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.

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.

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.

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.

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.



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.

$

    

     The weather was rainy, cold and just all around miserable so I didn't get anything done on the power boat.  Working outside in that crap isn't very appealing to me.  I figured I could go work on the sailboat a bit, but after my 36 hour shift and having to go back to work tomorrow I didn't feel like doing much.  A beer and a book sound like a good way to spend the day.

     I did stop by the store and pick up my epoxy and supplies.  Some resin, hardener, filler, dispensers, mixing sticks, and a mixing cup.  $175 sure doesn't buy much of this stuff.  At least now I'll be able to start making some better progress in the next couple of weeks.  A cooler seems to me to be a required item before sailing season starts.  How else will I have ice for drinks and nice cold beer?

Not Today

     The forecast was calling for some pretty crappy weather today so I decided to sign up for some overtime.  I got hired for 10 hours so no boat updates today.  I figured I wouldn't want to be working outside today anyways, and at least this way I can make a little extra cash.  The way I look at it is I'm working today for some epoxy, paint and varnish.  How can this stuff be so damn expensive? T

Wrong Boat

     The power boat just came back from the engine shop, so for a while (including yesterday) I will be working on its projects before moving back over to the sailboat.

     Yesterday was spent combing the frame of the old bimini top with the cloth from a new (to us) one that got delivered Sunday.  The new frame didn't fit the boat and the old one had cloth that seems to be 80 years old with multiple rips.  After more aggravation than this should cause and only one trip to West Marine it is installed.  I only have a little tightening of the straps left to do and it will be finished.

     I am going to have to work on a bilge pump that has stopped working as well as resealing the whole center part of the boat.  At the end of last season I had to lift the floor up so I could install a new shift cable and never got around to finishing.  I would like to have it done before putting it back in the water for the year.  The worst part is the paint. The bottom is due for a coat and showing it badly, so I'm going to figure out how to lift a boat off a trailer and make it all pretty.

    

More icebox

     I decided to use several pieces of wood to cover the bottom of the icebox rather than one large piece for a couple of reasons.  The main one is that it should be easier this way.  Figuring out how to get one piece in place was difficult even before trying to get it to bend to conform to the curve.  I was planning on cutting a bunch of lines in the back side to make the bending easier, but now I won't have to.  This also makes it a lot easier to get a good fit, even though it means more paper, cardboard, and tape. 

     I started with the piece on the bottom because it is the most difficult.  Not only is the shape not even close to being square, there is the drain to deal with.  As you can see in the photo, I used a piece of scrap first to cut the drain hole to make sure it would work the way I envisioned.  It worked!  I could even screw the pieces together with this piece set in place.  Unfortunately, I seem to have forgotten to push the side pieces of plywood all the way out when I made the template for this piece.  When I installed it I was left with a nice gap on the back side.  That means the piece you see in the picture here is trash, and I had to cut a new one.

    

     Because I had to redo the first piece, I didn't have enough wood to continue.  Plenty of cardboard laying around though.  It is kind of hard to see in the picture, but I fit in another three sections in cardboard.  I'm going to need to make another trip to the store before I can continue here.

     I also spent some time fitting the top pieces to get them to seat properly.  I'm not there yet, but getting pretty close.  I still need to add another inch of insulation on the top to get it up to the three inches, but I figured it would be easier to move around the way it is.  This also allowed me to get a better idea of how big the icebox will be when it is finished.

     While I am impressed with the size as a whole, I am pretty disappointed in the size of the access hatch.  I thought I had it figured out pretty well, but I seem to have not figured in how far in the insulation sticks out.  I can fit my arm in easily enough and can't envision any problems putting food or drinks inside, but there is no way a block of ice would fit in.  I'm not sure I could even get a bag of ice in without some serious work.  This called for a beer and some time pondering the situation.  Thankfully it is Friday, and the local bar has a hell of a happy hour.

    As I sit here typing this up, I think I have come up with a solution.  The access hatch in the cockpit that used to be for loading ice is still there because I will be using it as the top of the mini cooler I am building.  The floor of this mini cooler is actually the top of the icebox.  I am thinking I can make a section of this removable so I can load larger stuff from outside.  It is kind of a long reach, but it should be a pretty easy solution.  At least it sounds easy in theory.  I guess I'm going to find out about how easy it is in practice because I can't think of any other solutions besides starting from scratch.  And that ain't happening.

Not today

     I got hired for some OT at work this crappy, rainy day.  That means no boat work, but maybe a little bit more money to sink into it.

Back at it

     I've been slacking lately but got back at it today.  I continued work on the icebox; what a pain that is turning in to.  If I had known how bad it was I would have just cut out a spot for a cooler and called it good.

     I cut out the lid on the top and added the supports to hold it up when it is set in place.  Of course this also involved trimming a bunch of the already installed insulation to make it fit properly.  I also put insulation on the bottom side of the top, although right now I only have two inches.  I'm not sure if I am going to bring this up to three to match the rest or not.  After I finally got everything to fit I took it back apart so I could start working on the liner.

     I am using 1/4" plywood to line the inside of the box and then plan covering it with epoxy to seal it and then glassing over everything for strength.  After that it will need to be sanded down and painted, but compared to actually building this nightmare that should be no problem.  I wanted to make sure that the pieces fit nice and snug, but it is hard to reach in there and make a good template.  I ended up using a bunch of newspaper and tape to get the forms, then transferring that over to cardboard.  When I was finally satisfied that the fit was good I cut out the wood and put it in place.  It isn't attached to the insulation yet but is nice and snug just from the tight fit. 

     I got the front, back, and starboard side pieces done before calling it a day.  I saved the most difficult for last.  It covers the floor and curves up to the port side.  The curve is going to suck, but I also have to have a nice tight cut out for the drain.  I think I'm going to end up doing this in two separate pieces just to make it easier.

     Most of the pictures I took today didn't turn out very well, but at least this one gives you and idea of how it is coming together.  Notice all the crazy cutouts on the left side for the supports and insulation that will be on the lid.  Lots of fun.

1" Insulation

     I bought a sheet of the same insulation I used earlier, but this one is 1" instead of the 2".  I had to bring it home in my mustang, so I had to cut it in to quarters and put it in the back seat.  Have I mentioned that I need a truck?  I also bought a couple small pieces of 1/4" wood to cover the insulation with while I was there.  I have yet to buy the epoxy and fiberglassing material because I'm cheap and am having a hard time coughing up that much money.  My wife likes to joke about my "free" boat.

     I cut out the insulation using cardboard templates again and fit them in to place.  No pictures today though, sorry.  Just look at the last one and add a layer.  Not too exciting.  I cut out the hole for the drain pipe to make sure it still fit.  I then picked up a LOT of insulation pieces, cardboard cuttings, and other random junk that seems to accumulate and made a trip to the dumpster.

     I had time to do more, but the nice weather screamed gardening to me so I headed home and started getting the beds ready.  I pulled up a bunch of weeds and laid down a layer of black weed barrier cloth.  One of the parts of the garden was grass last year and I am hoping this will help kill some of that off without having to pull every piece of grass.  Then I got to do what I have been holding off on...planting maters!

     I used a bunch of little plastic cups as my planters and went to town.  I'm sure I won't have space for all of them, but I started a bunch of different varieties.  Lets see if I can remember what they are.

1 - Roma - The work horse of the garden, the only non heirloom tomato planted.  I need to rectify that situation.
2 - Brandywine - One of the best tasting tomatoes, ever.
3 - Black Brandywine - First time growing this one, not sure what to expect.
4 - Yellow Brandywine - We love using this to make salsa with.  Very sweet and colorful.
5 - Mini Brandywine - This is an experiment I am working on.  It is cherry tomato crossed with the yellow brandywine.  They are cherry sized, but shaped and taste like the brandy.  It worked well last year and I am trying to stabilize it.
6 - Dr. Wychers Yellow - First time growing this one as well.
7 - Classic - Just a good old tomato with lovely taste and very few seeds.
8 - Big Guy - No idea what this is really called.  This is from a pack of assorted seeds I got a couple of years ago.  Similar to the classic, but bigger and doesn't produce as well.
9 - Marglobe - A classic, but the first time I'm trying it.
10 - Nicholson Red - A large cherry that I have been growing for a couple of years now. 

I also have some non tomato plants started.
- Peppers - several varieties including hot, medium, and sweet
- Sugar snap peas - These are actually already in the ground and doing well
- Potomac Beans - An heirloom string bean that puts out like crazy
- Flowering Vine - Has edible flowers, but unknown what the actual name is.
- Basil - Can't live without this
- Lavender
- Swiss Chard - Love eating this, but never tried growing it before.
- Cucumber
- Zuchini

Who knew this was a gardening blog?

Dentist

     I was hoping to plink around a bit at the boat today, but it seems like I will have to wait until tomorrow.  I just got back from the dentist and am leaning over a cup letting my bloody drool leak out without spitting.  I thought about a picture but decided against it.