Boat Frame III

Boat Frame III
Originally uploaded by OzzyC

I haven't forgotten about you or the boat. It's simply that we're operating slowly this winter. We're close to flipping the boat, so there's not much to do other than build the cradle for the flip. As you can see from this picture, the cradle is nearly finished. Once the snow melts a bit and the weather warms a little, we'll flip 'er and get back to work.

(Ready to) Flip Out

We're done with the hull and are building the frame in order to flip the boat over. Don't worry, I'll take some pics of this momentous occasion.

Black Bottomed Boat

As I mentioned earlier, we changed the color of the boat's bottom. Here's the pic I promised.

Updating the Blog

Over the next several days (or weeks if I'm pressed for time), I will be moving some of my older pictures and videos to a new host. As a result, if you are an RSS subscriber to this blog, some of my posts may not be in chronological order. You are, however, still welcome to read these older posts... think of them as "best of" episodes.

New Bottom Paint

We laid the first coat of the graphite-infused, epoxy-based bottom paint, and I've got to say I'm really pleased with the results. It went pretty quickly, and I like the black better than the red. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera, so no pics this time.

Dancing the Boat

Building this boat is kind of like dancing a box step... step forward, step sideways, step back, step sideways, repeat ad nauseum. Greg decided that he didn't like the red finish on the bottom... too much orange peel texture for him. So we sanded it smooth and tried a roll and tip. It wasn't good enough. Now Greg's decided to do an epoxy-based, black-tinted bottom, infused with graphite, giving us a smooth bottom that (theoretically) will give us a more durable bottom coat that does a better job of sliding over rocks without killing the paint. He had done the copper-infused bottom paint, but since we're going to be running this almost exclusively in fresh water, he's not concerned about buildup on the bottom.

A Second First Coat

Last week we saw the results of our first coat of paint and were not pleased. Lots of lines in the paint. Greg decided to sand the paint smooth and start again. This time around, things look better, and we've agreed not to do any more sanding until the second-to-last coat is applied. This way we have a build-up of paint. Next week, another coat.

No More Sanding

That's not exactly true, but it feels good so say it and mean it... at least in this context. Yes folks, Greg finally said "good enough" and decided it was time to paint. In a desire to support this decision (and get a coat of paint on the boat before he changed his mind), we did a rare Saturday session. Between the final round of sanding (a quick but thorough sanding of both transoms and sides with 220-grit sandpaper), prepping the surface, mixing the paint, and the roll and tip process, we put in roughly four hours.

We had the little Ozzlet there to help us out. She's a great little photographer, and she also helped us prep the surface, paint a little of the hull (rolling, not tipping) and she watched Greg's girls.

On Tuesday (our regularly scheduled boatbuilding day), we will do some light sanding as needed and apply a second coat of paint. We're planning to flip the boat sometime between late November and mid-December.

I know we'll be doing some touch-up sanding between coats, and I understand that we'll be doing another round of sanding and fairing when we build the deck and cabin, but it shouldn't be quite as long and arduous as the hull. I can't describe how gratifying it is to be out of sanding and fairing hell.

I have several more pictures here...

Or, you can view the slideshow here.

Fair-ly Short Session

We didn't paint any more this week because we were short of the 220 grit sandpaper needed for topcoats. So we did some more sanding and fairing on the port side. It was okay because we saw an immediate payoff, because there are progressively fewer spots to handle, and each spot is progressively smaller. We're hoping to have her painted and flipped sometime in December.

Nightmare

I had kind of a crazy dream last night. In the dream, I went to Greg's house to check on his dogs while he was on vacation. As I walked through the garage, I gazed at the boat -- and was instantly horrified. Greg had gone on some sort of crazy spree; he had sanded off all of the paint, and on the bow he had sanded back down to bare wood. On the sides he had fabricated some sort of space-age shaped add-ons that looked like the fins from a 59 Chevy on steroids. As my eyes adjusted to the horrific site, Greg nonchalantly strolled into the garage (it was a dream, remember) and casually asked me what I thought of the work he'd done.

I went ballistic and woke up. Thank God it wasn't real.

More Painting

Last night we applied our first coat of white paint. This is the paint that uses a cross-linker, and has a high-gloss finish, as opposed to the copper-infused stuff I mentioned previously. We applied the paint to the bottom, figuring that it's an area nobody will ever see, which allows us more latitude for mistakes. The roll and tip method seems to work well, but we ended up with a couple of runs. We noticed the runs after the paint had started setting, so we decided to let it completely set and see how well it sands. Wish us luck.

Baby's Bottom

Last night's session brought another round of sanding and fairing, and a second coat of the copper infused bottom paint. I also remembered to bring the camera, so here are a couple of shots of our progress...

This first shot is taken immediately after laying the second layer of bottom paint, though the picture doesn't quite do it justice. All of the white is a high-build primer. The bottom paint is the red in the back.

It's still shiny because it's still wet. Once it dries, it looks pretty much like your run-of-the-mill rust-colored primer. Either way, I'm pleased at the progress.

Before we laid the paint, I ran the random orbit sander over the starboard side, the bow and the stern for a final sanding, using 120 grit sandpaper. After laying the paint, Greg and I chatted, and we agreed that we will do no more sanding on these areas until we have placed a coat of paint on these surfaces. He still wants to do some additional touch-ups on the port side, which is fine because I agree that it needs a bit more work.

As I took the pictures of our paint job from the front, Greg asked me to post a shot of the skeg, so here it is. The skeg is constructed from a 2X2 strip of cypress (used for its highly water-resistant properties), with a strip of aluminum screwed into the top, after shaping the wood.

Important: According to Greg, copper and aluminum do not go well together. Apparently, they will cause a lot of corrosion. In order to prevent the aluminum strip from coming in contact with the copper in the paint, Greg was very careful to lay a thick coat of primer between the aluminum strip and the copper-infused paint. Please keep this in mind if you choose to mimic our addition!


Greg suspects that the addition of the skeg may reduce the maximum speed by one mile per hour or so, but he thinks (and I agree) that the increased maneuverability and handling will more than offset the decrease in top speed.

Next week, we plan to lay some white paint, using your standard roll and tip method. We plan to experiment on the bottom area. Since this is an area that few people will ever see, we figured that it's the perfect area to work out the kinks in our technique.

F*ckin' A!

Greg and I laid our first coat of paint last night! We painted the portion of the bottom and sides that will be underwater, and after being stuck in sanding and fairing hell for a couple of years, words cannot properly express the gratification that simple coat of paint brought us.

The paint itself was a little different than I expected. I expected a bright red, high-gloss finish. What we saw was rust-colored and had a flat finish. The paint was more watery than a latex paint, but it ran less and dried very quickly. Since I didn't expect to paint, I didn't bother to take the camera, so no pics. Next time.

Man, I'm stoked!

I Missed It

Greg and I finally had an opportunity to work on the boat last night. Despite the fact that we spent yet another evening in sanding hell, I noticed that Greg had done a lot of work since I last set eyes on our project. And as I sanded the hull to a smooth-to-the-touch finish, I realized that regardless of how much I've bitched, moaned and complained about sanding and fairing hell, I missed hanging out with Greg and working on the boat.

Still Alive

We're still alive, but no progress has been made on the boat. Greg and I have had other commitments, but we hope to do some more work next week. Besides, there's really nothing to report until we get it painted.

More Bling

Despite my lack of posting, we're still working on the boat. Okay, it's mainly Greg who has been working on the boat. Between my busted leg and family commitments, I haven't had the time, but the point is, a lack of updates doesn't necessarily mean a lack of work.

The biggest change is that Greg has decided to add a skeg. (That's the aforementioned bling.) The skeg should help the boat track a little straighter, and add a little tip-resistance during turns. I really wish he'd have decided this six months ago, though. We had the bottom completely ready for painting, and now that he's added the skeg, we're looking at another ten hours or so of sanding and fairing before the finish meets Greg's stringent standards.

I also gave him some crap about continuing to use the quick fair. When we did our last session a few weeks back, we had decided that the starboard side was ready for paint, and that the port side was "close." Well, when I dropped over last night for a round of work, both sides had another round of quick fair added, with the intention of filling dozens of little pinholes in the pre-finish. I've been telling Greg for months that we need to just lay the paint and find out if it will fill these pinholes. There is so much surface area that it's virtually impossible to find and fill all of these pinholes, yet finish the boat before we retire.

I semi-jokingly told Greg that if he keeps doing this work when I'm not around that I'm going to make a "Keep off the Boat" sign and put it up when I'm not there. We've been "just about ready" to paint since June or so, but every time I go over there, Greg has done more crap that sets us back by a week or two.

It should be apparent that I'm quite frustrated by this lack of progress. Greg and I have different approaches to this portion of the project. Greg wants things to be perfect before going to the next step. An immaculate finish is very important to him. I think that we should forge forward and see what happens, based on the law of diminishing returns. In ANY project, you can do a quick and sloppy job, or a perfect one. As you move closer to perfection, the amount of time you spend increases exponentially, and the payoff decreases exponentially. We are at the point where we need to quit looking for pinholes, fix the bottom (where we added the skeg) and paint the damn boat.

Now that I've vented, I need to reiterate my position. I know my place in this project. I know that it's Greg's baby and I'm the free help. I also know that Greg listens to my input. The thing he needs to get though is that we need to be flipping this boat soon. We've only got another month or so before it starts getting cold, and once the snow hits, it'll be more difficult to get the boat flipped. We need to get the thing flipped before this winter, so we can continue working on the project during the snowy time of year.

A "Break"

On Saturday Greg and I were able to sneak in an extra few hours of work, during which time we finished sanding and priming the one remaining section of unprimed hull. It was incredibly gratifying to see the entire boat primed. We next planned to fine-sand the primer in preparation for the actual paint.

Alas, our plans have been slowed by fate. On Sunday I fractured my ankle while learning to water ski. I took a tumble and the ski didn't pop off. Fortunately it's a minor break and I only need to wear a boot, as opposed to a full-blown cast. I also got the green light to put weight on the foot, so I may be able to do some boat work after all.

Prime Time!

We are finally breaking out of sanding and fairing hell! Last night Greg and I did a final round of sanding on the bottom and the starboard side, using 120 grit sandpaper, and applied a coat of primer to the areas we sanded. Over the next week or two we will finish sanding and applying the first coat of primer.

Those of you who have been stuck in sanding and fairing hell can appreciate how happy we are over hitting this milestone. But considering how long we've been doing this -- roughly two years now -- this accomplishment is especially sweet. Since I rode my bike over to Greg's house, I didn't bring the camera so once again I don't have any pictures yet, but I think I'm going to wait until the boat is completely primed.

I still can't describe how gratifying it is to be coming out of hell.

Every Little Bit...

Every little bit of work brings us closer to our goal of completing the boat. We haven't done a lot lately, but Greg is still plugging away a few hours here and there. I'm only available once or twice per week, and lately it's been prohibitively hot to get much accomplished when I'm available. Greg on the other hand, has the luxury of being able to work on the boat late at night, when the temperature is at its coolest. Throw in the holidays and other summer activities, and you can understand how the progress has yet again slowed to a crawl.

The picture to the right is a shot after our latest round of sanding and fairing, and the addition of the skid guard I mentioned in my last post. If you judge by the dull sanded area, it looks more crooked than it actually is. Compare it to the center line and you'll see that it's pretty good.



Greg has finally acquired a motor for the boat. It's an Evanrude 150 horse motor. He got it from an outfit somewhere around Kansas City. I think he paid roughly $2200; when compared to a new motor, it's a hell of a deal. Last week we fired it up and it runs very well. If I think about it, I'll get more details from Greg about the motor and give the seller some props... no pun intended.

Back Ta Work, Ye Scurvy Dogs

After our relaxing canoe trip, Greg and I returned to work. Greg has been putting in a lot of time doing finish work in preparation for painting the hull. He's still got a few areas that he's not happy with, but we're seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I can't wait!

Last week we installed a skid guard on the bottom of the hull. Since it's a flat-bottomed boat, it's designed to coast to shore, allowing our more dainty passengers to go ashore without getting their feet wet. In order to protect the hull, we've installed the skid guard.

The installation process was pretty straight-forward, but required some precision. First we sanded the area where the skid guard would be placed, and then cleaned the area with rubbing alcohol. Then we test-laid the skid guard, and once we were happy with the layout, we traced a pencil line around the skid guard, so we'd know exactly where to lay it. We then applied part one of the two part adhesive. Part two is applied directly to the skid guard from the factory. After this, we were finally prepared to install the skid guard. This process was a little tricky, because the bond is instantaneous. We ended up a little bit off from the line we drew, but it still looks okay, and it will definitely perform to our expectations.

Once again I neglected to bring the camera with me, so you'll have to wait in suspense for a little longer before you see the changes.