Time well spent

Surprisingly enough I think this has been the first weekend that I have been able to spend a good amount of time working on the boat. Up till now it has been after work during the week. Over the last few days I have been able to get the doublers on bulkheads one and two and the stem glued up and notched. I also have the port holes and ventilation holes cut out for these. I am super happy that I'm going to be able to work ahead with the epoxy using a lamp and plastic sheeting to keep the temperature up. That could potentially take a few months off of the overall build time. YAY!!!

Stem and First three bulkheads.

Stem Glue up. It was twenty degrees Celsius

under the plastic.

Rain and Wind

It's been raining each day now for over a week, around 250-300mm for the week. My make shift shop has been holding up. The rain hasn't been a problem, I get more worried about the wind. Ever since I started opening up the ends to let the wind blow through it hasn't been as much of a problem, I just have to keep a watch on the forecasts. Maybe it's a little crazy to be doing this boat building thing now, It's cold, wet and windy. On top of that it gets dark around five in the afternoon. But I think for me thats part of what drives me.
If its not a challenge or if its what "most" people would do then I feel less inclined to do it. I think thats maybe why it was so easy for me to get into sailing. I like a challenge as long as it makes sense. Having a worth while product when its all said and done, and being able to enjoy that for years to come makes sense. I also think a lot about how there are people out there who have these thoughts and dreams of someday doing this or that or building a boat or whatever. Yet, life goes on and maybe they aren't able to get around to those dreams. I think for me being younger the idea is that these kinds of activities are for when your older or retired, when you have more time. But I like thinking, why wait! Lets go! Just do it! So, It's two degrees Celsius (36 F) Its raining, you don't have a shop, your renting an apartment, How do you build a boat in this situation? Perseverance. Good landlords. Amazing girlfriend and be willing to work in less then ideal conditions.

Cutting out the seat fronts

Light sighted down the cut line to allow me to see

the pencil mark easier.

Without the flash!

Here is a shot of the built in blower on the jig saw

doing a good job of keeping my line of sight clear.

This is how we do epoxy work when its only two

degrees Celsius outside! I'm using West System

epoxy, cuz thats what I have used in the past. I haven't

used filler before though. The 406 Colloidal Silica by west

system is what I have chosen for filler. It thickens

the epoxy nicely. One nice side effect is that the squeeze

out doesn't drip and run as much.

No, its not a space ship. The plastic sheeting and the

lamp under keeps it above ten degrees celcius, more

then enough for the epoxy to cure.

Building Jig

It feels like its been a while. I haven't been idle. I wanted to do something about the amount of space I have to work in. It was beginning to feel small. So although I had good intentions of storing my plywood horizontally keeping it flat with clamps I have now built a rack with a slight lean to store the plywood on. Giving me an extra three feet or so to work with. It is still clamped tightly together with cheaper ply on the outside. Then I realized that I had too much room and needed to cramp it up again. I began the task of building the frame or building jig that the boat will eventually be sitting on during construction. I didn't think it would take as much time as it did to put together. What took me the most time was getting the cement bases that it would sit on level. Even then the actual length of each leg had to be cut to differing heights due to the ground being very uneven. I still have a few more braces length wise to add in. It wasn't really until I started building the frame that the size of the boat really sunk in. Then you can start to visualize and get a feel for the dimensions. My work space is going to be tight and cozy. I am thankful for the use of this space.

I have "Reefing lines" added to my tarps at each end

to allow the wind to blow through on really windy days.

Here you can see some of my new lights.

Cold start at 32 F. or 0 degrees Celsius

.

Not sure if they will stay or if they will get a layer of ply

on top, but I've got some shipping pallets as flooring

to keep me off the ground a little.

Cutting out Bulkheads

Now that I feel like I have spent more time working on and building the shelter for this project, then actually working on the project it's time to make some progress. The wood has arrived and the templates are traced out. There are no guidelines for marking out the pieces on the plywood, I feel like I have done a good job at keeping waste to a minimum. A step that I have been looking forward to has been to actually cut out the bulkheads. I purchased a Bosch barrel grip jigsaw Model: 1591EVSK. SO comfortable to use! As of today I have all eight bulkheads cut out and the transom as well. Now I feel like I'm actually starting to build a boat!

I have since added more light, so I dont have

to bend over so much to see my lines. Also I

have added safety glasses.