April 2, 2015

Thanks to good weather, I was able to apply multiple coats of Epifanes RapidCoat to the overhead trim pieces and complete the trim installation this week.  Huge improvement, but of course it makes the unfinished areas of the cabin look worse.  Not sure what’s next.  With the looming water crisis in California, I’m giving very serious thought to installing a watermaker, which could be a nice addition regardless.  That would mean digging into engine room projects…. I still want to get out sailing too.  But it may be a couple of more weeks at least before enough novice steersmen/women are developed in the outrigger club to allow me to take off for a while.   We’ll see….

March 12, 2015

After a rough week last week, I decided to take it easy this week.  A little rain provided a bit of an excuse.  I still accomplished a few little things.  I replaced the overhead battens in the aft cabin that had to be removed to install the new winches and cleat, and I tested the new gear and leads for the staysail with the genoa out as well.  Everything works about as well as it could given the inherent constraints on hardware placement.  Since I have a pretty good supply of spare line in good shape, I figured I could find some double braid that would work for the staysail sheets.  I did, but it wasn't my first choice.  I had wanted to be able to use a single line for both port and starboard so I could avoid bulky knots at the clew.  No luck:  the best prospect was about 10 feet too short.  So I had to use two lines of different colors.  Ah well
I also started on a small project in the forward cabin.  The teak trim around the forward hatch was discolored and in bad shape from a hatch that had leaked prior to my buying the boat.  So, I removed it and began refinishing it.
I still want to do some sailing and loafing over at the islands, but I can't until I get some new stearsmen/women trained for the novice team in my outrigger canoe club.  Hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

January 23, 2014

Well, I finally got the last panel mounted for the overhead in the main cabin.  Still not quite perfect due to the scrapes and bending required to get it in place, but nothing very noticeable.  Most of the effort this week was continuing the work I had started last week on mahogany covers for all the chainplate backing plates and mounting bolts.  With two of five completed (except for varnish work), my three-dimensional stick pattern methodology has proven good:  both fit perfectly.  It takes care, but it works.
Of course one thing always leads to another, and before I can mount the chainplate covers, I need to refinish the existing trim and handrail while they are still accessible.  So I've started on that too. With three more covers to make and two in the process of finishing, I see multitasking in my future!

January 16, 2014

Continued working on the overhead and made a good start on the trim.  Based on what I was able to source, the trim will be a mixture of jatoba, teak, mahogany and cherry.  When stained and finished, it will all match.  It's challenging making the precise cuts with only hand tools.  I did have to hire my shipwright neighbor to do some ripping and milling that required a table saw and jointer.  With about $100 invested in one board, I measured more than twice before I cut it. Thankfully, it fit perfectly.  Even with only some of the unfinished trim in place, the boat is looking more like I want it to...very heartening!
I have to cover all the backing plates and bolts for all the chainplates on the cabin side before I can complete the overhead trim, so I started on that.  It's a tricky three-dimensional puzzle to make covers that fit precisely. Check back to see how it goes!