5-20.

Finished the trailer modifications today.  We made these side supports to keep the boat from tipping sideways off the trailer since the bottom of the boat is so much narrower than the outside gunnels.  These will just stabilize the boat when it is tied down on the trailer. 

Then we loaded up the boat and rolled her out to the front yard again.  We slid it off onto the grass and rolled it over onto cement blocks to wash the amine blush off.  The boat is heavy, but I am able to tip it up on its side by myself - it's just like a big, unwieldy canoe.

After it was rolled over we got a good view of the undersides of the gunnels for the first time.  I didn't take a before pic, but there were a few places where we hadn't clamped the gunnels while the epoxy was hardening and there were tiny air holes between the side of the boat and the gunnels.  So we mixed up some liquid epoxy and poured that into the gaps, then filled with solid.

While the epoxy was hardening, we went ahead and finished painting the trailer side supports, sanded the rudder and rudder stock for another coat of varnish, and sanded and primed the lid of the aft seat compartment.
Earlier in the week, Daddy had put another coat of varnish on everything and put the first coat of paint of the bottom of the mast.  The top foot or so will also be painted white, along with the end of the lug (a traditional look).

He also primed the centerboard earlier this week, and on the blocks is the newly primed seat lid.

In the front yard, we washed the hull with water and scrubbers, then rolled it back into the carport.  We flipped it over outside, then Mom helped us carry it back onto the blocks.  We sanded the hull and gunnels, then I vacuumed and blew and dusted really well.

And we painted!  I rolled and Daddy followed to tip it out with a foam brush.  The paint was drying really fast, so we had a hard time keeping a wet line, and the first coat is not too attractive, but it is the first coat and will be sanded and our techniques will be perfected.

Now it looks like a real boat.

The first intruder on the fresh coat of paint.  Bugs are weirdly attracted to wet epoxy and paint.

5-9.

Since the last post, we've been working on small projects and continuing to add coats of varnish to everything that needs it.  I made a spare belay pin that is longer - should be easier to work with, and I'll have an extra if one should break.  Daddy's been working on trailer modification - we ordered two more pieces to build supports on for the sides of the boat.  Below is just the aluminum piece attached to the trailer frame.  

This is an idea of what the support will actually look like, but it might be two layers of wood thick for extra strength, and it will be carpeted.

I also finally got a hitch on my car.  The guys that put it on knew that I had lived up north because the underside of my car is riddled with rust (after only 1.5 winters)!  They almost weren't able to bolt the hitch on because the holes where the bolts go were really rusted - but they said it should hold fine since they were able to attach it.

We also decided to get rid of the toe stubber at the aft end of the centerboard case.  Daddy cut it off and epoxied over the raw wood on the bottom, so that'll have to be smoothed out now.  In its place will go a block of maple that the mainsheet pulley will be attached to.  And we won't have to worry about a silly decorative toe stubber in the cockpit.  

4-30.

This weekend we finished epoxying the boat.  Sunday we finished sanding, then put down a coat of liquid on the inner surfaces - floor, seat sides and tops, sides, transom, deck, centerboard case... 

It's starting to feel like summer here, getting warm in the afternoons, and the first batch of epoxy we mixed up was too large and it started hardening in the roller pan before we we could get it out and rolled onto the wood. My dad had to run to Lowe's to buy more roller covers and a new roller pan (we obviously weren't prepared) while I tried to salvage what we had done with a brush.  When he got back we finished the first coat successfully by mixing epoxy in small batches and pouring it directly onto the surfaces to paint, using them as roller pans - by spreading out the epoxy it slows the hardening process.  Meanwhile the original roller pan with all the hardening epoxy in it was steaming in the trash can, about to spontaneously combust!  

Then we waited for the first coat to get tacky so we could add a second coat.  We thought it was at the perfect stage when we started adding the second coat, but some places had already hardened!  We were able to recoat most of the boat, though, which was good because it meant we didn't have to sand the entire thing between coats.  

Today we sanded the surfaces that needed a third coat (deck, floors, and seats).  Then we applied a third coat on the floors and seat tops first - adding no-skid after painting them smooth - so feet will have some traction in the boat.  When we were finished shaking on the no-skid, we coated the seat sides and deck, being careful not to get the no-skid stuff on the roller so we wouldn't contaminate surfaces that should be smooth.

Tomorrow will be spent varnishing mast, lug, boom, and all the rudder/tiller parts.  

4-23.

Who knows where the boat will be in 50 years, so we will epoxy over this message in the stern compartment for history. 

In preparation for final coats of epoxy (we're having to basically start over on 3 coats for the entire interior because we've sanded lots of spots down to bare wood while trying to sand drips and runs), Daddy cleaned the whole carport and disassembled the strongback.  It's too bad we hadn't thought about taking that apart earlier as we kept tripping over it, but now it is finally gone.  The boat has been all sanded down and is ready for epoxy, but it was too cold today, so we'll wait till the weather warms up.  In the meantime, we sanded the mast, boom, and lug and will apply another coat of varnish.  Along with the tiller, tiller extension, and centerboard seat cap.

Soaking the parrel beads in oil.  I forget which type of oil, might be flaxseed or linseed.

I whipped the halyard today.  Daddy taught me how to start the waxy thread with a loop, then wrap it around the end of the rope really tightly to the end, then pull the end back through the loop and the loop down under the wrapping.

Our ropes are now "respectable," and able to be used in the company of upstanding sailors.    

4-17.

 The maple belay pin for the halyard.

Before:  Tiller, rudder stock, rudder. 

After: (Special clear epoxy)  We sanded off the fiberglass from the rudder stock because it was too ugly showing through, so we had to start over epoxying before we can move on to varnishing.  Everything else is ready for varnish, though, and the mast, lug, and boom (to the right) have already had two coats of varnish with a third to be added tomorrow.  

I made two pins for the tiller, one as a spare in case the other one breaks or is lost at sea.  This holds the tiller into the top slot of the rudder stock so the tiller doesn't just slip out into the boat.  Also just beside the tiller in the photo is the tiller extension, which we attached and tested while sitting in the boat.  It's going to be  really nice to have this - can be sitting far forward or out on a gunnel and still steer.

Raising the sail.

Yesterday we rolled the boat to the front yard to raise the sail!

Tied the corners to the lug and boom, then figured out where to tie the downhaul on the boom.

It went up smoothly without too much effort.  But we hadn't made our handy belay pin yet, so we had to tie the halyard off to an eye bolt that the mast is lashed in with.  It was hard to hold the rope and tie off, so Daddy tied it off while I held the sail up.

Then we got the boom downhaul set.  This we also tied off to the eye bolt on the opposite side of the mast temporarily.  When the sail was fully raised, it seemed much too high, so we dropped it at least 6 inches, maybe more until the boom felt like it was at a comfortable level for captain and crew in the cockpit.  Then we were able to mark where we wanted to place a cleat on the mast where the downhaul will be tied off.  

I guess we could technically go sailing now.  Today we did the final drilling for rudder stock bolts, so we could steer.  I also started making a pin to hold the tiller in the rudder stock.  

April.

Some photos from last week.  Put the steel pipe into the bow, and cut it to match the angle.  A rope will go through this pipe to hook to trailer wench strap onto.  

Drilling holes all over the boat, extra large to be filled with epoxy.  We realized a while back that some of these holes we were filling had air bubbles in them because we weren't getting the epoxy all the way through the hole, so this time we punctured the scotch tape one one side with a needle to let air escape and get the epoxy to entirely fill the hole.  That method seems to have worked well.  All these holes are now ready to drill to the correct size for screws/bolts.

We also built the boom.  I cut lengths of two pieces of wood with the circular saw and then we chiseled these out so that the boom is partially hollow.

We glued the two halves together with the hollowed out sides facing in, using a few screws to hold it in place while we put tons of clamps on.  Today we worked on the boom, routing the edges to make it rounded just like the lug and sanding it to perfection before applying its first coat of special clear epoxy hardener.

Today we built a belay pin for the halyard.  Debated using curly maple or black walnut, but went with the curly maple to keep with the theme of the boat, even though the walnut would have been really cool.  I think the maple is stronger, too.

Cut out a rudimentary shape, then sanded it down.  Et voila:

This will sit in a hole in the deck near the mast and the halyard (the rope that raises/lowers the sail) will be tied off on this.  We gave it a coat of clear hardener, too, along with the boom, the lug, and the mast.