We’ve got our supplies and we’ve got our power stance.

We wanted to use the standard seam compound from Interlux but the little marine store wanted nearly $60 for a single quart. That just wasn’t going to do. We thought about our good ol’ buddy tar but a little hesitant because we don’t really want it to run or seep through. So we thought about our next go to, polyurethane. At $5 a tube, that was a little better.

It’s a good thing we’ve had plenty of “grip” exercise from clamping every plank into place because squeezing the caulking gun at a slow and steady pace really kills your palms.

It’s so cool to see these seams close up. We put the first plank on February 11th last year!

This sealant doesn’t smell nearly as good as the SL30 which smells just like chocolate. The best part was smoothing over the seams. After we got about 4 rows done it began to look like a finished hull. I’m really excited to be doing this step because I’m even more excited about what comes after, painting the topsides! We might do something crazy like RED!

Although a lot of folks love the minty green. There’s only one coat of primer on the topsides so the green wood preservative is shining through. We’ll see 🙂

Alright! Here we go. Time to get back to work. Rediviva has her spot in the working yard. In this leg of the marathon, Garrett and I have found it hard to keep going. This truly has been the biggest and longest project of our life. It feels like we have to choose everyday to move forward. I’m going to be honest, we’ve talked about taking a break, a step back. Garrett has given Rediviva his all. His body, his mind, his energy, his love and hate. I can see why a lot of boat builds end here. I used to think, ‘how could you give up now? when you’re so close?’ I now understand because there’s not much left. I also think this is a natural path for a journey such as this. I believe this doubt is part of the struggle it takes. We thought about moving the boat back to the storage yard, we talked about it at length. Then one day, when Garrett had planned on speaking with the office, he saw the boat. He saw Rediviva and had this overwhelming feeling, ‘I’m not done. Not yet.’

I am so proud of this man. The words in my heart can’t seem to find their way out. We’ve managed to turn the page, together. Let’s continue the story. This week was full as Garrett dug out the caulking cotton, mallet, and irons. He completed the entire starboard side!

Instead of looking at what’s left to complete Rediviva we’ve narrowed the scope. What do we need to do to launch the boat? This makes the project seem more attainable. A smaller portion to handle. Get the boat to the water, then make her livable, and then make her sail! Trick is to not think too heavily on what comes after the task at hand.

 Task one: Caulk the boat. This entails filling the seams above the chine, the stem and transom, the chine itself, and the rabbet with cotton then priming those seams and finally coming over with seam compound. Task two: Paint the boat. Three: finish the rudder and its fittings. Four: install prop shaft and prop. Five: throw her in the water!

With the majority of task 1 complete the whole thing feels slightly less daunting. I think once we move onto task two and get to paint her we’ll feel closer to the water. Doing the cotton is an important part to unifying the boat as a single piece, no longer just a bundle of timber fastened and glued together. We primed the stuffed seams and are ready to get our first quart of seam compound.

Even Swab’s back in the swing of yard-life:

While I fill the starboard seams with compound Garrett will be moving onto the port side. We got the interior of the boat cleaned out (during the move Rediviva became more of a U-Haul than a boat) so now you can see what a difference caulking the seams makes. The port side has so much light shining through where as the starboard side with fresh cotton is solid.

We’ve come so far and still have so much to do. Getting some work done feels really good. Rediviva’s traveled a long ways and it’s not her fault but there’s a lot of emotions tied into her bones that are hard to escape from feeling every time we lay our hands on her. We’re focusing on healing the pain it’s taken to get where we are today. The wisdom from others has been heard and we’re lightening up on ourselves and remembering to take time for us. Thank you to all that have encouraged us. We want to see this thing to the end. Finish what we started. I can’t wait to live here!

Aloha!

I just got a wonderful email from Fiona with Young&Salty and she’s written a lovely article about our little boat farm in the woods. We spoke with her via Skype months ago and she is just as sweet as her writing. Please check out what she had to say about our project as well as the numerous other articles she writes!

http://youngandsalty.com/building-a-boat/

 

A big shout out to Finding Simon who included us on his top 15 under 15,000 subscriber YouTube channels!

He has just joined this crazy boat life and bought a 47 ft 1979 Wharram catamaran in need of love! He’s included a few other awesome channels and not all are sailing channels. I love the small YouTube community of people making a living supporting each other. That in mind another channel I think all of you would love and support is:

Leo is restoring this massive 1910 Gaff Cutter solo with a great sense of humor. I’m in awe of his labor and workshop. Talking with these two guys has been a real treat. I look forward to all their success. Cheers to “young people doing shit” as a follower recently wrote. I love my job!

~~Episode 25~~

https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-25-15139320?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=postshare

 

 

 

With the mizzen mast finished it was time to move onto the main

 

 

 

Garrett trimmed off the top then measured out the 40 feet needed and cut the excess off from the base. As it stands, Rediviva will be gaff rigged on both the main and the mizzen. Both will be keel stepped and the heights for both masts were described in the plans from George Beuhler. These trees have come a long way from the forest (Episode 14) we couldn’t be happier how they’ve seasoned and held up during the 700 mile trip south. Don’t worry the checks on the sides are normal and do not compromise their strength. I like how one sailor put it into perspective: checks are like the wrinkles on my face; character.

Let the manicure begin

Garrett started us off by using the electric planner smoothing down all the tiny knots along the length

 

I followed behind him with the belt sander to ruffly fare all the planner cuts and grooves.

Garrett then followed behind me to more finely sand with the orbital.

After a short beer and some fresh strawberries we flipped the mast over and moved onto the back side. Once we plane, sand, and repeat the main will be ready to join the mizzen in her first coat of teak oil. We’ll finish both with “boat soup” a special concoction of a few things. Primarily linseed oil/teak oil, pine tar, and varnish typically a lot depends on what’s in the locker. Don’t worry I’ll do a separate soup post when we get there. Every sailer has their special sauce.

All for now!

Cheers 🙂

https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-24-14911631?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=postshare

Thank you so much everyone!

Down the road she went

and two days later appeared in Napa on Friday morning

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

then the yard brought on the Travel Lift!

The straps were wrapped around her belly and slowly took her 20,000 pounds off the trailer

It wasn’t until the boat was in the slings that Garrett could breathe easy. We’d made it out of the woods. The yard had to break for lunch which gave us time to do the same. Burritos and beer. Listening to the chirp of swallows and the clang of rigging. Welcoming sounds. It’s been 3 years since we’ve lived near water. Rediviva stands tall next to her fellow ships.

We were joined by some familiar faces and some new ones. My mom broke away from work to greet Rediviva at the gate while my dad caught her at an intersection on the way to the boatyard (video will be up for our Patrons)

The engine started and carried her to her new resting place. Awaiting a spot in the “Working” yard. We’re guessing we’ll sit in the storage yard for about a month. Until then we’ll kill time and take it easy working only on the masts and rudder outside the yard.

and it gets even better! They were able to squeeze us in right next to our buddy Geoff’s Cape George which he’s stored here while he’s working up in Alaska. We hope to see him next month

The calm and quite started to seep in as the stands were secured, the straps rolled up and the travel lift backed away. 3rd in on the left she can relax knowing she’ll be safe through the season.

That-a-girl

Garrett’s brother, Reid, stuck around for the whole day and helped us crack our first few beers on deck under the palm tree landscape.

 

For those of you who’d like to know where exactly we are: