We rip out the old dinky bulwarks and get the sexy black locust stantions in for the proper ships bulwarks of Garrett’s dream:

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This has been one messy project! We’ve managed to get tar everywhere and even a little on the boat. Now to clarify, the tar is purely to bed the sheathing planks not to be our bottom protection. This is where the next step in the sheathing process comes in: planning and sanding everything down to bare wood.

 

 

 

We matched the port side to starboard and have every plank up except for where the boat stands are. As you can see on the starboard side Garrett’s already started to plane the planks.

BEFORE            AFTER

While Garrett’s planning and sanding I’m filling the one million screw holes with thickened epoxy. Once all holes are covered and the wood sanded down we’ll be ready for real bottom paint. We are thinking, with the help of other’s thoughts, that we’ll do a coat or two of thinned bottom paint to penetrate the planks then finish with 3 to 4 coats of full strength anti-fouling bottom paint.

Before that painting can happen we have to have the yard move the stands. We have about 20 planks on each side still to do.

This has been one hell of a job…especially on Garrett’s back. What good timing!!! For a chiropractor to appear. One nice thing about people knowing where we are is getting to meet all of our followers. We’ve met boatbuilders, doctors, world travelers, new boat owners, and people who know nothing about boats but love to watch Garrett and I work. I, for one, had no idea how many people would be interested in our little-big project! Thank you to all of you for your support. It has been extremely positive and heart warming. Both Garrett and I have never been attached to the internet world so I apologize that we’re often late in responding back to you but I try my best to write back and keep you informed when I can. We are working so hard and are so so close to launching this endeavor. Bottom paint is right around the corner and the water only a little further!

!Number 36 y’all!

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This is one of those projects that isn’t hard it just takes time….and tar

We’ve completed the starboard side. It took about 3 weeks. 60ish planks below the chine and about another 14 long planks from the waterline to the chine.

There was a minor pause to cut more material but to Garrett’s surprise the lumber is going a lot further than he thought. I wish we counted how many 2×10’s it took to do the starboard side but I’m guessing it was between 10 and 12 boards because Garrett was able to get 6 planks out of a single board. He ripped them length wise into 3 inch pieces then in half to get a 3×3/4 plank.

We had a little yard fun trying to guess how many planks it would take to get from the aft stand to the transom. It’s only fitting the captain won…

…or was it rigged

It was 21 planks from that last stand back. We’ll continue onto the port side and complete that then fill the screw holes and plane everything down before having the yard move the stands over. We might even paint a square of bottom paint where they’ll move the stands to so we don’t have to have them move them again.

p.s. Notice the chainplates have they’re first bolts!!! That means color is coming 😀

Thank you Simon!!!! It was so freaking awesome to have you, Melly, and Champ aboard.

We teamed up with Rolf again, this time for the chainplates. We had the chainplates bent out of stock mild steel flat bar with Van Bebber but we needed to weld on the bit that the bolt securing the dead eyes to the chainplates attaches to.

Garrett got to pull out this bad boy, a horizontal bandsaw. I don’t know much about these machines but it cut through the steel like nothing. It was easier than slicing hard cheddar at work. The blade, with water running continuously, basically laid on the steel and made a perfectly straight cut.

<——-  BEFORE

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER ———–>

 

 

We have two chainplates per side per mast, that makes eight total. The mizzen chainplates are a little smaller at, I believe, 2 inches and the main chainplates are slightly larger, again Garrett will correct me but I believe, 2.5 inches wide.

After Garrett cut each of the pieces to be welded out of bar stock inch and a quarter, Rolf used the old iron lady to bore the 1/2 inch hole we decided on to accept a half inch bolt to hold up the rigging. I do believe I heard a “bore-ing” joke escape Rolf’s mouth. But for me, I loved watching that beautiful faded green machine spin out product. I’m sure years and years and years from now I’d be equally bored…pun intended 😉

There’s something entrancing about watching something do what it does so well. Just like a violinist with instrument in hand or a bartender sliding drinks to thirsty customers. Sure it has its moments of frustration and we all don’t want to get out of bed everyday with a smile but this is a piece of history. Rolf’s told me the story but alas it’s a blank but I do know she’s older than Rolf, so there you go.

So, Rolf drilled, cleaned, and rounded than threw it to Garret (literally) and he spun the bored tube on this cool sander thingy (technical term) and presto! With the rust blasted away it looks like we went to West Marine and paid $50ea. when in reality we found a 2 foot bar in a salvage yard for 8 bucks, so $1 per fitting. I like those numbers.

Next step was to weld all 8 pieces to their respected chainplate. Babies for the mizzen and biggies for main.

 

 

Rolf tacked the pieces in place then turned Garrett and I loose to weld the rest!

 

 

 

Garrett and I have found

our new hobby. Although

Garrett learned quick that

he has to remember to eat

something! Shaky hands

makes for a grueling mastery of welding.

 

 

 

 

 

Wicked fun!

A great 3 hour work day! Next is to start positioning them on the hull. If you don’t remember, I know I haven’t forgotten, this is when Garrett says I can paint the hull!!!! He just wants to get the first holes drilled while he can still see the fasteners in the planking. The rest of the work on the chainplates thereafter can happen after we are in the water. We’ll have to create the metal straps that go around the lower dead eye which then attaches, by bolt, to the pieces we just welded onto the chainplates. Then we’ll have to make the dead eyes of course, and then the rigging which it still TBD but Garrett’s really contemplating kevlar rigging worm/parcel/and served. Our neighbor and buddy is doing that on his Aries 32 and we’ve been helping/watching the process and it seems super sweet but more on that at a later date. I gotta get home and make some dinner!
Cheers!
~Ruthie

New episode!!!!! I’m starting to get this whole video thing…2 weeks almost on the dot! I hope you like it, it’s a near 25 minutes so grab something cold 😉

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