Got the Pic

I finally got around to snapping an updated picture of the boat. The color you see is tinted epoxy, not a finished paint job, but hey it's progress. Either way this shot should give you an idea of what we've done since my last post with a photograph. The shape is a little more refined, and the spray rails are much more polished.

I still can't wait to get this thing flipped, but the picture helps me visualize the progress we've made over the last couple of months.

To put things in a little more perspective, I've been looking at other builders' boats. Today I did a check-in on Andrew Lucking's boat. Andrew started a couple of months before Greg and I did, and it looks like we're progressing at a similar pace. Of course Andrew is a one-man show, and has a shorter season because he's in Canada, but it still helps keep the perspective.

I Really Need a Picture

We haven't done any pictures since January, and haven't done any videos since... well, it's been a little longer. The reason we haven't done any pictures or videos is because things haven't significantly changed in months. At least it doesn't seem that way to me.

We've still been working on the hull... sanding and fairing, filling in the inevitable pinholes and sanding, and repeating as necessary. We've added a couple more coats of tinted epoxy, and we've blended and shaped the spray rails to Greg's satisfaction. We've been in sanding and fairing hell for over a year now. We started fairing in February 2006. By July, I was beginning to see the Law of Diminishing Returns kicking in. I'd say that by August of 2006, we were firmly in sanding and fairing hell.

Greg and I have discussed this in depth on several occasions. Greg is a perfectionist by nature. He wants things exactly right before we paint. I'm firmly convinced that the primer and paint will cover many of the imperfections we see now. I think that Greg is starting to come around to my way of thinking. But as I say this, I also acknowledge that some flaws we've corrected would not have been corrected by simply slapping a layer of paint on the hull. In the end, this is Greg's project, and I'm his assistant.

Greg has said that if he had things to do over again, he would not have built up the perfectly sharp chines. He doesn't think that the performance payoff will outweigh the amount of work we've put in as a direct result of the chines. I tend to agree. So if you're thinking about building a boat, skip the sharp chines.

Part of the issue is that Greg and I are both family men. We have pretty busy schedules, so we can only get a couple of hours per week to work on the boat. This naturally extends the project by an order of magnitude. When I get frustrated, I try to keep this all in perspective.

With all of that said, I went back today and looked at our pictures from January. It doesn't look a lot different, but there is a noticeable improvement in the hull. The tinted primer helps smooth things out. The spray rails are shaped and blended. Yeah, I really need to take a picture.

I'd also like to say hello to the newest member of my blog roll, Bruce Dillahunty at Craft-a-Craft.

Additions to the Blog Roll

I'd like to welcome two new additions to the blog roll. Eric is building Nina, an LB22 model, designed my the folks over at Bateau -- the same crew that designed the boat Greg and I are building.

Ben is building his boat in The Invisible Workshop which, in his words, is "a nomadic, exterior boatbuilding space."

If you're discouraged from building a boat because of the slow rate of progress that Greg and I display, please check out these blogs. They certainly demonstrate that a boat doesn't need to be built over a two-plus year period. The second blog also shows that you don't need an elaborate workspace to achieve your dream.

Still Alive

Damn, I haven't done a post in two months!

Despite my lack of posting though, we're still working away on the boat. We work on the boat for a couple of hours once or twice per week, and the drill is pretty constant... throw back a brew or two, smoke a cigar, work for a while, toss back another beer or two and admire the night's handywork... and curse the new flaws that we continually find.

Each new session is progressively shorter than the last one, which I take as a good sign. We are finding fewer flaws each time, and the flaws are continually more minor as time passes. Eventually we'll need to take out the magnifying glass to find the defects, at which point we'll know that we're satisfied with our craftsmanship or in serious need of psychological help.

Since my last post -- and picture -- we've laid two more coats of the red-pigmented epoxy, found a few more flaws, laid a coat of white-pigmented epoxy, found a few more flaws, worked on the spray rails, and found a few more flaws. We've been finding and fixing these flaws since Moses was a child. It still amazes me how long we've been working on this project, and how much it DOESN'T look like a boat. Yeah, I see the hull, and I can picture the boat, but your average joe on the street couldn't be expected to visualize our finished product.

For a while I was really gung-ho on the boat, and then we got stuck in sanding-and-fairing hell. We've been stuck in this stage since roughly July -- almost nine months. In retrospect, Greg thinks (and I agree) that we would be much farther along if we didn't make perfectly sharp chines and if we had omitted the spray rail. If it weren't for these two minor variations from the plans, we would have undoubtedly have flipped the boat by now. Those two modifications have made for uncounted additional hours of labor and several weeks of burnout.

Eventually though, you work through the burnout and get re-motivated. The main thing is that we continue to make progress, and that we continue to work on the boat. The progress comes in fits and starts, and anyone who builds a boat -- especially on this large scale -- will undoubtedly agree that sanding and fairing is the worst part.

So what's the point of this post? Well, I have a couple of points...

-We're not dead.

-We're still working on the boat.

-Try not to get discouraged by a lack of visible progress.

-If you build a planing hulled boat, don't make perfectly hard chines.

-Spray rails seem to be more work than they're worth.

Starting the Finish

Last night we began seeing light at the end of the tunnel. For two consecutive sessions, we have performed tasks other than the mind (and hand) numbing tasks of sanding and fairing. As I mentioned in my last post, we mounted the spray rails. Last night we rolled out a coat of pigmented epoxy.

Painting the hull with pigmented epoxy will serve two main purposes. One purpose is to get the hull a uniform color, which will make any remaining flaws more visible, and if the paint gets scratched, the pigmented epoxy will help hide the scratches. (That's the second purpose.)

As you look at the pictures below, you will likely notice a couple of things...

- The area that's painted doesn't cover the entire bottom. This is because the painted area follows the approximate water line of the boat according to the plans. The area that hasn't been painted red will not be in the water.

-The spray rails do not follow the water line. We decided to have the spray rails follow the hull (from the top), not the water line.

-If you look really close, you may be able to see that the spray rails extend past the transoms. This is also intentional. It gave us room for error when mounting the rails to the boat; we will trim to the correct size and shape before we lay pigmented epoxy on the rest of the boat.

Spray Rails

Greg and I had a nice diversion from the seemingly-endless task of sanding and fairing this weekend as we mounted the spray rails to the boat. For those of you who aren't familiar with spray rails, they are designed to reduce the amount of water that sprays you (and your friends and the deck of the boat) as you cruise through the water at higher speeds.

We built the spray rails out of cypress, which Greg chose for its extreme rot resistance. He bought three 10 foot long 1x1 sections, which we scarfed together to form a single, long rail, and then we diagonal-cut the single long piece, forming our two spray rails. After this, we prepped the spray rails by touching up the rough spots and by pre-drilling the holes.

Greg wasn't sure how he wanted to mount the spray rails... whether to follow the water line, the hull from the bottom, the hull from the top, or some hybrid. In the end, we followed the hull from the top, and drew our line using a jig. We epoxied the rails in place, and held them with stainless steel screws. After the epoxy cures and we do more touching up, we will fill in the screw holes (which were counter-sunk) with epoxy, making the seal truly water-tight.

Once again I forgot my camera, but I will try to get a shot or two in the near future.

Entering Orbit

Greg and I both had vacation between Christmas and New Year's day. We had planned on having a couple of long sessions during this period, but that didn't happen. I was occupied with family and friends, but Greg was fortunate enough to get in several small touch-up sessions. In reality, that's what we needed. We're at the point that when we work together, it's usually a short session because all we need to do is a little fairing here and a little sanding there. Of course I've been saying "we're getting close" for several months.

Last night was another minor breakthrough. Greg broke out the orbital sanders, and we started finish-sanding the transoms. What can I say. We're getting close.

Ideas From Readers...

Here are two comments from readers who posted on our thread on the builder's forum at www.bateau.com

---Comment 1---

The thing is, high-build primer is expensive, so getting a good sanding done first will save you time and money.

That said, I would do just as you wrote, prime, take a look, and then work those areas that specifically need attention. I've had best results with two coats of the high build then sanding. You might try that misting thing Joel has been doing on the FS14 thread. It seems like a great way to really pick out the problem areas.

---End Comment 1---

---Comment 2---

Before you put primer down...

1) Use straight edges with a light behind it to look for a fair surface. The light will show through between the hull and the straight edge if it is not fair.

2) Position a strong light close the hull surface. Step 6 or more feet away from the hull and look right down the side (block the light with your hand while you can still look down the hull). This will show many imperfections if they exist.

The above doesn't take very long and will tell you if you are ready.

Resist the urge to forge ahead if you have doubts that you are really ready for the next step.

---End Comment 2---

For Clarification

I want to clarify things a bit. From my perspective, there's no tension between Greg and me on this project. We have the same vision for this boat... a high-quality watercraft that we built with our own hands. I know that this is ultimately his baby and I'm basically playing "Gilligan" to his "Skipper." He's a mechanical engineer and has done tons of research every step along the way. He's got a more developed vision than I do, and more knowledge and insight about how to achieve that vision.

At the same time, he's not autocratic. When I have an idea or disagree with his approach, I tell him what's on my mind and he listens. Sometimes we implement my thoughts, others we don't. When we went into this project, we knew we'd occasionally disagree. Since it's ultimately his boat, I've got no problems with doing what he wants and to his satisfaction. We really are doing this as a team; we're simply using the fact that it's his boat as the tiebreaker.

My frustration is merely that we've been stuck in the sanding and fairing stage for over seven months. Part of this is the pursuit of perfection, and part of this is because we're both family men who can only devote a few hours per week to this project. In the end, please don't think that my previous post was designed to imply that I'm frustrated with Greg, because that's not true. Mainly I'm illustrating, with my own personal experience, that building such a large boat carries its share of challenges and frustrations.

A Snail's Pace

Once we're done with this project, I certainly hope that the boat goes through the water faster than we're progressing on the boat. It was two and a half months ago that I declared us "almost done" preparing the hull for painting. In retrospect, I feel like Bush proclaiming an end to major combat in Iraq.

Since saying "almost done," we've done still more sanding and fairing and filling holes, and I'm starting to get frustrated. A couple of weeks ago, I asked Greg if we could set the end of 2006 as a goal for flipping the boat. This would require us to be finished sanding, fairing, and priming the hull, and painting the bottom. He said it was doable and we set 12/31/06 as a tentative date for flipping the boat. We pissed away the next two weekends doing more sanding and fairing and quite honestly, I'm tired of it. I understand that Greg wants the boat to be perfect, but eventually you need to say "good enough." Part of the issue is that the boat is a huge patchwork of different colors and textures. There are areas where the eye says "this area needs to be filled in a bit more," but the hand says "it's perfectly smooth." There is one minor area on the port chine, toward the front, that needs to be touched up, but other than that, I think it's ready to prime.

Greg agrees with me in theory, but in practice we end up sanding and fairing when I get over there. We're both tired of the routine and we're both failing to see real progress. I think it's time to finish up the chine and prime. The primer we've bought is high-build primer, so it will perform two complimentary functions. Because it's high-build, it will fill in the smallest flaws, and because a primer coat would make the boat a uniform colors, it would expose any remaining flaws.

Your thoughts?

A Flow Coat

Woo-Hoo!!!!

Greg finally decided to do something different. After months (yes, months!) of sanding and fairing, Greg decided that enough is enough. We flow coated the boat yesterday. When I went over there, I was expecting another round of sanding and fairing, so I didn't take the camera. (Like I've said countless times, there are only so many sanding and fairing pics I can take.)

One of our concerns was epoxy runs. In order to address this, we thickened the epoxy ever so slightly with just a touch of wood flower. It seems to have worked, but we won't know for sure until after the epoxy dries. Wish us luck.

Almost There

Almost There
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

I figured it was about time for another actual picture of our project. This photo really doesn't do the boat justice, but I wanted to show you something. Next time, I'll take the shot from the bow, and you'll get a better idea of the boat's overall shape and progress. (This shot makes the boat look more like a giant brick than an actual watercraft.)

What you should notice in this picture is just how sharp we've cut the chines, how flat the boat is, and how patchy the boat looks now. (If you click on the picture, you will see a larger picture, complete with notes on the boat.)

Along the chines, you will see something that looks a little like mold. Greg did a fog coat of black spraypaint. The idea here is to do a very light hand sanding with a long sanding block. After this sanding, we will be able to identify the low spots. These low spots will be easily seen because the fog coat of black spraypaint will remain in the low areas, whereas the paint will have been sanded from the higher areas.

Feel free to click here if you'd like an idea of how things looked before we built up the chines.

A Good Day's Work

As I've mentioned time and time again, summer seems to slow Greg and me down on our quest for the perfect cabin cruiser. Today however, we made some great progress. We sanded down the hard chine on the port side and began the fine work with quick fair. It wasn't a long session time-wise, but we accomplished a lot. Additionally, we discussed ways to work smarter. The problem we've been running in to lately is that we can only put in an hour or two of work and then are required to wait for things to cure. Since the starboard side is about ready for flowcoating and priming, I brought up the idea of flowcoating and priming the boat in sections. This way, if there are areas that we need to revisit, we can be more effective in our work. Your thoughts??

The Law of Diminishing Returns

Yes it's true... I've been horribly remiss in my postings lately. A small part of this is because we've been taking a slower pace lately, but mainly because there's really nothing to report.

Summer brings about a special set of challenges for our project. Part of the issue is that summertime brings about the opportunity for far more activity. Whether it's a chore such as mowing the lawn, a pleasure such as an afternoon drift down the river, or a picnic with the family, there's a lot more to do during the summer. This, of course, means a little less time to work on the boat.

The next challenge is the heat. We're building this boat in a non-air conditioned garage, and during this time of year, the heat is sometimes unbearable. Add in the fact that we're wearing tyvek suits, dust masks and safety glasses because we're sanding and fairing, and you should completely understand the lack of demonstrable progress on our project. I can only say "still sanding" so many times...

We've been sanding and fairing for about three months, but it seems like three years. Sanding and fairing is widely considered the most tedious, unrewarding phase of building a boat, and I honestly thought we were mentally prepared for this. I was wrong. In fact, I honestly believe that part of our slowed progress is based on burnout.

That said though, Greg is finally to a point where he's ready to say "good enough." To paraphrase a post from Wooden Boat Sailor, at some point the Law of Diminishing Returns kicks in. In the early stages, the sanding and fairing is essential, otherwise the boat looks and performs like absolute shit. As the process continues, there's a progressively smaller payoff for the same amount of work. Eventually you come to the point where the amount of work exceeds the amount of satisfaction you get from the work you put in. This is the "good enough" stage. Greg and I still have a little more work to do, but he's to the point where he realizes that any more work on the bottom of the hull is excessive. One of the sides is done, which leaves both transoms and the other side. If we haul ass, we should be ready to lay a coat of primer in about four to six weeks. Thank God! I'm soooooo ready to be finished with the sanding and fairing.

Epi-blogue

Boys Trip 2006 041
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

Though this experiment met with one mishap after another, it's one that I wouldn't have missed for the world. Despite the fact that we spent two hours repairing our craft for every hour of sailing (or some semblence thereof) -- kind of like owning an Italian sportscar -- it's something I'd do again. This trip was a blast... or should I say "gust?"

Half Mast

Boys Trip 2006 026
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

The final insult was a break that we couldn't overcome. The mast broke. Greg fashioned the mast out of a 16 foot aluminum flagpole. Though it was stressed far beyond anything it was engineered for, it held up for two days under strong winds. In the end though, mother nature's force was too much for the mast, and it snapped in the middle. The ironic part is that we were sailing for shore.

Greg wanted one last day of experimentation and sailing, and I wasn't about to let him go out in the boat alone... we'd both end up stranded that way. He'd be stuck in the water, and I'd be stuck on the island. So we shoved off one last time and tried to tack upwind, to no avail. We pulled the sail down, and as Greg frantically attempted repairs, the wind pushed us slowly downwind from our campsite. We were approximately a quarter mile downwind, when I announced that it was time to bring our experiment to a close.

I suggested using the wind to our advantage by bringing the sail up one last time and harnessing the wind's power to at least get us to shore, allowing us to paddle back up to our campsite in the island's wind shadow, thus fighting the wind less.

We hoisted the sail, flew for five feet or so, and heard that final **SNAP**. We looked up just in time to see the sail and mast tumbling. It was the final defeat in our experiment.

Broken Mast Support

Boys Trip 2006 001
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

Take a little too much wind, add a makeshift watercraft, and throw in a couple of inexperienced sailors... what do you get? A recipe for a disastrously humorous adventure.

Our next malfunction was a broken mast support. The mast support consisted of a wooden dowel, a couple of turnbuckles for adjustibility, and more hose clamps and bolts to hold the supports in place.

One particularly strong gust of wind ripped the turnbuckle from the dowel. We repaired the break with glue, but ended up going with another mast support made from a tree branch, lashed in place with ropes and ratchet straps.

Rudder Problems

Boys Trip 2006 079
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

The next problem we encountered was a rudder problem. We used a canoe paddle as the rudder, which was bolted to the catamaran frame using something that Greg fashioned. This mount broke, and we ended up having to ratchet strap the canoe paddle to the frame. Once this was done, the rudder didn't function quite as efficiently, so I periodically resorted to using two canoe paddles to achieve my objective.

Repaired Leeboard

Boys Trip 2006 086
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

After repairing the leeboard, we again tested our craft for seaworthiness. As you can see in this picture, the repair was fashioned out of a steel brace, hose clamps and a log provided by mother nature. Greg sunk a lag bolt in to the log. We tested things out, and the repair held, but there was yet another problem. By repairing the leeboard in this fashion, the board didn't sit as deeply in the water, effectively eliminating a portion of our ability to tack. We were able to tack one way against the wind, but not the other.

As you can imagine, this necessitated another long arduous paddle back to shore. Fortunately, we were picked up by a pair of boaters who towed our crippled craft back to our campsite for still more repairs.

Engineering Problems A-Plenty

Boys Trip 2006 066
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

As I mentioned yesterday, our first trip was completely uneventful. This is mainly because there was just enough wind to get us from the landing to our campsite, so we cruised to the island, set up camp, ate, and hoped for more wind the following day. Our wish was fulfilled.

After a hearty breakfast of beer and eggs, Greg and I were anxious to continue our experiment and to test our skill as sailors. We did a quick sail in the water immediately next to our camp site, and were soon satisfied that our boat and our skills were solid enough to venture further into the open water.

Being novice sailors, it took us a little bit of time and experimentation to learn the ropes, but we took great pleasure in the new experience... until we heart that first **CRACK**. I don't remember whether it was caused by shallow water, or by actual stress, but our leeboard mount broke. As this picture shows, the leeboard itself held up to the stress, but the frame wasn't quite as strong, flexible, or whatever.

Despite our hobbled watercraft, we were able to limp back to our campsite, which was upwind from us when the malfunction occurred, and fortunately Greg brought plenty of material for repairs. He pulled the leeboard mount and had soon fashioned a repair of glue and screws. On the downside, we had to wait for the glue to cure, so our sailing was finished for the day.

Stay tuned for our continued misadventures.