...And She has A Name!!!!

 

The weather has been quite good here in Texas lately (sorry to those of you living up north!) which allows me to keep plugging away at the boat outside. As the work progresses, I have had many new faces appear in the driveway to ask questions about our boat, the building process, and "what's her name?"

 

This week, I finally told Kathy of my idea, she liked it, and the name has been set in stone. (so to speak!) Without getting into the personal reasons for our choice here, I present...

 

 

It's been a "spirited" week of progress on the build as well. Work has continued on the companionway hatch and the cockpit coaming. With the completion deadline (May 17th) fast approaching, it is comforting to see something in the driveway on the trailer that resembles a boat!!

 

 

....just a tired, happy Captain!

 

Time to get back to it! Have a great weekend!

 

Sail On...

 

Pirate

 

 

 



Companionway Fun...

 

In my last post, I showed a picture of the hole in the cabin that will soon be the companionway. The fun part of this stage is the introduction of nicer wood. It would be nice to be able to afford to build the whole project in mahogany, but my wallet dictates otherwise. We have also decided to use mahogany rather than teak due to cost and I like the look of mahogany anyway..! If the boat was going to live outside, I might chose differently, but we plan to keep a spot nice and warm in the garage to store her after sailing!

 

The douglas fir I have been using is very nice stuff from Clark Hardwoods in Houston, but the mahogany is beautiful...

 

 

 

The work has slowed as I try to make everything fit together nicely. It was also fun learning to use a router to put nice edges on the boards that I used. It's harder to create a snug fit to everything than I imagined since I only have hand tools, but rewarding nonetheless when completed...

 

More pix coming as the work proceeds.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Pirate

 



Workin' On The Hideout!

 

Work always seems to progress faster when you get to add big chunks of wood to the project! And it's so nice to now get a real "feel" for the lines and the size of our new vessel and hideout!

 

 

 

After wrestling with another big piece of plywood, we now have a cabin top and I have installed the rest of the cabin sides! We even had to throw a few cushions below to try it "on for size....!"

 

 

The "Hideout" gets closer to reality!!

 

:)

 

Sail On...

 

Pirate

 

 

 

 

It's Been A Busy Week!

 

My lack of updates has been intentional this week. Kathy had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Rome, Italy with her mother to visit her daughter who teaches there. What a generational family affair!

 

And me? I wanted to keep the boat progress a secret so Kathy would be surprised upon her return!

 

Truthfully, I spent MANY hours in the garage/boat barn this week and I can now look back at a very successful week of work.

 

While waiting for the last coat of fiberglass to cure, I started work on the bow sprit. The solid block of Oak I used is very different from the softer woods I've used so far, and was fun to form to the final shape. I've never stained anything before, so I learned many new things here.

 

 

Now that the deck has been fiberglassed, I could begin work on the cabin. I mentioned before my efforts at forming the cabin clamps. I put those to work and up go the cabin sides and front.

 

 

I also learned how to use a router as I had to cut the "rabbits" in the window edges to hold the glass in place.

 

 

...and out into the sunshine we go!

 

It always amazes me how 40 hours of hard work can be summed up in just a couple of pictures! And yes, she was pleasantly surprised at the progress! :)

 

Have a great week!

 

Pirate

 

 



It's a Doggie Dance Floor....!

 

After what feels like weeks, the final coat of fiberglass resin has been applied and the whole hull has now been rough sanded...again!!! When it comes time to paint, we'll be back at the sander again.

 

For now tho...it's sanded enough to take a break from all the sawdust and work on new projects... and Bailie thinks it's certainly good enough to dance on....

 

 

Today, I actually had the chance to pull out the jigsaw and cut some wood! Seems like it's been an eternity since I have done that.

 

 

There you have a nice "before and after" shot. I'm working on the cabin clamps that will hold the cabin to the hull. Kinda like startin' with a tree to make a toothpick, but you get the idea....

 

It always feels like slow progress, but then I just go back through the blogs and pictures and see how quickly we are getting this boat done. It makes me feel a lot better. And I always have to remember if I wanted to have a boat quickly, I could've always bought a Montgomery 15 and been done with it. But it'll feel a lot different and better sailing into some hangout on a boat that WE built ourselves!!

 

We can't wait!

 

Sail On...

 

Pirate

 



Piles of Used Sandpaper...

 

Fiberglassing the deck has been a slow process due to chilly weather that has prevented us from applying as many coats as we wanted to this week, but the sun is back out and temperatures are up. That can only mean one thing...BREAK OUT THE SANDPAPER!!

 

I'll say it again, "this process of applying a coat of something, then sanding most of it back off!? What a waste of time!!!" (until you get to see the outcome, that is!)

 

 

Deck is shiny, deck is dusty and dull, deck is shiny....you get the idea!

 

Shouldn't take too many more coats. Yay!!!

 

 

Sail On...

 

Pirate



Happy New Year!!!

 

Wow! It's really 2013!!

 

Happy New Year and thanks to all that are keeping up with the progress on our boat.

 

The weather window opened up briefly for us this week to allow a bit of fiberglass work to proceed. The seal coat of resin has been applied to the topsides and yesterday, we were able to lay the 'glass cloth and get it all soaked in.

 

We are hoping to get a few more coats of resin applied before it chills down again...then we can start on the main cabin. (you may notice the Christmas decorations have been stowed since the last picture. And it's not even April yet....!)

 

Out to the garage we go..Have a great weekend!

 

Sail On...

 

Pirate