CABIN TOP

The original plan was to have TARDIS in the water by the end of September... of 2011. The build has slowed to a crawl due to lack of funds. But, today I was able to do some work on her.

Waste not, want not.

This is the jig to build the side frames for the cabin top. Today, I got most of the pieces cut. Tomorrow I will finish cutting and get them glued together.

Slow and steady wins the race.

BACK TO BUILDING

The cabin enclosure has been the hardest thing for me so far. The plans are confusing because everything was crammed onto one page. There are many angles and I stare at it and my eye just glaze over. I have started to cut lumber and am taking it one step at a time.

The Paradox design, in my opinion, is just about perfect. The only thing I dislike, is the boxy look of the cabin enclosure. To help give it some curved lines, I am taking away the corners of the windows, and rounding them.

In order to open up the cabin more and get more air flow through, I am making a removable panel for the aft wall. Several builders have done this, and I think it is a very good idea. It will also make it easier for this short legged woman to get in and out of the cabin.

This weekend, the mosquitos just about carried me away, so this cut my building days short. The repellant didn't even slow them down. My grandson likes to get in the boat and pretend. So, we played for a little bit before heading back into the house.

I have kept all the receipts of all the purchases for TARDIS. I haven't been keeping a running total. When it's completed, then I will get a total. I priced Lexan today, wow. I will just grit my teeth and pay it. :-)

OFF THE TRAILER

Shawn and I pulled TARDIS off the trailer and back on the dolly and into the garage. It's been many weeks since I have done anything to her. Before I do anything, I need to make a trip to the lumber yard.

But, I did sell the temporary trailer I bought to move her to our new house. I listed it on Craigslist.com. Within 4 hours it was sold, and I got what I paid for it. I can live with that.

Today was a beautiful day. I should have been out on the water. Maybe I'll go to the beach tomorrow. Sounds like a plan.

MOVED

When I was a little girl, my mother said if she tried to help me do something, I would say, "do it myself ". Well, I haven't changed. On Thursday, the trailer was ready for the boat, and I did it myself.

The roller assemblies were bolted onto a 2 x 4. Then the 2 x 4 was bolted onto the trailer. Not knowing how much the boat weighted at this point, I was afraid that she would be hard to get on the trailer. TARDIS was sitting on her Dolly, so I rolled her up to the back of the trailer. Her stem was about 4 inches lower than the roller at the back. About the time I was going to lift the bow up, my neighbor came over and wanted to help. He easily lifted her bow and set it onto the roller. Then, with little effort, we pushed at the stern and she rolled right onto the trailer. I really could have done it all by myself!

Immediately after TARDIS was settled, it began to pour down rain. I backed her up into the garage and began to strap her down.

Since the boat didn't take up the whole trailer, there was lots of room to pack stuff on. I was beginning to feel like the Clampetts.

I slowly drove the 35 miles to Pasadena, keeping an eye on the left tire that has a leak. I aired up the tire before I left, but didn't know how long it would hold air. I made it home without incident.

Now that I am all moved and settled, I can start back to work on TARDIS. After she is finished, I will need to get a trailer that fits her. One with no rust, working lights, safety chains ... you know, all those required parts.

*NOTE: I don't have internet yet, so if this post looks different it's because I wrote it on my phone.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

MOVING

MOVING DAY is almost here. I will be moving from NW Houston down to Pasadena, TX. But, I have a problem, no trailer for my Paradox, TARDIS. The bottom needed to be finished so I could roll it over one last time, and then put it on a trailer.

Yesterday, I got on the computer and looked through Craig's List. I was thinking that I could just get anything that was in my price range. I only need to haul her about 45 miles to the new home. Then, when she is finished and ready for the water, I will find one that "fits". So, I'm looking and find one for $200. I talk to the seller, tell him that I am building a boat, have to move it, and don't have much money. He says, "how about $100". I say, "sold!"

Did I mention it didn't have lights? Yeah, so I went to Harbor freight and bought the towing lights with magnets. When I try to "stick" the lights on, there is so much rust that they don't stick very well. And how do we solve problems like that? Duct tape, of course. License plate, well, it didn't have one of those either, and I was running errands when the seller returned my call. I didn't want to go all the way back home and get the plate off my other trailer, so I just took a chance. As I pulled away with the trailer, I said, "Lord, please turn the policeman's head when I drive by." And you know what? He did. A police car passed me on the freeway and didn't stop me. I made it all the way home without incident. I did need help getting it backed into the driveway though. My son Shawn, helped me. The trailer is actually for an 18' boat, but for that price, I couldn't pass it up.

Today, I put the first coat of paint on the bottom of TARDIS. I wanted to use navy blue, but Home Depot in Kemah did not have it in blue. The bottom is black. I am using RUST-OLEUM Marine Coatings. I'll let you know how it holds up.

About 20 minutes after I finished painting, a cloud came up and the wind pulled down the shade over TARDIS. I scrambled to get it back up before it started to rain. With help from my daughter, Amy, the tarp covering was back in place and the paint had already dried enough that the finish was not messed up. The paint was still tacky, it got wet, but didn't seem to hurt it. I think I will like this paint.

Moving... yeah, I hate it too. Packing. I feel the need to down size. There is a pile of "stuff" in the middle of the room. Stuff that is good, I don't want to throw it away, but don't want it either. I first thought - Garage Sale. I want to get out of this house as soon as possible, so I don't know when I would be able to have a garage sale. I don't really want to drag it to Pasadena and then sell it. The whole point of getting rid of it was that I didn't have to move the stuff. What do I do? Oh, now my head hurts! I'll go get me a glass of tea and think about it while I throw stuff in a box.

DAVE GRAY

A fellow boatbuilder and sailmaker, Dave Gray, lives in Florida. I have visited his website,PolySail International and read postings on several different yahoo forums, but never met the man. Last week, I found myself in Florida and met Dave, also known as PolySail Dave and his lovely wife, Dixie. Dave builds and sails small boats and builds sails from polytarp. He supplies low-cost, high performance polytarp sails and sailmaking kits to home boatbuilders, since 1996.

When I arrived, he was working on the rigging of his newest build, Wedgie. A very nice little boat, complete with a water gun that will shoot up to 50 feet. Built for kids, but adults can enjoy it too.

After visiting for a little while, Dave took me to Jensen Beach and showed me where he sails his small boats. Just down the road a piece is The Dolphin Bar & Shrimp House. While sitting at the bar and enjoying a drink and snacks, you have a beautiful view of the water. Very nice and relaxing place. And I did enjoy my margarita!

We had a nice visit. It is always fun to meet a fellow boatbuilder and swap stories. Dave plans to attend Sail Oklahoma! next month. It will be a wonderful gathering of many sailors and boatbuilders at Lake Eufaula. Everyone is invited to attend. The hosts, Mike & Jackie Monies are wonderful people and have worked really hard to ensure all attending will have a great time. So, take a few days off work and get to Oklahoma next month!

No Workout Today.

My dumbbells served another purpose.

The woven roving has been laid and the ground plate in place. I read how Glen Maxwell used a vacuum bag to accomplish this in the file section of the Paradox Yahoo Group. However, I didn't have the equipment to do it that way, so I used what I had... lots of weight.

First, I drilled holes around the perimeter of the copper flashing, then counter-sunk them. The epoxy oozed up through the holes and then acted as rivets to help hold the flashing in place. To hold the flashing flat while the epoxy cured, I placed a scrap of 5 mm plywood on top and then added lots of weight to hold it against the hull.

The bottom is almost ready for the paint. I'm thinking navy. That's next on my to-do list, buy the paint. I'm hoping she will be right-side up soon, and then never again up-side down.