We’ve had over a week of straight beautiful spring weather and we’ve been hard at work. Feeling back in the game.
Task 1 was installing the thrust bearing thus completing the entire driveline assembly. First Garrett made a block that span the length between floor timbers out of this great piece of fir that my brother handed to us from a construction job. Then he had to take his time making measurements to shape the next piece. Out of a mahogany chunk a follower donated he formed the mount with the precise angle for the thrust bearing to sit upon.
With a nice gooey batch of peanut butter epoxy he smeared the stuff on the bottom to secure it to the fir block sitting snug against the thrust bearing.
The thrust bearing, as I’ve mentioned before, is crucial in the driveline assembly. This will take the load of the forward and aft thrust from the motor on the prop shaft.
DONE!
Greased and oiled ready to give us some momentum!
While Garrett was hard at work with that he put me on some routine boat maintenance! Can you believe it!!! The boat is far from being complete but it felt incredible to be doing bright work on the water. The locust bulwark stantions have gotten a little weathered. It was time to clean up the bases with an old tooth brush and repaint the compound where they go through the deck. Still today we have NO leaks down below. The hull has swelled tight and the deck doesn’t leak a drop.
The next step of this task was to sand the posts just to remove dirt and then soup ’em up. Garrett altered his mix a bit by adding some more varnish which really helped all the bright work dry to the touch. I don’t have a finished picture but I got all 32 posts sanded and coated before the rain came again the following day. The altered mix also proved itself after this little rain in the beautiful water droplets left behind just sitting on the surface.
Garrett’s moved right into the next engine project which is rebuilding the exhaust elbow. It was a huge pain getting the old one un-seized from the engine fitting. A blow torch, a monster wrench, a 2by4, and a strapping young man finally broke it free. Last thing still to do with the exhaust elbow besides the hoses is to wrap it for heat shielding. The little outlet you see is for the raw water exit. The to-do list for the engine has a few check marks now. Next major steps are the fuel tank and the gear/shifter box that will be on deck. Then there’s all the little stuff fuel lines, raw water stainer, cables, and hoses.
To properly measure for the hoses and lines Garrett’s decided to put in the two quarter bunks which the lines will be lead under. So first he put in the real top for the counter. Still just plywood for now without any major framing for storage but this allowed him to get the measurements for the half bulkhead that will separate the galley from the single starboard quarter bunk. Then the final bulkhead, also a half, that separates the dinette from the double port quarter bunk which the exhaust hose will be lead under out to the transom of the boat.
It was a gorgeous day to be outside ripping plywood. Judy, our host, has to be the most wonderful person. She’s always so happy to see us getting work done on the boat. A friend called her a unicorn, people like her just don’t exist right?, I’d say that’s pretty accurate. Almost a week and a half of continuous work on the boat. It feels great! Some more rain has moved in just in time for me to get to work on the next episode 😉
Also, if you haven’t heard we have our new t-shirt design up and going on Bonfire. We’ve sold over 80 shirts so far which is really giving us the upper hand on the materials we need to keep this boat building. We’re getting our vary own brand new planner that will prep our stock for the decking and many other projects to come. Next clear day Garrett will be on the table saw cutting the planks for the bulwarks. He can’t wait to get outside since he’s been stuck inside fiddling with the engine. All good things though. Thank you all who have read all the way down to the bottom of this! Headway is the word of the day.
https://www.bonfire.com/saltandtar2019/
Salt & Tar 
Well done both, getting that Thrust Bearing in line is essential and I suspect that Garret being a little fussy about having things just right went through a lot of angst when finally screwing it down (I’ll bet He still goes back and examines it on a regular basis).
It cannot be easy working in ever crowded conditions and knowing that whatever you do will affect what you want to do in the future, this of course is part of the planning process and the reason why your head spins if you think too much! Well done with the Stantions Ruthie, they really have cleaned up nice and must look special with a coat or two of Finish on them. Now the Weather is improving there may be a temporary relief from ‘Cabin Fever’ and as you say more opportunity to get the outside bits done.
I wish you rain only at night, the Sun on Your backs and a gentle breeze over your skin.
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