10/6/03
We are back to boat building again. The trip to Cape Hatteras Island was interesting. Hurricane Isabel ravaged parts
of the island. They have a new inlet that is reported to be 30-60' deep and cuts the isalnd in half. There are plans to use
two barges to try and fill it in to get access to Hatteras Village. A lot of the markers in the Sound are missing.
Considering that most of the sound is less than 3' deep makes the markers very important. They were only letting property
owners on the Outer Banks the week we were there so there was not much pressure for a spot to fish. The dunes that keep the
ocean out of the sound were breached in several places and some of the ocean homes had 3-4' of sand under them. Winter made
a brief appearance last week and we are trying hard to get the cabin doors and windows installed to keep the heat in. We decided
that we are not going to make it to the water until next Spring so we are taking our time and doing all the extra details
that we were hoping to do if time allowed. The picture is of the cutout detail for the lock in the back door. Some interesting
joinery on this one. The doors and windows have 2 coats of epoxy and 2 coats of varnish to keep the water out.
10/14/03
We decide to take advantage of a few days off that Debbie had from school and take a trip around the Chesapeke Bay.
Soloman's Island, Annapolis, St. Michaels and then down to Norfolk/Portsmouth. And you wonder why it takes so long to build
a boat! I talked with several wooden boat owners about varnish and they seem to like Epifanes the best but claim that Z-Spar
is the eaisest to work with. I'm using Z-Spar and I'll let you know in a few years. The opinions about using epoxy under the
varnish are that if you keep it coated well it lasts a long time but if not and the epoxy gets any cracks in it then it's
a pain to get the hard epoxy sanded off to go back with new varnish.
We've been busy getting the last two window frames cut out and epoxied together and today they get some varnish. The
doors and front windows are on their 4th coat and hopefully they will go to the glass shop at the end of the week. I glued
up the Sampson Post last night and should get it sanded today. We are heading down to the Georgetown, South Carolina Wooden
Boat Show this weekend to look at the boats and meet up with Mark Van Abbema, our designer. He is on his way back south after
spending the summer in the Chesapeke Bay. I hope to get a chance to pick his brain about a lot of the details I have questions
about. The show is on Saturday, 18th only from 11:00 to 6:00 and is free as far as I know. I'll be the guy walking
around with the Mark V-39 t-shirt on.
10/19/03
Just back from the wooden boat show and had a wonderful time. Had a chance to spend some time with Mark talking about
his travels and boat stuff. The crowds loved his boat. I think he even sold a few sets of plans. Maybe we can get a few
more of these boats built and have a get together someday. Tom Lathrop was also there with his beautiful Blue Jacket
design. Very well put together with wonderful wood everywhere. He and his wife were gracious enough to let me take a peek
inside. Even Mark commented about the nice turn of speed with only a 50 hp Yamaha and four people aboard. There must have
been several thousand people in attendance and the weather was perfect. Georgetown has really done a great job with their
harbor walk and downtown since I was there 10 years ago.
I dropped the front window frames at the glass shop to have them install the laminated glass and order the lexan for
the rest of the windows. It' supposed to be nice weather this week so I should get the windows and doors hung, finally.......
10/22/03
The Lexan for the windows came in and all have been cut and put in the frames with the port side windows installed today.
The bronze tint adds a different character than I expected and should help keep out the summer heat. It looks darker than
I thought it would but I'll need to see it in the bright sun to get a real feel for what it will look like on the water.
10/26/03
Ather milestone!! We can actually lock up the boat now. That also means we can turn on the heater and work inside when
it gets cold. All the windows and doors are installed and the front glass matches the Lexan perfectly. I still need to put
the raised panels in the lower section of the front and back door. It's suprising how quiet it is with all the windows closed.
The trim strip on the edge of the roof was installed and we will have a drain to catch the rain water off the top of the cabin
if we want to fill the water tank for the head. We will also have a drain sewn into the canvas top that will cover the back
deck later on. A lot of cruising boats collect rain water to use, especially in the Bahamas where water is very expensive(fifty
cents per gallon). The house that we rented in the Abacos worked that way and the water was fine. A few more touches on the
outside and then it's time to get the inside finished. (The need to collect rain water proved unnecessary. 105 gallons in
the tanks lasts a long time).
