April 5th, 2006 - Wednesday

Last week I visited Karen in DC so I didn't do any work.  By the time I had gotten back, the paint had fully dried.  Mary-Ellen, Karen's cousin had also moved in with us.  She helped me run to home depot to get some lumber for the base of the boat and then helped me turn it over.   The boat turned out to be a little heavier than I thought it would be, but we managed to turn it over in the garage with just the two of us.  After building the base frame, we pulled the boat to the center of the garage, turned it up against the wall, shimmied it away from the wall, and then slid it down the side of the wall onto it's bottom.  From there, we put it on it's newly constructed frame, disassembled the original support frame, and I hand planed down the edges of the planking.  The work w/ the plane turned out to be very difficult because the fiberglass in the hull (which is now making my arms all itchy) kept dulling down the plane blades very quickly.  Anyway, it's done now.  In the next few days, I'll coat the entire inside with epoxy to waterproof the entire hull.  This will keep the boat from rotting away from the inside. 

Picture 1 - This is the frame that will support the boat after it is turned over.  Picture 2 is the boat on this frame after being righted.  Picture 3 is of Mary-Ellen.  Picture 4 is the interior of the boat after being righted with the support structure still inside.  Picture 5 is the interior without the support structure.  Picture 6 shows the planking that needed to be planed down.  Picture 7 is me in the boat after finishing for the night.