hulls. Crap!.......Again! So, Now what? Hmmmmmmmm, put a spacer between the right lug and the motor box. Ok, Ok..........dammit......and cut out the lug on the left and move it over. Also on the center of that beam where the mast sits is a platform where the mast sits, is not centered. Crap!........Again!
That thing on top of the beam on the far left, behind Ben's butt, is not placed correctly. It has to be repositioned! So..........
We attacked! Me, the big lug, on the lug. And me trusty multitool.
And Budge with his trusty hand saw. Eventually we cut them off. That piece of oak on the top of the picture will be a donut spacer for the far lug.
Hah! Got it!
Hah! Budge, too! Now we have to glue them back in! Oak and Teak Epoxy! Uh Oh, running out!
I managed to squeeze out 4 teaspoons of Oakpoxy, enough to re-glue the two pieces. It involved cutting off the bottom of the can of part "B" and scraping it out!
See? back to where it shoulda been. What else did we do? Oh yeah, the pod.
Pod interior. First apply a coat of epoxy (deja vu all over again). Then a coat of primer.
I'll spare you the repetition..........................................................
Hey! Electra Level! What's that? A water level! Who'd want to level water????? No no n0, it uses water to level! So............
We compared the level side to side of the starboard hull beam troughs to the side to side of the port hull. Seems pretty good! It's like leveling a tree!
Did I say we painted the pod? This is coat 4,878!
And we painted the previous repositioned parts!
Ben shaved down the ears of the swim ladder to make it fit a bit better. Of course we had to coat, prime and, paint them!
Big-Ass Bolts to Attach the Big-Ass Motor Boxes to the Big-Ass Lugs. "Big-ass" is our motto! So, my two faithful blog readers, we come to the end of the week. Be forewarned: with the pod completed, there is only one major construction left: the pod top. From now on, many small details. Save yourself, stop reading this now!
The Music♪: Frazey Ford "Done"
Martha suggested this one.
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