Time and money have been short of late, but I've been slowly picking away at the boat. The stringers are in, and last night I glued in the transom knees. I also have the chase for my gas line set up how I want it. It's not tacked in the boat, but it is glued together for the most part. I think that I'm going to run a chase under the gunnels for the electric. It's the only way to keep it totally separated from the gas line under the sole since there's just not a lot of room under there. The stringers have been the first part of the boat that have required the standard fillet and tape technique, which I missed out on getting pictures of. I'll try to do better on the frames. If not, Bayport Bob has some great pics of the technique on his site. Here are a few of where I stand right now. Please disregard the heinous epoxy work. The stuff gets pretty viscous when it's cold. I used too much to wet out the glass on the first stringer, and it ended up running out of the laminate in the middle of the night. At least it will be buried under a layer of foam and a sole.
I'm going to do my best to make sure the boat is really set up level, and then start getting some frames in it. If DHL can stop running around in circles and bring me my supplies, I'll be set. Friday night it was in Ft. Walton Beach, FL, 40 minutes from house. Last night, it was in Ohio. Nice job DHL.
8 comments:
Looks awesome man. Got to get that shit done so we can do our big SW trip.
You've got to love parcel deliveries that go awry.
Looks good man, I don't think you need to worry about the epoxy runs as long as you don't starve the glass. Like you said, it will be buried under the sole anyway. Are you planning to fish your fuel line through the plumbing prior to glassing the sole? I am slightly worried that it will not feed all the way through after you have everything buttoned up.. just a thought. Gotta go, I'm in the middle of my written quals! Take care and keep it comin!
I'm hoping the fuel line won't be a problem. Using the exterior conduit over PVC is nice because it's more durable and there are a lot of gentle sweeps available for it instead of hard angle plumbing fittings. I also learned a trick the other day. If you tie a piece of plastic shopping bag on the end of a string and put it in one end of the chase, and then hook a shop vac to the other end, the string will run through there like a raped ape. Tie one end to your fuel line and you can then pull it through. Still wouldn't be a bad idea to at least get the string through before I glass the thing in though. Good luck on the quals man. Gotta admit that I don't envy you that task right now.
Cole,
I have to get the thing done. Sanibel waits.
I just found your blog. I would like to congratulate you on a job well done. I eventually begin building one to fish the waters in Everglades National Park (Flamingo). Keep up the good work, I'll keep watching and learning.
Ernie.
I appreciate the support Ernie. If I can ever get this thing finished, our first trip will probably be down around Sanibel, but our next big trip is definitely going to involve ENP. The place just looks too incredible to not check out. I would imagine the learning curve is steep there, but we have to try it.
The learning curve at ENP is very steep. I've fished it a bunch of times, and I still get very nervous navigating through there. That microskiff you're building will do great there. You'll definately be able to reach some of the bights (Snake Bight, Santini Bight, etc) that hold some quality fish. Keep up the good work. I can't wait to see it finished.
I heard you were done with boat #1 and building a mold for a production run now that you have all that building space. Right?
MUST POST PICS OF NEW BUILD SPACE.
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