Finished Taping the Seams

Glassing the Hull 003
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

Greg got the front and rear transom joints taped. The corners have six layers of fiberglass on them. They should be able to withstand a direct blast from a nuclear warhead.

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Finished the Stringers

Reinforced Stringer 4
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

Greg and I talked about my concern with the weak stringer joints, and he came up with a solution. But then again, Gregs an engineer, so why should I have doubted him in the first place, right? Greg cut out a gusset ("gusset" is a fancy-schmancy word for "piece of scrap wood designed to hold our stringer together temporarily") and screwed it to the stringer, providing a great temporary brace. The gussets will stay on the stringers until were ready to set them in place.

In addition to adding the gussets, we cut off the excess fiberglass tape and lightly sanded both sides of the stringers, mainly focusing on smoothing out the fiberglass joints.

If youd like to see a quick video synopsis of the days work, click here.

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Prepping the Hull

Glassing the Hull 009
Originally uploaded by OzzyC.

Yesterday we started the process of laying fiberglass cloth on the hull. Heres a picture of me rolling a base coat of epoxy onto the bare wood of the hull.

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The Frame is Finished

Yesterday Greg and I put the finishing touches on the frame -- unless he decides to re-tweak, which he often does. We shimmed all of the areas where there were loose joints on the temporary frame. Were now ready to lay the hull. Next week, we will be in Northeastern Wisconsin, for our annual canoe/whitewater kayak trip, so there wont be any working on the boat. Instead, well be playing in the canoes we made last year and paddling our kayaks.

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A little more progress

Our plan is that we do a little bit every week. So far, I think weve done something every weekend, but we havent posted after every weekends work, and the work definitely hasnt warranted a picture or video every week. This week is one where pictures, videos and long posts would definitely constitute overkill. Weve started building the construction frame, on which well actually set the boat frame and build the hull. Nothing too exciting. When the frame is completely constructed we will take more pics and do a video giving a thorough synopsis of whats been done and the labor involved. Stay tuned for further developments.

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