Back to work...

After all the mess with the windstorm, I have finally got back to doing actual work on the boat.

I started off working on the replacement gunwale. I countersunk the fasteners and finish sanded the whole thing, especially at the seams. It is ready for stain (on the next relatively warm day).

Then, I began work on the interior panels. The hard ones - the ones with odd cuts. I worked for 2 hours and got a grand total ol 2 panels installed. It takes a while to cut, trim, test fit, cut some more, trim some more, and test fit again. The starboard side of the interior is done (except for a couple of pieces under the front dash.

GAH!!!!!

Last night the wind kicked up pretty good. Apparently, from watching the news today, there were gusts up to 50mph. Kathy and I were awoken by the flapping of the shed door. I looked out the window to see the boat house and about 4 feet of the bow of the boat sticking out the front.

We quickly threw on our shoes and ran outside. The tent shed had transformed itself into a giant sail. The front end, with each gust was pulling itself out of the ground by about 4 feet, and inching the whole thing backwards each time.

As I was looking around for cinder blocks and bungee cords, a big gust came and flipped the entire structure on it's side. Luckily , none of it even touched the boat. Kathy and I flipped it back over and started straightening it out. The two rear legs were bent a little, but I was able to bend them back into shape for the most part. We wound up having to open up the front and back doors in order to let the wind pass through the tent rather than pushing against it.

The stakes that came with the tent were utterly useless, so we had to tie the tent down to the heaviest thing we could find - the boat. With several bungie cords and an old broken 100 foot extention cord we tied the frame of the tent to the trailer under the boat.

Now the boat is filled with dirt and leaves. But all the sawdust and paint chips are gone.

Happy Thanksgiving

After going to Poppy's house to load up on Turkey and taters, I decided rather than sleeping off the tryptophans on the couch all afternoon, that I would put in a few hours on the boat.

I started out working on the interior panels, concentrating on the front cockpit area under the dash. I put in all of the panels that only needed straight cuts. All of the scribed pieces have not been done yet. I brought the small workbench out to the boathouse, but I didn't get around to working on them. Maybe later on this weekend. I also screwed the dashboard onto the frame. It will need some more bracing behind it to keep it from getting wobbly.

Next I trimmed the piece of mahogany that I made for the gunwale. It is temporarily held in place by some finish nails. I still have to sand it and round the edges.

After that, it was getting cold, so I went inside and worked on the table. I may not have mentioned that I am building a foldout table that will attach to the underside of the gunwale by hinges so that it can be stowed away while underway. I made it out of the mahogany from the old center console. Right now I am on the second coat of varnish.

Windows are in...

Tonight I reattached all of the hardware to the freshly refinished window frames and reinstalled them in the boat. In the picture, it looks like the colors don't match, but that's just because the windows and window frames are actually clean. The surrounding parts of the boat - not so much. There is a nice layer of dust on everything from when I sanded down the transom.

Next I finished installing the hinges for the aft bench seat and seat back. I used a 3 foot piano hinge. About halfway through, my screw gun died. Not the battery, the motor. I'll have to pick up a new one.

Not pictured: I did the last coat of varnish on the last of the interior panels.

Transom work...

Today, I worked on the transom. I sanded off all of the old varnish and paint. First I did the rough sanding just to get all the layers off. Then I started the medium grit sanding. The wood below the water line is a little darker than the wood above, probably because it was hidden from the sun under the paint. I am going to have to do some creative staining in order to even out the tone somewhat. I also cleaned out the spashwell. It was very dirty. I may have to take the steel wool to the finish in there and put a coat or two of varnish on it to shine it up.

There are some holes I will need to fill from the old dual engine brackets that I took off. They were bolted all the way through the transom. This is what they looked like before...

Second Seat - IN!

I finished assembling and installing the second rear facing seat. As with the first one there is one remaining piece of blocking that I need to cut and install to help support the seat back. I figured I would do them both at the same time. I'm pretty happy with the way they are turning out.

Next I put the third coat of hunter green on the sheer strake (new nautical term I learned), on the port side and put the first coat on the starboard.

Then I went inside and worked on the engine, cleaning and polishing. I also fixed the bent chrome piece that got caught on my coat while I was humorously removing the motor from the boat by myself. There are a few chips and scratches in the paint from it's age, and I haven't the foggiest idea where to find touch up paint for something this old.

Lastly, I put the final coat of varnish on the bench seat back and the second coat on the window frame.

Engine off...

I took the engine off of the boat and put it on the stand. It wasn't as heavy as I thought it was going to be. But there really is no good place to hold on to it where you have any kind of maneuverability. I must have looked like one of the Marx brothers trying to line up the clamps with the top of the stand.

I did make a mistake in the process. I should have taken off the cowl hood first. I caught a piece of the chrome on my jacket and bent it. It is held on by 3 plastic nuts on the inside that I can just pop off. I'll take off the piec of chrome, straighten it back out, and put it back. It shouldn't be too hard. I'm going to have to take several of the decorative pieces off in order to fix up the paint on the motor, anyway.

Today, I started on one of the windows. I scrped and sanded it down and put on the stain. Tomorrow, I'll be able to start varnishing it.

Election Day

Kids off from school. Kathy's school wasn't closed, so I had to stay home from work. The kids didn't want to get out of their jammies, leaving me time to work on the boat.

I took pictures of the sanded down aft seat back, that I worked on yesterday. There are a couple of dark spots in the wood, but they'll be hidden when the stain gets applied (pictured below).

Next, I finish sanded and put a coat of stain on the rear facing seat and seat back.

Then I unwrapped the window assemblies that have been wrapped in sheets since I bought the boat. The insides of the window frames, the glass, and the metal part that holds in the glass are all in perfect condition. The outside wood on the frames will need to be sanded and re-finished. There were a lot of spots with peeling varnish. I started scraping off the loose stuff, but I didn't want to sand them yet because there were still wet boards around from the staining.

Flu...

The flu went through our family. So, the boat had to wait for a while. But I finally got out there last night.

I finished dry-fitting the second rear facing seat, scribing and cutting the contour to match the side of the boat. After taking a picture, I brought the parts inside to start the sanding and finishing process.

Then I put a few more interior panels into the boat. The last one for this side is going to be a tough cut.

I also decided to sand and refinish the seat back for the aft bench seat. The color difference between the bench seat and seat back bothered me. I 've sanded it down. But I still have to stain and varnish it. I didn't take a picture.

Home from work today...

My daughter spent the day on the couch with a cold, so I had to stay home from work. It was in the 70's out today, so I figured I'd get some work done on the boat. And I got a lot done.

I started out by replacing the finish nails holding the interior panels with stainless steel screws with finish washers to dress them up. I painted the horizontal rails (I don't know the nautical term) a nice hunter green gloss.

Then I finished assembling the first of the 2 rear facing seats. There is one piece of blocking that I need to put in that will help support the seat back. Other than that, the seat is finished.

The I put the first coat of Hunter Green on the top lap on one side of the boat. I figure I'll need at least 3 coats.

Haven't updated in a while...

It's been a while. I haven't posted in a while, not because I haven't been working on the boat, but I consistently have forgotten to take pictures. I remembered to bring the camera today.

Over the last few days I have been working on the rear facing seats. I stained and varnished the base of the seats, and fitted them into place. I had to cut a 1/2 inch out of 3 of the floorboards so that the seat base would fit between them on the stringers.

I also finished joining all of the 1x10 boards, and I scribed and cut the seat and seat back for one of the seats. I sanded them smooth and applied a coat of stain. and the first coat of varnish (today).

Out in the boat, I finished painting the floorboards (4 coats) and placed them in position. I'll have to make one new section of floorboard where the center console used to be. Right now I just have a scrap piece covering the hole. The floorboards are not screwed in yet because I'll still need to get under them before I'm all done. I also did a little cleaning. It was getting pretty dusty in there.

Been busy...

I've been busy with some family obligations, so I haven't got too much done lately. I have been able to do a few things in between.

I got some 1x10 mahogany boards for the seats and seat backs, borrowed my brother's biscuit joiner, and got to joining. I only have 2 clamps long enough to clamp the pieces together, so I can only glue up one set of boards at a time. I've been varnishing more interior panels while I wait for the glue to dry.

Next, I dry-fitted the first set of boards with the bases that I built before, just to make sure everything fits. It does, so far. I'll have to scribe and cut the ends of the seat and back boards to fit the contours of the inside walls of the boat. I'll also remove the hinge, when I stain and varnish the wood.

After that, I took the base out to the boat, and dry-fitted it into the boat, trimmed it up a little and got it into place. I marked out the shape onto the floor and cut the floorboards to go around the base of the seat. The seat will be sitting direcly on the stringers. That way, if I need to get under the floorboards, I will not need to remove the seats.

Lastly I took the aft bench seat and seat back out to the boat and put them in. The are not attached yet. I just needed to get them out of the way. Putting a nice clean bench seat into a dusty boat reall shows off the dirt. I'm going to have to do some cleaning.

Been a while...

I got a lot done today.

I started off working on the rear facing seats. I measured up and cut some 1/2" oak plywood to the basic shape of the front and sides. I taked them together with finish nails. For final assembly, I'll use glue and bronze screws. The seat and back rest will be made out of joined pieces of mahogany. I'm picking that up tomorrow.

Next I mocked up the dashboard. Using some clamps, I set the dashboard in place and reattached all of the cables and wires. The mess of wires underneath the front deck will be tucked behind the interior panels.

After that I ran the steering cable back, just under the gunwale, and screwed in some clamps to hold it in. It reached the engine fine. But I still have to figure out a way to attach that end of the cable to the engine. I wonder if there is a way to reverse the action the steering wheel has on the cable.

After that I started tacking up the interior panels. They, too are temporarily held in by some finish nails, just so I can measure and cut them to fit. Once I get everything dry fit, I'll replace the nails with some fancy screws with matching lip washers. That way, If I ever need to get behind the boards, all I have to do is unscrew one board.

I temporarily put the floorboards back in, I was getting tired of losing skin on my shins. Plus, my wife had friends over, and I wanted the boat to look nice when they saw it.

Lastly, I mixed up some marine filler and put it on the stem where there was some old grounding damage, and used the excess to fill in a bunch of fastener countersink holes. I'll sand it smooth tomorrow.

The Department of Redundancy Department

My posts are starting to sound redundant.

Lots of varnishing, waiting a day, rubbing steel wool, and varnishing some more. I have been working on the deck, rear bench seat, and interior panels. Here are some pictures...

Sweet...

I finally got the old steering system disassembled and removed from the boat. For shits and giggles, I fished the cable through the port side, just under the gunwale and was able to get it to reach the engine. Hooray! I don't have to buy a $200 steering system to replace it. I just have to figure out a way to attach the end of the cable to the front of the engine on the port side. The existing bracket is on the back of the engine on the starboard side. I'll also have to figure out a way to attach it to the splashwell.

I also put another coat of varnish on the deck, another coat on the rear bench and the first coat on the interior paneling.

Headway...

Today I put the first coat of varnish on the deck. It really brought out the gold tones in the wood. Those concerns I had about the bow being darker than the rest of the boat - gone.

I finished removing the extra starter box, it's associated cables and ignition switches.

Then I started painting the bilge. Messy, back-breaking work. Needless to say, I did not last long. I got about a third of it done.