juss sayin

If one was so inclined.....

Primer Coat

The heat has finally backed off and we took advantage of this sunny day.  Got two coats of military grade epoxy based primer on and she's lookin like a real boat!  Thanks to Mack's friend George for supplying the goods!

 

Photo courtesy of M. Bross Hodges

rowing seat!

Mack did some nice work in designing a rope rowing seat this week.  below are some pics.  there is a similar design here.  This design will be altered a bit to include a machined aluminum adjustment system which we will patent and share with those interested at a later date (just kidding)  We don't have pics yet but they will be up soon.  Cant wait to get some paint on this beast and get her in the water! Mack also machined some nice brass scuppers for the splash well, nice touch!

Who's the Bross

Bross is turning out to be a great helper.  Today we sanded, then we sanded, after that we sanded.  then we got to woodwork with the Sapelle, some nice crossbeams for the bow and stern.

Transom detail.....

Just a few photos this week, rain has been slowing us down.  We've added another coat of epoxy inside and out, and begun sanding and prep for the paint.  The transom has been detailed as well with some nice sapelle, which was cut, biscuited and epoxied to the doug fir transom. 

nuthin but net

A fine handcrafted net made by TMack Hodges, 2nd edition, first with trout inlay! this logo will eventually round out our dory.  This was Mack's wedding gift to me, a handcrafted trout net fashioned from a single maple branch, cant wait to put some truchas in it! 

More Brain cells lost.....

Who's counting anyway?  Fairing, wasn't so fair to us.  Anyhow, as you can see, Mack has installed the gunnels and secured them with epoxy and some nice brass hardware!  The boat was shipped to the shop where Mack works, couldn't have asked for a better place to work on our boat, especially in this terrible but much needed rainstorm. Thanks to the guys at ESI once again, for lending us the space and the truck.  Today we did some light touches to the interior, the we faired the exterior hull using west system and 407/410 filler.  The hull was wetted out with epoxy, then faired with the compound.  Tomorrow we will sand it level and add a final coat of epoxy before painting, which is when things should really get interesting!  here are some pics and vids from today......

Fun Read

The Dories....

slowly but surely

Today we worked on the trailer and gunnels a bit, nice to have her out in the sun again.  Mack has also been doing some fine artwork on what will be our future inlay/brand/christmas tree ornaments/t-shirts lunchbox mugs etc.......

2nd coat and exterior gunnel

quick update, progress is slowing as we wait for good weather to finish our 2nd and 3rd coats of epoxy.  at this point, the interior has had its second coat, and the exterior gunnels were cut, planed and added from leftover Sapelle stock from the interior chines.

Sealin her up!

On Sunday we tackled the transom and interior.  First Mack trimmed all the rib stems and then notched out the motor well.  While he sanded out the interior I glassed the transom with 6oz glass fabric and we cut it to fit.  Then we coated the entire interior with 105/205 epoxy using rollers and trimming and finishing with brushes.  While we waited for it to cure we took Bross to the river to catch some trout....

Another Special Thanks

To Natalie, Mack's wife.  Not only has she been supportive sharing her time, but she has been a gracious host.  I camped out at Mack's last weekend to work on the boat and we had delicious meals breakfast lunch and dinner!  Highlight of the weekend was a Kale, sausage and white bean soup with Cheese crostini that was absolutely delicious, i took a pic but it came out awful, but heres the recipe....Thanks Nat!  sooo tasty.

Kale, Sausage and White Bean Stew from The Gourmet Cookbook
1 tsp olive oil
1 lb bulk Italian sausage (sweet and/or hot) broken into pieces (can use chicken sausage)
5 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 head Kale, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
3 cups cooked or canned white beans (drain and rinse canned)
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 stick (4 tblsp) unsealed butter -I don't always include this
1/2 cup grated parm
2 plum tomatoes, diced- I sometimes use canned diced
2 tblsp chopped fresh parsley - I don't always include this

Heat oil in soup pot ( I love to use a Dutch oven for this soup) until hot but not smoking. Brown saus, stirring, for 7-10 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook stirring until garlic is softened, about 2 minutes. Add kale and cook, stirring until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add beans and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Add stock and bring to a gentle boil. Stir in butter, cheese, tomatoes, and half of parsley and cook, stirring until butter is melted and stew is heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

Glassin The Hull

Another busy week.  Its getting harder and harder to remember all the steps in our process, but last saturday we glassed the topsides and bottom.  First off, all the seams were taped to ad reinforcement using 105/205 and 6 oz 4 inch fiberglass tape.  Next, we started on the sides, the hull was wetted with west system 105/205 epoxy and then blanketed with 6oz fiberglass cloth. The cloth was wetted out using rollers, i mixed as Mack rolled.  We taped the bottom along the corners with 4 inch tape as well in order to fill in the gap between our 38inch cloth and our 44 inch beam.  Then we glassed the center of the bottom with the 38 inch cloth.  The port side went flawless, starboard had some difficulties but we managed to keep our cool, and the bottom went on pretty easy although we did come down to our very last drop of epoxy at the end, talk about cuttin it close!  After a short visit from the Fire Cheif we were on our way, thankfully he didn't shut us down.....

 

A Hull is Born!

Probably the most exciting day so far, yesterday we cut and attached the floor!  Before we began Mack routered out scupper holes in each of the ribs, we kept them small to limit the pace at which water can flow around the boat.  Next up was the 2nd Scarf Cut.  We rigged a jig for the circular saw in the driveway, it was not pretty but it got the job and done after a few attempts we had a nice cut.  We decided to scarf and join the plywood on the boat rather than joining the wood, letting it cure for a day and then cutting it to fit.  We were able to use one piece of plywood for the floor section from the transom to the 3rd rib, and another small piece for the rest, thereby conserving our valuable plywood. It was a nice alternative to the center joint (4th rib).  Each piece was scarfed, traced out, cut and then fastened using the stainless screws and epoxy.  Pre drilling holes in the chines was necessary to protect the Sapelle hardwood.  Once the floor was joined, we used a flashlight to determine if there were any gaps in the seams, which there were luckily very few! Then we spent at least 20 minutes admiring the shape of our new hull!

routering drain holes

scarf jig, patent pending....

sidetracked!

scarf jig

look at that cut!