Not just paint, but Names

Today was a super-productive day on the boat with the help of my pal Leighton. He volunteered to go up the mast, rather than winching my overweight butt up there to re-lead some lines.





Here's a few photos of the lettering on the boat, during late afternoon sun on the river.




It's so pretty down here in the late sun shining on the mountains and the river.

DONE PAINTING!

It feels pretty good to be able to say that. The cabin is now painted (though I will admit a bit of black paint is going onto the windows to hide the caulking but that can come later...

It looks very nice up close. All shiny and white and glossy.

I've also started interior painting. This chart table has just a coat of primer but it's better than all black carbon fiter.

So, in the future, if we say we plan to paint the boat, slap us. Seriously, you have our permission. Painting a 40' catamaran is not easy. We started off with the goal of glossy beauty and have reduced our expectations to a work-boat finish.

I can hear you snorting. I know, you've painted your living room, maybe a bathroom. "How hard can a boat be?" You ask. Well - boats are all curvy, and they have crap all over them, and you can only paint them when the weather is good, and if its not to windy. And even then bugs have a tendency to hurl themselves at the wet paint, and big boats go by just as you hit the tricky bits.
It's hard I say with a long whinge - really hard.

Stripes stripes STRIPES....

We're getting our groove on baby!

You want to stop boat owners in their tracks as they walk past your boat? Just get some tape and some paint and get started.



We've chosen some tasteful yet subtle colours for the graphics:



Evan's question to Diane: "Di did you get a shot of the whole boat with the painted stripes?" "I think so" Evan: "You sure?" We get home and check the camera - no #%^#*& shot of the whole boat. We'll have them up in a day or so, weather permitting (so we can get a second coat of paint on the stripes).

The bows are all better, the new crossbeam will be installed soon and the primer and first coat of paint are on the hull.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Well, the boat is back on the hard. I (Diane) am finding what time I can to join Ev in the fun - for some weird reason I really like boat yards. The goal this weekend had been to prep the hull for painting. There really is an awful lot of more pressing things that the boat needs before it gets a trick paint job - but with the storm damage needing repair it seemed like as good a time as any to spruce the old girl up.

For those of you who are playing along at home - you'll know that we are not afraid of a little colour. So, despite Ev's hope that it would never have to actually happen, I'm going to be beautifying the boat, colouring in Ceilydh, giving the yacht a little yowza... You get the drift... He overruled the leaping dolphins with flames shooting out their mouths - but we will be going with a variation of the paint job we came up with a while back.

This weekend we removed all the illiterate vinyl signage from the boat. We are Dos Cerveza no more... After using copious amounts of chemical and deft technique to remove the tenacious snot like residue (who knew my parenting skills would be called into practice during hull prep?) we started to sand. And sand. And sand. 40 feet x 2 hulls is big. It's sort of like 80 feet.

Once we finished sanding we went and picked blueberries. Evan whinged a bit and said it wasn't quite the right activity to follow-up sanding with. But hey, it's blueberry season.

Hauled out - 3rd time lucky....

After 2 aborted attempts at motoring up the river to Shelter Island to haul out, we finally made it on Sunday, with thanks to 2 guys in a little powerboat who towed us the last 2 miles. Lots of engine troubles with water in the fuel and perhaps an air leak.

While in the boatyard we're going to be painting the topsides, bottom and putting in some new thru hulls (for watermaker, galley salt water, relocating a galley sink drain, replacing a head outlet valve which has seized up). Somebody else is going to do the repair to the fwd. crossbeam.

Progress Pictures:

Due to popular demand (o.k. some friends naggging us...) here are few more photos.

Back cabin door. It's a dutch door so you can open the top part when it's raining or rough and still keep good ventilation. The little 4" overhang over it keeps the rain out nicely. It will look nicer when all painted.



Main saloon table. About 6' x 3' or so. Room for 6 people to sit around it for dinner I suppose. The table legs are ex-windsurfer carbon fiber masts. Very nice und stiff. 1" thick carbon/nomex honeycomb core with 1/32" thick maple veneer laminated to top surface.



This is an example of "Evan gets carried away with himself" or "carbon fiber boat porn". Here I could have bolted on a nice off-the-shelf turning block for the genoa sheet. Not me, no way. Would have taken like 1/2 hour probably.

First I buy this very trick sheave from Harken (a sheave for you landlubbers is like a pulley, without the side plates). Super good deal, high load capacity, Torlon roller bearings etc. but no side plates.

Again I could have done these side plates in aluminum. But no, first I laminate the lower side plate in carbon fiber, molded in place to match the curved solid fiberglass mounting pad. Then pop it off the mounting pad, trim it to shape, and re-glue to mounting pad.

Then make up a foam wedge that has the same profile as the sheave, cover it all in mylar tape, laminate the top side plate in carbon. Let it cure, pop it off, trim it, glue it back in place.

That's where we are today, drilling holes through this fitting for my original sheave. I probably have 3 hours or so into each one of these (1 port and 1 stbd.). Sometimes I'm too clever for my own good.

Galley countertop and nice shiny double s.s. sink... (box of fasteners on top of the stove)

Today that side had the galley counter added, a very nice shiny double sink installed too. Also I buggered up a piece of formica, so I have to buy another sheet (and hope that I can find the matching type!)

Galley - Starboard Side













Today was "demolish the starboard side of the galley day". I bashed my finger so I'm typing very slowly..





















Lots of fun photos.... all this was done today. The "foggy" picture is airborne dust after grinding. And yes mom, I wear my mask!

Test fitting the stove. Very snug fit.

Chart Table / Writing Desk

Is nearly complete except for a few lifting openings...

The jig saw is to give you a bit of scale. About 6' wide x 30" deep.
To the left will be a bench seat, on the right side, room for a desk chair. There is a fair bit of overhang that is hard to see in the photo. The upright black thing is a bookshelf in progress.

The GV10 is my design that is for sale at www.bateau.com. I've designed a number of stitch and glue boats for that site, and the owner Jacques has done many more. Check it out sometime.

The outside seams are done; another 3-1/2 hours. Total time is 14-3/4 hours. The temperatures in my friend's garage are rather cold - epoxy put on one night is still quite sticky the next night.

Galley Progress

The galley is coming along very nicely. The port side is the more challenging; the counter has an angled bend at the fwd. end, and the fridge had to be built in, and chart table above.

The fridge was built using an old refrigerator liner and insulated all around with 6" of extruded polystyrene. (The pink stuff). Polyurethane foam has a better R value (about 20% better) but over time it absorbs water from condensation very easily and loses insulative value.

In the picture the lockers above the counter will have hinged doors, the ones immediately below will be sliding plexiglass ones, and the lowest ones are open veggie bin lockers (like for potatoes and onions).