Hey! No comments this week. No Ken, ATW, no no one, none............ wait.......................I told you two not to send comments.............what was I thinking? How will I know if you liked the music. Ok, disregard that statement about no comments, it was a dumb idea (I'm good at those). This week was a bit of this, a bit of that, more that than this, I think (Huh?). On the happy side of things, we finished painting the beams. Yay! Visual progress. On the unhappy side of things, read on, you two.
First we finished the last beam. Ben is repairing fissures in the glue joint so we could work epoxy into the crevasse. Boatbuilding is so disheartening.
I widened the notches of the swim ladder so it would clear the seat supports on beam 3 and, of course, the meranti plywood chipped badly. Boatbuilding will break your heart.
With a rotary file chucked into the flexible shaft attachment of the drill, I smoothed the net holes. There are around a hundred holes. The tedium will demolish your soul.
We epoxy coated the swim ladder
And primed it.
We did the same to the final beam. Then we dragged everything out of the shop.
We broke out the spray gun and sprayed.
And sprayed.
And sprayed.
Then the bugs landed and stuck to the paint. Boatbuilding is so disheartening. We waited the required time then Budge sprayed.
And sprayed.
And sprayed.
And more bugs landed and stuck in the paint. Boatbuilding is so disheartening. The following day, another coat of paint. Then a day later, we turned the beams over and rolled a coat or three on the tops.
Budge was back in the pod and glued in the steering station. Then he said "We need a flat area on the pod to hold the compass." Crap! Another me project. I glued up a bunch of wood over a three day period.
Today Ben and I glued in the contraption so the compass will sit level (whatever that is on a boat). We spent a lot of time orienting the position. I went back after the glue was set and discovered that the damn thing slid ¼ inch to the right. Boatbuilding will break your heart. No matter how hard you try, you will fail.
Yeah, I know, it looks fine, but I'll see it until my dying day. boatbuilding is so disheartening.
Ben cut neopreme rubber pieces to fit under the beams.
We put the beams on the hulls. Budge, in his middle ages, still thinks like a young man in that things can be accomplished by brute force and testosterone, sacrificing your body in the process. We picked up the beams by hand and lifted the 200 lb beams over head onto the hull, one end at a time. Then we (not me) inched them into place using lifting straps. Budge was wincing with back spasms for a day or three. Boatbuilding will break your heart.................and body.
we put the swim ladder in place and pinned it. The hole on the port side was not drilled straight and blew out the oak on one side when we pushed it in. The newly epoxy coated and painted beam! Boatbuilding will break your heart.
If we just would have drilled the hole straight................
So, in the process of muscling the beams into place, the brand new paint chipped, in several places. Boatbuilding will break your heart.
Ben finished toughening up the gunnels by syringing epoxy into the cracks and painting over them. What is this the second or third time? Boatbuilding will break your heart.
Budge made the aft beam more interesting by cutting some random holes in it (aft holes, heh, heh, heh). Now we just have to coat it with epoxy, prime, paint and chip it while we install it. Boatbuilding is so disheartening.
Budge finished the week by cutting out the final deadlights for the hulls. Me? One foot at a time. A few high alcohol beers, a few hours, and the blog is done for another week. Remember, behind every silver lining, there's a cloud! Oh yeah. don't build a boat; It'll break your heart!
Flowers won't.
The Music♫: Jerry Lee Lewis "Whole Lott Shakin' Goin On"
Back when Rock was Rock and Roll, fresh and raw. The stone ages, before the stoned ages, before the Stones aged! Shake, baby, shake like a dog at the lake.
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