Been varnishing the companionway stairs this week. Amy and I managed to get 3 coats of varnish on before the rain made it a little too humid. Since these go inside the boat, we’ve been trying to be more careful about drips. Always seems to be one we have to sand out though. There must be a secret.
Been spending alot of time in SketchUp designing and redesigning parts to the boat. I sketched out my handrails and dorade boxes, but also designed a coffee mug rack and a flower pot holder around some pots Amy had picked up during the week.
Went through the scrap wood again and picked out some pieces we cut down for the mug rack and pot holder. Just had enough for both little projects. Went to Hop’s to cut (thanks) and then Amy and I took the pieces back to my place to route and assemble. Got the pot holder together, just needs to be plugged.
Sent a check to YachtSmiths for the Edson worm gear steering assembly. Will put it on in a month or so.
Amy and I finished sanding down the boarding ladders this week and they are ready to varnish. Didn’t get to varnish though cause we decided we need a little break from a rough week. So we went down to Corpus Christi for weekend. Got to visit the aquarium and the science and natural history museums which had replicas of the Nina (27 47 37N 97 23 26W), Pinta and Santa Maria (27 48 40N 97 23 41W). Look them up in Google Earth, I’ve listed their lat/lon. The replicas were built in Spain 20 years ago and sailed across the Atlantic to commerate the 500th anniversary of Columbus landing in the Americas. The ships are in really bad shape for being 20 years old and I found it a bit sad. We were told they were going to be restored soon, hope so.
So far no luck with Porter-Cable. Thanks for the tip Wendell, will have to try it. Here’s a link to Wendell’s page, http://homepage.mac.com/wendellgallagher/Helge/the_building_of_helge.htm. He’s building a Diesel Duck and has just finished his companionway staris. Love the brass step protectors….
Been spending time in SketchUp placing hatches and railing on the model. Also trying to lay out the rigging a bit.
The good news…
Amy and I made the second companionway ladder this week. This one is for the aft cabin and is a few inches shorter than the one we made last week. There is also a possibility that I will need to chop the height down a few inches so I left out the upper hand holds on purpose. Amy spent some time cleaning up the first ladder and it is almost ready to varnish.
The bad news…
All my Porter-Cable batteries have gone bad. I had bought 2 19.2 cordless drills, the cordless router, cordless skillsaw, cordless jigsaw for a total of 7 batteries. And as that I am in a storage shed without power, those batteries were my only source of power. I a little pissed off because 7 replacement batteries would cost $700 and I think that Porter-Cable quality tools should last longer, longer than a year. I’ve written a short note tonight to PC to inquire about it. Hopefully, they’ll replace these batteries.
The forward companionway ladder is assembled and glued. It looks great.
I had a little bit of drama trying to figure out the best way to route the rabbets for the steps, but figured out a little jig to get a nice tight fit. I also made a jig and routed some grooves in the steps so they would not be so slippery. Love the router.
Amy did her usual bit with the orbital sander and she plugged the screw holes. We just have to do some touchup sanding to get rid of some glue in the seams and the ladder will be ready to varnish. Next weekend.
Got to work the foredeck of a 32ft Flying Tiger today. First time I’ve hit 13knots in a monohull. Fun, fun. Thanks Rick and Dave for the ride.
