Bury the Rail!

Yep, the title says it all. I'm out of my PocketShip doldrums and falling off the wind to pick up some speed. I went on a race / sail on Lake Pepin today, manning the jibsheets for a 30' sloop out of Lake City. Winds were steady at 15kn all day and of course were coming out of the marina. Again. Which meant heavy heeling as the quickest way back. It was fun and spirited sailing and I could do it in my shorts this time instead of my January Minnesota gear.

Lake Pepin splashes against the bow.

Heeled over pretty good. The horizon is crooked, not the boat.

I got home and headed for a fantastic little hole in the wall BBQ joint on 48th and Nicolett where I treated myself to a half slab of baby backs, double shot of beans, and peach cobbler. Heated of course. Finished with that and avoiding the beer that usually accompanies such a meal, I sanded half a bay (progress, right?) then decided to prep the footwell sides and floor. The only space in the shop that can safely hold pieces this size is the boat itself. Figured now's the time to do it before I muck it all up with an actual finished boat.

Outboard footwell sides getting epoxy. Bulkheads 7 and 8 serve as saw horses.

Since the manual doesn't call for 'glass for the outboard footwell sides, they sure as heck get epoxy, so the first layer of that went down tonight. The manual also isn't specific on 'glass for the bottom of the footwell (the side facing the hull) so I laid 'glass there.

The bottom of the footwell gets 'glassed. The bow compartment makes a nice saw horse, too.

A bit of a problem as my small garage originally forced me to run around the stern to get to the other end of the bow, so I opened the garage door. That was a great decision. The street lamps added a little more light and a cool breeze came through every now and then, not strong enough to affect the 'glass but enough to freshen the air and lift the spirits. Boatbuilding was fun again. I felt a little bit like those guys in Vegas who paint space scenes on the street corner. I've never seen anyone buy one of them but it sure is fun to watch.

An acrylic painting by Andrew McAttee. Wonder if this matches tanbark?

I had a little extra epoxy in the cup so I put a third layer down at the fresh compartment #2 and thickened it up for some divets here and there. Time and desire willing, I should be finished sanding the hull except for the bow by Tuesday night. Taking the page from other builders, I'm likely to ignore the bow compartment until a little while later.

The storage locker with the final 3rd layer of epoxy.

While my goal of having the sole down before my wife gets back Thursday won't happen, I'm pretty sure I'll be ready sooner than later. Fun day on the water and in the garage.

TIcking Away the Moments That Make Up a Dull Day

I'm sure that every PocketShip builder has thought of at least one, if not all, of these three things:

1. I should've just bought a boat.
2. That fillet looks good enough.
3. I'd rather ________ than sand some more.

Tonight, I thought of all of them in about a 10 minute span, for about the 100th time. I wish I had a better excuse to explain my lack of progress on the boat, but the reality is I simply didn't want to work on it.

I did a nasty job of tack welding the forward two compartments (which keen readers will recall were my first two, thinking I'd get these "practice" runs out of the way) so I spent quite a bit of time getting rid of those bumps and ridges. I then figured I'd have enough time to lay down a set of fillets before dinner, go to dinner, and clean up any bad parts before they cured. I completely miscalculated how much a warm garage would accelerate curing. I came back from dinner, prepared to apply some denatured alcohol to smooth things out. Lo and behold, everything was cured, meaning I was stuck with the rush job I laid down. It's not about aesthetics but about safety. Fiberglass of course won't lie flat unless it has a flat surface to lie upon, thereby providing its structural integrity. Might as well be sailing in a cardboard box otherwise.

Frustrated, and looking at a couple hours of awkward sanding, I put the gloves away and resigned myself to working on it tomorrow. Tomorrow came and I was busy doing something else. The second tomorrow came and went without even opening the garage. Three stretched into four and before I knew it, I found myself learning a new bagpipe tune, brushing up on my mediocre Arabic, and playing a lot of online poker. Anything to avoid the garage and the beast within. A full week went by and then we were off to Bayfield for a sailing charter in the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior.

Fog and miserable weather kept us near the marina in Bayfield most of the weekend, but we did manage to sail for a few hours a day, just not anchored off one of the islands. Winds at times kicked up past 25 knots blowing right out the marina which meant heavy heeling and close haul tacking to get back. It was spirited sailing for sure, but downright cold. I was dressed for it but I can't wait for a real summer sail!

A rare view of the shore with the fog lifting.

Doing some sailoring, I forget what. I think I just put a reef in.

Anita at the helm. She likes steering in circles, not unlike on land.

The upside of being stranded in the marina is all the great food and baked goods we could get. I was introduced to "wine bread," a specialty from one of the bake shops up there. It's reason enough to go back. I thought about PocketShip in the garage and how sailing trips like these usually motivate me to work on it. But not this time. The only thoughts crossing my mind was how I was going to avoid sanding those fillets, and how I could swing the financials of buying this 36' Islander.

We got home and another week of more stalling. Very busy, I was. Can't work on the boat today. Too tired and anyway just one more time through the tune/one more hand/one more word to learn.

Then a magical thing happened: Chris stopped by to say hello. I thought it was the notary who left his stamp at my house at first. They have the same demeanor but I'm 110% sure Chris is better with power tools. Chris was on his way to the Hobby superstore near my house to pick up some rocket supplies to celebrate the Fourth. I wondered if it's possible to use the tiller with 3 fingers instead of 5 but kept that to myself.

In any case, Chris said things were looking great, mentioned he was out on Chucky B. last Tuesday, tossed a few pointers for the bow, shook my hand, and left to source a few rockets. I watched them drive away and decided the rest of the day would be dedicated to the boat. When he left my garage, I mixed up some epoxy and smoothed out the bad fillets in the storage locker from two weeks earlier. While that cured, I picked up the sander and did the first bay in two weeks. After a little alcohol, I laid out some fiberglass in the storage locker and wet it out. Electricity was on my mind, so I drove to the Marine store and picked up a circuit panel and some electronic essentials. Motivated, I pulled out the battery and hooked up my new GPS/Fishfinder. I then put down a second coat, pulled some masking tape that got embedded in the bow compartment, and cleaned up a bit for tomorrow's work, which will be more sanding and the other half of the bay. On a roll!

Epoxy avoidance project #3: Hooked up battery to new GPS/Fishfinder, circuit panel, and battery cables. I then had to disassemble it all because I don't need a GPS/Fishfinder on my kitchen table.

Laying out the 'glass. It's a 25x30 piece (basically half the roll) angled. The angle's fine, just means more coverage.

Wet out the 'glass in the storage locker. This will be the first of several strips along the keelson here.

Sanded on the right, not so much on the left.

My wife is on an Alaskan cruise with her Dad as a retirement present. I can't say I'm stuck here because I've got some good, upcoming plans, including some sailing tomorrow with the club, and of course with her away I don't feel guilty working in the garage on the boat. There's a long way to go, but the longest journey begins with the first drop of epoxy.