So Much Sanding

I made this video which shows just a breif exerpt from my sanding marathon today. I finally finished all the strakes and planned on putting epoxy on everything else that needed epoxy tonight. I was delayed running some other errands so I got a late start. I also had to use the router on some of the parts I planned to coat, so I did that first. Then I decided it would be a good idea to glue the doublers to the transoms, and that pretty much wore me out. I also mixed way too much thickened epoxy to glue them and it went hot, which was a little freaky. The cup got so hot I started to worry it would burst into flames.

I almost gave up and nearly resolved to drink a beer and go to bed early, but being full of true grit, and since I hadn't showered yet, I returned to the garage and put the first coat on the bow and stern seats and the center bulkhead. I am now very tired.

Still Pre-treating

There is not that much to report. I am still in the pre-treating phase with another week of that ahead of me. I made some progress on one of the side projects spawned by the boat building. I got two thirds of my garage windows screened in.

My methods were crud but effective. The frame is held together with friction, hopefully the wood doesn't shrink. I also tried making an epoxy stiring device with a dowl, a little piece of wood, and a cordless screw driver, but it ended up being more awkward to use than just stirring by hand.

Home Depot Spree

I went on a $240 binge at Home Depot today . I bought a Porter Cable router, two bits, a roll of screen, and a few more clamps. My Dad, who I dragged along with me bought me the lights in the picture as well.

I was going to borrow a router. A buddy of mine had recently been given a router, but he has been working and living in New York most of the time, and he was also so particular about how I had to take such special care of it, as if I was going to leave it outside, or try to cut marble with it, that it seemed easier to buy my own router.

Well that's a partial lie. I wanted to own yet another power tool.

The roll of screen is for the garage windows, all of which currently do not have screens. I sanded quite a few dead bugs out of the epoxy on the first batch of strakes, so I figured it was time to make some screens.

I already had some C clamps of varying sizes and a bunch of those small $1 spring clamps with the green handle. So I bought some of the big spring clamps to add to the collection. I think I will be buying a couple clamps every time I go to the Depot. I didn't want to buy $70 in clamps all at once, because I figured my clamping needs would evolve with the project and I am not sure what combination of clamps I will need in the end.

A lighting solution was another thing I had been looking for at the Depot. I am doing most of the work on this project in the evening, and the single bulb in the garage wasn't cutting it. By the time I got to the lighting aisle, my walet was sheeding tears over the other stuff, so Dear Old Dad offered to buy the lights. I am a little disappointed that the tripod doesn't have another foot or two of height, but they seem to work pretty well for my purposes. I point them at the wall and use the reflected light.

I got more sanding and epoxy work done on the strakes this evening. It would all go so much faster if I had twice the table space.

Epoxy on the strakes

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Originally uploaded by dylanbright

I have one coat of epoxy on some of the strakes now. I also almost glued my sock to my leg. Apparently I dribbled a bunch of epoxy onto my leg and sock and didn't notice it for about an hour. Fortunately I noticed it before it set, and I won't have to wear the same sock for the rest of my life.

You can see some of that mess on the puzzle joints in the photo. On the reverse side of these strakes which I did last night, that wasn't noticible after the epoxy dried. I am hoping that remains the case.

Don't be sloppy with your epoxy

I glued the bottom pieces and started sanding. I am lamenting some of my work on the puzzle joints. Apparently there were a few unseen globs of thickened epoxy that I got on the wax paper which ended up on the underside of the strakes and the bottom pieces when I glued them. I didn't glue anything to the table or anything like that, but I made a lot more sanding for myself.

More on Puzzle Joints

I have all my strakes done now. I had some sort of puzzle joint epiphany halfway through and the last couple were perfect. The first ones I did came out like this though.

You can see a little bit of a gap there, especially if you look at a larger version of the picture. Hopefully it doesn't completely undermine the structural integrity of the boat. On the first couple I couldn't quite get them to slide together smothly and I tried putting one down on top of the other and kind of popping them together like you would an actual puzzle piece. By the third set I did, I figured out how to push them together perfectly. I kept both pieces flat and just pushed them together. That sounds simple and obvious, but there was something about the angle at which you apply the force.

Further Realization of Garage Smallness and Some Work Done

I had every intention of photographing every step I took and logging every little bit of work along with all my witty insights along the way. It turns out it is difficult to take pictures when you are wearing latex gloves covered in epoxy, and the actual work required to build the boat is almost enough to do at one time. I'm also not bremming over with fascinating reflections on the process. I'm still going to do the best I can. I took a couple pictures this morning, and you're going to have to settle for some rather dull observations instead of witty insights.

When I built that 16' table, I thought "this is huge; there will be plenty of room." That opinion changed when the kit actually arrived and I opened the boxes. I know I mentioned that the day the boxes showed up, but it bares repeating. The garage is pretty small, even without cars in it. It is also a big mess.

I brought a folding banquet table into the garage to have another surface area on which to stack things. I need to take an axe to some of that stuff in the garage and throw it out. Maybe I will work more on garage organization today.

I have done some actual work. I glued the rub rails and the #1 strakes. I am not sure why the rub rails are the first thing in the instructions. It seems like it leaves you with some really long pieces of wood that you don't do much with until much later in the build. Maybe it makes sense to do them while you have your big long table set up. The strakes are still curing. Maybe I should have done another set of them last night, but I ran out of steam. Since it is summer in Florida, I am doing most of my work at night.

I was expecting scarf jounts on the strakes, but apparently there's been a change in the 2008 model of the PMD. They now have puzzel joints.

I can see how the puzzle joints are a little more idiot proof than scarf joints. The rub rails had scarf joints and I somehow got them a little more crooked than they could have been. It wasn't a disaster, just not quite perfect. I worry about how noticible the puzzle joints will be when varnished. I am sure I will have bigger concerns though before I get anywhere near varnishing.

Boat Kit Arrives

Boat Kit Arrives
Originally uploaded by dylanbright

The boat kit arrived today. The shipping company tried to deliver it yesterday when I wasn't home to receive it. Even after I called them twice and they told me it wouldn't arrive until today and that they would call me before they delivered it. All in all it wasn't too much trouble though.

The garage and the 16' table started to look a lot smaller after I opened those boxes. I am going to have to make even more room. Unfortunately today rapidly became a busy work day, so I didn't have time to do much.

Keeping the dog out of the garage for the next few months will be annoying.

The Boat Table

Boat table 1
Originally uploaded by dylanbright

The kit has been ordered and will be here next Wednesday. I had ordered the instruction booklet a few weeks ago, and some of the first steps are ideally performed with an enormous plywood table. I built this with 2 sheets of 4x8' plywood with my saw horses on the ends and some upside down "U" shaped contraptions I made from scrap wood in the middle to brace it. It is all screwed together with left over deck screws and seems pretty sturdy.

Brief Background

A month or two ago, I saw a sailboat on my lake and was overcome with jealousy. I started looking at boats in the Internet and I saw some little wooden sailboats that could be sailed or rowed. You could even mount a little motor on some of them.

I couldn't find anything like them for sale. Apparently if you wanted one, you had to build it yourself, so that is what I have set out to do. I ordered the Passagemaker Dingy kit from Chesapeake Light Craft. I chose it because it seemed to be so well supported online with other people's blogs and a forum for boat builders, it has the payload capacity to accommodate me and one or two of my heavier friends, and it has a lot of sail and is very light weight.