How it started:
How it’s going:
Aside from the rails and an eternity of finishing, the basic kit is now in the boat. I’ll be ordering the spacered inwales and probably the sailing kit at the same time to combine shipping.
There’s still a part of me that doesn’t believe I’ll ever get this boat launched.
You might want to snag a nice photo off the internet and have a print made…maybe two, one for the fridge and one for the boatshop…just to keep your eyes on the prize. You’ll get-r-done, just keep pluggin’ away! <;-)
Yep, I browse the Southwester Dory gallery on the CLC site pretty often. I really like that photo. I believe it was taken in Port Townshend WA, one of my favorite places I’ve ever been. When I lived on Bainbridge Island WA I was more into bicycles and motorcycles than sailing. I’d love to be there now. Puget sound is too far to trailer to, but the Chesapeake is close enough for long weekend trips. I’m already daydreaming!
I’m doing a mostly painted finish so I’ll be able to let go of some things I would otherwise have to obsess over. Like where I whacked the aft bulkhead with the saber saw blade when I was trimming the deck; I had to fill in the wound so the router bit had a smooth and even surface to run along. Or where I sanded through the veneer in a moment of inattention. I do want the fillet radii to be as smooth and fair as possible so they look good painted, but I’m going to have to stop short of perfection if I want to sail her this summer.
I think I’ll end up having used twice the epoxy that comes in the kit, and half of that I have sanded off. Live and learn I guess.
Really hoping to do the next turn and work on the bottom this weekend. Also ordering the sailing kit today. It will be nice to have some bench projects do when I can’t take anymore sanding.
Aaron,
This is where the painted finish wins - the sanding. Cover the to-be-painted areas with epoxy/phenolic microballoon mix and sand that, not the unthickened epoxy. It’s much, much easier and faster to sand and once covered with paint it looks just the same. Because of the hollow spaces in the microballoons, it’s also lighter so you can put on a thick layer to fill in dips and valleys and never have to sand bare epoxy smooth.
The other thing that helps in this stage is spending the money on good sharp sandpaper and changing it frequently before it clogs. Sharp unclogged sandpaper will do all the work for you and will get done faster. The microballoons help in that respect, too. They don’t soften from the heat of sanding as quickly as the epoxy does, so they don’t contribute to the clogging of the paper.
Hang in there, you’re getting close.
Laszlo
Thanks for the advice and encouragement Laszlo. I’ll switch to micro balloons for the filling and fairing. She’ll look like a spotted cow for awhile, but it will be worth it to ease the sanding.
I’m thinking of a 3 color scheme and browsing a lot of painted small craft for inspiration. For whatever reason, Wellsford builders seem to favor painted finishes more often than CLC builders.
Amen to what Laszlo said regarding paint. You are really get’n’r’done now! Remember, it’s a boat, not a Steinway piano or a Martin guitar, and as a shapely boat her shape will show beautifully when painted.
As I’ve said before, in my view being a more of a boatwrong than a boatwright, varnish is a tool of the devil, straight from the workshops of hell, meant to enslave man to his own vanity, while paint, blessed paint, is God’s gift to fallible boatbuilders, meant to graciously cover their failings. <;-)
You are absolutely right about vanish being a tool of the devil! I’m working on a bright hull and deck soon and expect I’ll have no self respect when finished if one can say a varnish job is ever finished.
