This week was a productive one for the boat project.  We spent a lot of time doing wiring; running wires for lights, various instrument gauges, etc, The wires were run through the instrument panel in the pilot house into the cabin where they were hidden behind a hinged mirror.  It is a very clever idea and looks clean and and neat. 
We also attached the white trim to the plywood sides in the pilothouse and cockpit.  The trim made a big difference in finishing that edge and it looks good..
Our biggest frustration this week had to do with the wiring for the new Evinrude motor.  We want to have the wiring in place before we take the boat to the Evinrude dealer to install the motor.

  We ordered the wiring online and it arrived without any instructions.  We had no luck finding instructions online, and there are all these different colored wires.  Who knows where they go?  We certainly have no clue.  The other problem is that it is almost impossible to connect with an Evinrude technician for help.  So we don't know what our next step will be.
In the meantime we put two coats of primer on the hull of the boat, and are sanding that in preparation for painting the hull medium blue.  We look forward to seeing how the boat will look with the finish paint on the hull. 
We also picked up the glass for the side windows of the pilot house.  They had to go back to the glass shop to be trimmed, though, as they didn't quite fit.  We had forgotten to take into account the silicone we put under the bottom track.  We are also waiting to see which glass shop will be willing to put in the front windows.

It has been a while since we made a new posting on our blog.  It is much harder to keep up with it in the summer, what with outside chores like gardens, watering, dog swimming, etc.  However, we are making good progress on the boat, which you will see on the current pictures.  We were a bit nervous about the Two Part varnish, but it is great to work with, and flattens out well.  After putting three coats on the outside top, sides, and roof, we took on the inside of the pilot house.  The first job was the ceiling , and it looks fantastic.  The two seats in the pilot house are getting varnished, as are the sides and dash.  The timing for using the varnish is critical.  It must be done early in the day when the temperatures are cool.  Otherwise the brushes drag.  Each coat is lightly sanded before the next coat goes on.
The floorboards have a two-part white border, and the center part will be painted with some sort of a non-skid surface.  We haven't yet figured out what we will use, because we don't want a surface which is too rough on bare feet.
One thing we have wished for many times during this construction project is a boat equipment store here in Corvallis, Mt.  We end up spending a lot of time on the computer looking for parts and equipment, and ordering lots of stuff online.  Thank goodness for the internet!

This week we got two major projects completed.  We put three coats of spar varnish on the doors to the cabin, and then mounted them.  They turned well and look nice with the contrasting wood types.  Then came the big project, causing much stress and planing beforehand.  We painted the deck, sides, and top with  two-part Interlux Perfection polyurethane paint.  The color is oyster white.  You just never know how certain paints are going to work, especially two part paints.  Will they be easy to apply, or difficult?  Richard watched videos supplied by the company, on how the paint should be applied, and we used foam roller covers and a badger-hair paint brush.  The technique we used was to roll the paint on, then follow with a dry paint brush, pulled over the rolled surface.  I must say that it turned out beautiful!  We put on two coats, wet-sanding with 400 grit sandpaper between the coats.  We were very pleased with this product.
We also received the steering system for the boat, and now we will have to figure out how  to install it-another puzzle to solve.
The paint doesn't totally cure for several days, so we have a break to do some other stuff-maybe yard work, or maybe even playing.  Our son Mathew is coming to visit on Friday to be here for 4th of July fireworks, so that is a good excuse to do some playing.

Back again with a few more pictures.  We completed some small items this week , namely the decorative side panels on the pilot house which cover the plywood meeting joints.  We also attached the navigation light holders to the top of the pilot house, and finished the main hatch cover attachment. 
Now we are getting ready to put the first coat of two-part primer on the roof of the pilot house, the deck, and the roof of the cabin.  That will be today's project and we will apply the paint with brush and roller.  We will see how it goes on.
Then comes more sanding, another coat of primer, and more sanding.
We took some time off boat building last week and did some boat using with our family from Vermont.  The boat is the cedar plank boat Richard built two years ago.  Everyone says it rows like a dream!
It was nice to take a break from the boat and sanding, but it is hard to get back to it now.  The weather is so nice, we would rather be outside. 

This week there are no photos to share with you.  The week was composed  mostly of sanding, sanding, and more sanding.  We also had family visitors from Vermont, so we took a break from the boat project for a few days.  We are finishing up some small projects and making a few more.  The new front hatch cover (the first one warped badly while it was being built) is essentially finished and looks good.  Now it needs to be attached.  The side window slides on the pilot house are on, and other little pieces are being completed.  It is important to do these kinds of projects to break the monotony of the sanding.  The good news is that the paint has arrived-the primer; two part off- white deck paint, and the two part varnish.  We only ordered.  part of the paint, so we can see if it is okay to work with.  Some two part paint is difficult to use.
Next posting I will include some more pictures of our progress.  In the meantime, it is more sanding and more sanding!  Anyone want to come help???

This week was a hard one.  We had a fiberglass screw up early in the week.  We also lost our dear friend and fellow boat lover-builder, Campbell Massey.  We had hoped he would make it long enough to take a ride in our new boat, but the cancer won.  We will miss him!

Our fiberglass mess was something everyone should pay attention to.  When you use two different products that have different mixing ratios, pay attention!  One product is a 3/1 mixing ration, and the other is 1/1.  Using the 3/1 instead of 1/1 will cause the fiberglass to not cure, leaving a sticky mess.  So, what we had to do was scrape it off, lift the cloth off, scrape some more, then wash with lacquer thinner and then wash again with a green scrub pad and water.  After it dried, we recoated it all with the correct product ratio.  What a lesson!  It was successful, though and only took two days.
We cut the holes for the side opening hatches.  We found used ones on our last trip to the coast and they are going to really be nice.  We are waiting for special hinges for the large front hatch.  We can't fit it until we know how the hinges fit.
Richard is now working on the two seats in the pilot house and the two cupboards in the cabin.  In between designing and building, he gets some sanding done, as it is a never ending task.  All in all, though, the boat is coming along nicely.  We got the two part epoxy enamel paint this week.  We want to see how it goes on before we buy all we need, because it is pretty expensive and may be hard to work with.  This paint will go on the front deck, and the pilot house roof, and maybe other places if we find it fairly easy to use.  This is an off white color.

This week we had several projects, the first being the side foot rails.  As usual, nothing goes as planned.  After steaming the board for the rail, it broke while we were screwing it down.  So, using an alternate method, the next rail pieces were laminated.  We broke one of these pieces, also.  Anyway, we finally got one side done and will get the other side soon.  Richard moved to the next project, which is the front hatch.  It is amazing how long it takes to build a hatch!  By the time it is done, it will include 23 pieces of wood.  All these pieces have to fit together like a puzzle.  Some of these pieces are only 2 or 3 inches long.  Needless to say, it is very time consuming.
In the next day or two we will be putting 10 oz fiberglass cloth on the roof of the pilot house.  This is way up there, so it will be critical to take care not to fall off while putting the resin on.  No falling off is allowed!
There is a tremendous amount of detail sanding right now-15 to 20 minutes at a minimum every day for a month or two.  Maybe a smaller boat would have been easier, but oh well!