Tuesday, April 26, 2011

On my back

     I spent most of this afternoon on my back underneath the fishing boat scraping paint and last years left over barnacles.  It was so much fun.  I should be painting it sometime this week and getting it in the water by (hopefully) the weekend.  I'm sure the sailboat will be a little neglected for a bit when we put it in for the season, but hopefully not for long.

     I spent a little bit of time at the marina today as well.  I cut out a couple of pieces for the icebox lid and glued some stuff in place.  This part of the project is going very slow.  I can only glue one or two pieces a day and then have to wait until they dry to sand them down.  Once they are all on I can coat them with epoxy, sand them down, paint them, and move on to something else for a bit.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Both boats

     I started off yesterday working on the fishing boat.  The battery is out and sitting on the charger.  Once that is fully charged I can reinstall it and hook everything up.  I got the bilge pump hooked back up, the wires near the battery all straightened up with new connectors, and I got the pieces I need to reinstall the swimming ladder.  The only reason I didn't install it is because of the sealent.  I plan on using a little bit of 4200, but it is expensive and goes bad once it is opened.  I'm going to be using the same stuff to secure the icebox lid in place in the sailboat, so I figured I should wait until that is ready and use up the remaining 4200 there.

     That gave me a perfect excuse to head to the marina and work on the icebox.  I spent a couple hours out there yesterday afternoon doing just that.  I worked on covering the visable foam where the larger lid from the cooler is going to be with 1/4" plywood.  Of course nothing fits like I planned so it caused more work than I expected.  Shocker, I know.  Lots of cutting, lots of sanding, and lots of trial and error.  It seems to be coming along nicely, just a little slower than expected.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Wrong boat again

     I've been threatening for a while now that I was going to take some time off from the sailboat to focus on the fishing boat, and today was one of those days.  It was so nice out today that I was desperate to get out on the water.  This one is much closer to getting out, so....

     I spent most of the afternoon on my stomach chasing, cutting, and organizing a very haphazard wiring job.  I have it pretty much cleaned up so tomorrow should be spent hooking everything else back together.  Emphasis on "should". 

     I also spent some time working on the ladder.  It pulled out at the end of last season and needed to be fixed.  Of course no one around here carries the part I need to fix it, so I had to order it.  A Well Nut if that means anything to you.  Should be in tomorrow.  There is that "should" again.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Pictures

     Couple of pictures for ya.  The one on the left shows the icebox liner with the second layer of epoxy laid down.  I'm beginning to wonder if I even need fiberglass covering this or if I can just do a couple more layers of epoxy.  The picture on the right shows the multiple pieces of the icebox lid laid out.  The piece on the right has a circular notch to fit around the conduit that runs from the battery box up to the (future) panel.  The lid in front is the one that will be accessible from inside the boat, while the one in the back will be the bottom of the cooler with access in the cockpit.  Does this make sense to anyone but me?

Still sticky, but not as messy

     I didn't get around to posting yesterday, but I did do some work out at the boat.  Not sure if I'll make it out there today or not though, the weather is looking pretty crappy.

     I got a second coat of epoxy on the icebox liner and got the corners rounded out much better.  Before I could do this though I had to clean the blush from the previous epoxy, sand it down, and clean it up.  Not a very pleasant process seeing as how much of it has to be done leaning into the icebox from above.

     I also spent some time working on the larger of the two lids for the icebox.  I got it marked out, cut out, and began the process of finishing it.  I cut out pieces of "1/4 plywood to surround the "box" of plywood and insulation that makes up the cover.  This should keep it from falling apart nearly as quickly.  I glued the pieces for the four sides on and just have the bottom piece left.  Now I need to figure out some way to keep it from just falling through and some sort of handle to lift it up and out of the way.

      I couldn't use the camera to get any pictures of the work I did because I was covered in glue and didn't think that would be good for my little Nikon.  Maybe sometime today during a break in the rain I can go out and snap a few to post.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Sticky mess

     I got rained out working on the boat today.  The holes from the outside handrail were leaking all over.  I guess I need to find a better solution than tape to cover them.  Or I could finish and reinstall them.

     Before I ran away I attempted to use epoxy for the first time.  I got a coat over the bare wood in the icebox, as well as a start on rounding out the corners in here.  I believe they call this a filet.  Fancy eh?  I used the Colloidal Silica thickener.  A little bit for most, and a bunch of it to make the epoxy thick enough to do the filets.  These seemed to be more difficult than they should have been (a recurring theme with the boat it seems).  I just got the 2 on the engine box side done before rain started to drip on my head.

     I had to rig up something to direct the water away from the icebox making further work on it not an option.  I may not be an expert with this stuff, but I would guess water in it isn't the best idea.

     All in all, today went better than expected.  I made a little bit of a mess, but I think I learned a little bit and am (so far) happy with the results.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Busy Day

     I started off the day with a little kayak trip up the creek and back.  I saw a bunch of ospreys, one of them carrying a fish that was comically large for him, as well as a bunch of blue herons and a couple elusive river otters.  I also learned that I am a terrible kayaker.  Guess I'll just need to keep working at it.  I can already feel my shoulders starting to stiffen up which is a sure sign that I need more practice.

     After lunch I ran over to Shady Side to look at a motor I found advertised on Craig's List.  A 1967, 6 HP, Mercury long shaft.  It started right up, ran like a champ, and fit in the trunk of my car.  Sold!  I would rather have an inboard, gas or diesel, but that just isn't in the cards right now.

     The previous owner already installed the bracket for this to sit on and hopefully there won't be any issues setting the motor in place.  I won't know for sure until I try, but that is going to wait until I'm ready to go sailing.  No sence in tempting anyone, and I would really rather not have to figure out some crazy way to chain it in place,

     Now I have a way to get out of the marina and out into the open bay.  Then the problem of me not knowing how to sail comes into play. 


     I actually made it out to the boat to do a little work as well.  I cut out the remaining three pieces of plywood to fill in the icebox, fit them in place, and glued them to the insulation.  I also had to cut out a hole in the side wall and insulation to run the hose that will be the drain for the upper cooler.  Below, on the right, you can see where it comes out in the engine box.  The piece of pipe behind it is the drain pipe from the old icebox that someone previously cut and filled.  The plan is to put some sort of shut off valve in line and then run the hose out through that pipe so it can drain in the cockpit.  I will then seal around the pipe opening with some sort of caulking.  I figure this will be easier than trying to connect the two and I'm a big fan of easy.



Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Another boat?

     I seem to be accumulating boats.  Meet boat # 3, a little kayak for the back yard creek.  It is a little old, has seen a lot of use, and could definitley use a paint job.  But, the price was right.  I paid $60 for the kayak, 2 spray skirts, a helmet, and the paddle.  I've been looking for a used kayak for a while now and cannot believe how much people think a used one is worth.  "I bought it new 4 years ago for $575, yours for only $500!"  Stupid people.

     I didn't get anything accomplished today regarding boats except for picking up the kayak and bringing it home.  I got completely demolished at work last night and when I got home I fell asleep for seven hours.  So much for being productive today.  I have some stuff I need to do around the house in the morning, and I plan on at least trying out the kayak, but hopefully I can make it out to the marina in the afternoon.  The weather is supposed to be nice and I already have the plywood and epoxy to get moving on the icebox.  Cross your fingers.