Epoxy, Epoxy and More Epoxy

Seems as though, all I did this weekend was spread epoxy, in one form or another. But, I love the way epoxy seals the wood and then the shiny appearance it gives it.

I am also working on the reefing drum section. The bronze rod has been purchased, and a form made for the bending, but that's as far as I have gotten.

The epoxy resin and hardener is going fast. An order must be placed this week, along with a few other items on my "need" list. But mostly, I need EPOXY!

Rollover Day

Today we rolled her over. It wasn't as hard as I anticipated. I bought a few 2x4 and used some scrap plywood to make the frames. My son helped me roll her over and put her on the dolly I made, and then we just rolled her back into the garage. Of course, the first thing I did was lay the sole pieces in place and climb in. It felt great!

I'm told that the hardest parts of the build are behind me now; the chine logs, shear clamps and bottom. I can't wait to get started on the inside. Dale may have to pry me away from the boat this weekend. Or, maybe not.

Officially a BOAT now!

TARDIS has a bottom now, so she is officially a BOAT. It was a fairly easy process because I had two more sets of hands helping. Thank you husband and son. Using a floor jack and jack stands, I elevated the bow so I could get inside and clean up any epoxy that squeezed out. (Dale had a good time with his camera at this point, with some interesting angles.) I have already made a dolly for TARDIS, so I can move it around. Next, I will make a couple of frames to use in the turning of her.

The last few weeks, I haven't made much progress in this build. Life has gotten in the way. But, the next few weeks will be filled with "boat building". I need to get a lot done, and fast, if we are to get her in the water this summer.

Annie & Her Yellow Bucket

Annie is a long haired Rottweiler. Five years ago, she was dumped out near a house in the country, along with a cat and a yellow bucket.

My cousin took the dog and gave her a home on his ranch. Annie has a pen behind the house, and keeps her yellow bucket close. If she goes to the front yard, she takes her bucket with her, and lays next to

it. Annie loves her yellow bucket. A white bucket was given to her, and she just tore it up. Her bucket has to be YELLOW.

And, don't mess with her bucket. While mowing the yard, if the mower bumps the bucket, Annie will bite the tires of the mower.

Annie is also a hoarder. She keeps the yard clean. Many things have been found in her pen, including a dead calf. One Christmas, a gift was ordered and to be delivered by UPS. Several days after the delivery due date, someone went to Annie's pen and found a lot of trash... and found Annie laying on the shredded jacket. The UPS driver left the package on the porch, and Annie took care of it.

Annie is a very big, sweet dog. Just don't leave anything laying around that you don't want destroyed.

1963 Chris Craft 24' Cavalier

I went to visit my cousin in Arkansas last weekend. Behind his house, under a shed was a 1963 Chris Craft Cavalier. A family member bought it a couple of years ago with the intention of restoring it. Because of a divorce, it never was finished. So, there it sits, taking up one-fourth of the shed, really needing to find a new home.

The repairs were started, but they haven't gotten far with the project. Two years ago, the trailer was purchased new, when the boat was pulled out of the water. If I was a motor boat person, this would be a fun project, and can be had for very little money.

It has a 255 horse Chris Craft engine. The transmission has been rebuilt and the hull redone in 2006. I know there is someone out there that would just love to have this boat.

READY FOR THE BOTTOM

After hours of planing, filing, sanding and measuring, TARDIS is ready for the bottom. This was not easy, and like everything else I do, it took longer than anticipated. But, it's finished and I'm ready to move on to the next step of the build. Since my garage is now full of boat, plywood and boxes, I have to move to the driveway to scarph and glue the bottom plywood. WeatherBug says that we are in for a warm and sunny week, so I will begin the work on the bottom.

Chine logs... nightmare!

It's always good when you can learn from the trials or mistakes of others. Hopefully, someone can learn something from me today.

Never having the need to bend wood before, I didn't know the best way to go about it. I first tried to see just how much the chine logs would bend without steaming. I quickly found that steaming was a must. As usual, I went to the internet. In every video demonstrating how to bend wood, the pieces were tiny compared to my chine logs.

Wanting to use the cheapest method for steaming, I used the dryer vent, camp stove method that I saw on one of the videos... it did not get hot enough. It would probably work on smaller diameter wood, but not for chine logs. They bent great for about 30 seconds, and then cooled off and stiffened up. I ended up ripping the chine logs in two and laminating them in place.

I've been told that installing the chine logs is the hardest part of the build. Man, I hope so.

Things I learned this week:

Wood breaks easily.

Steam that same wood and it will bend without breaking.

Epoxy softens and loses it's holding power under stress, when steamed.

While bending steamed wood, work fast.