More on this and that.

As i stated in the last post i was going to build some boat stands. These are mostly to be for display, but with the boat right side up in them its stable enough to work on the interior.

I built them from a design that i found at school. the only thing i changed was the addition of the NRS Straps so that the length of the slings are adjustable.

 They look great, i cant wait to finish this project off, put the boat in them and drink a beer.

While the stands were going together i was dreading the inevitable, sanding and fairing the hull for the fiberglass cloth that will finish it off. This is where the design starts to pay off. In order to make the hull shape really stable on its side the angle of the chines were designed to allow the boat to stay stable even when nearly upset.

Even on its first chine she sits quite hapily.

I finally got the cover set for the bilge pump and system compartment. You can see the drain holes in the back corners of the seat as well as the slit at the bottom to allow water to flow into the pump to be removed from the foot well.

All this sanding leads to the inevitable application of low density faring compound. Another couple of sand and fair cycles and i should be ready to sheath the hull.

I need to start to think of the pattern of cloth i want to lay down. How many layers, how much tape, and where to apply. I guess i'll think about that tomorrow while i sand some more.

Cheers!

Another F%$*ing Move.

As i sat fuming from the knowledge that Lea and i would be moving again (the owner of our house was/is moving back to Port Townsend) i realized that we have moved ten times in eight years. I really needed to get out of the house and not think about it, sailing seemed like a good idea.

Gina, Asa, and i headed out on Gina's boat Nutmeg. The wind wasn't great and the sky wasn't exactly clear but some boat time and beer drinking really helped me forget about the impending move...

 See i'm not thinking about moving at all.

Fast forward a few days and tada i'm going boating, well i'm hauling boats... It was good to see the car all set up and ready to head to the river. Unfortunately it was just loaded up for the move.  

It did lead to this super odd realization. The IRH is in fact car top-able. I designed it to fit into a pickup truck but it sure went on top of the Escape easily, it is nice to have a friend to help get it up there. Also there is enough room to put two kayaks up there with it, so its got that going for it.

Here's Chris and i heading out, the last time the IRH will see its birth place, from sketch book to solid reality. Oh well everyone and everything's got to move on.

 See you later Beckett Point.

In the end the new Shoperage is much more spacious than the last, its going to be a great place to finish her her up.

Now that i have the inter-webs set up again, I'll be back to keeping you up to date on the goings on in the new shop. Up next boat stands.

Powell Boats hit the water! AKA, a big post.

All right here we go...

The end of this project really began with me crawling into the front hatch of thing two to trim off the excess cotton that was pushed out when the corking was pounded into the seams. Because the seams had opened up so much there was a lot of spill out not only cotton but also splines. So into the hatch with a chisel and razor.

I was really supervised that i fit in the forward compartment, and aside from being a little hot was quite comfortable. I really don't think riding in here during the expedition would be fun, mostly really, really, claustrophobic.

After the inner trimming thoughts turned to the question... How are we going to ship theses boats to Arizona. More to the point, what are we going to ship them on. So we built them some serious shipping cradles. We won't need them for a month or so but they were easier to build before we flipped the boats back over.

With the boats up and getting ready to go we got the last little details put together.

Next out of retirement came the trailer i hauled Florence from Tennessee with to pull the boats to the beach.

We placed the boats on the beach and then it became a waiting game, oh tide when will you rise?

It was fairly uneventful, as you can see Florence is hanging out in the background to help her older/younger sisters into the water.

 Turns out that Flo got to really help buy tying the stern lines to the pier. the tide was really pushing them around.

With them secure the third expedition member was helped into the water.

Some pleasantrys were exchanged then the boats were off their ties and taken to the dock

 Ok, here is a bunch of pics of boats floating around....

 Finally her's a short film clip.

The Powell boats have been one of the most fun projects i have ever worked on, i cant wait to see how they do on the river!

In the meantime.... It may be a while until my next post. Going to be moving into town. Have a great couple of weeks everyone!