Andrew Wright
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I guess it has been a little while since I have posted anything. I was busy with some other things. Namely this….
But now I am back at it and planning on getting the boat in the water this weekend.
I picked up some paint for the interior.
And also some gripping compound to use as an additive on the flat areas of the boat.
Tonight I painted the first coat on the vertical surfaces (sans gripping compound). The floor area and decks are still unpainted because I will add the compound before painting these areas.
I also picked up the motor from the shop today. I am going to hold off on the exterior paint until we get some time on the water. Basically all that is left to do before the maiden voyage is finish painting the interior and pick up a gas tank and fuel line. I think some carp are calling my name this weekend.
As a follow up, Zach just called and said the bulletin board portion of the site should be unaffected. You can continue to use this area as normal. The rest of the areas are the ones to be avoided until he can get back into town and fix the problem. He said he would post to let everyone know when he gets everything back up and running correctly.
I honestly think it will work, but I do see your point. It is definitely worth a second look and a little more research before I put it on the boat. Thanks for the input. I’ll let you know what I find out.
Carter,
The platform that I am planning on mounting is really nothing more than a four legged casting platform that you have probably seen on larger flats skiffs. The anchor and turnbuckle are just to hold it in place. The legs provide the actual support. I don’t expect it to be any more than 18″ high.A couple new pieces showed up this afternoon.
Gheenoe sent me the new decals, which look good. I was pretty impressed that they showed up in one week, because you have to send your order through the mail rather than ordering online. Apparently I overpaid as well, because they sent me back 30 cents in a zip-loc bag. I love dealing with honest people.
The other item I received in the mail today is actually a really cool piece of hardware. The tie down system for the future poling platform has been a big source of discussion since this project began. Everything that we looked into mounting on the rear deck seemed to be pretty obtrusive and in the way. After quite a bit of frustration, I stumbled across the Kennedy Tie Down system which is incredibly simple and functions perfectly for this application. It is nothing more than a flat plate that is screwed in almost flush to the deck, with an eye ring that screws in and out so that it can be out of the way when it isn’t in use.
Here is what it looks like screwed into the base:
I thought it was pretty cool anyways….
Keith,
For me, these glasses would fall more into the category of a want instead of a need. If you have a decent pair of polarized amber lenses, then you really don’t need anything else. There are plenty of other lens options out there that would maybe give you a little better edge in certain situations, but at that point you just have to weigh the cost against the added benefit. If you are considering a new pair, I would just try them on and see what you think.I will warn you though; I wouldn’t try them on unless you are prepared to spend some money.
Your illustrious host..
Ever since since this whole Swine Flu thing started, he has been walking around wearing that stupid mask. It came in handy for the boat sanding though.
If you are talking to me…..
My dusty camera is still in the shop, and I still have not figured out how to post pictures without taking up at least one hour of my time. I will post tomorrow.
Seriously Zach, you should know by now that I am not as techno-savvy as you.
Agreed. Not fun at all. I think Zach and I both realized tonight that this is where the project becomes tedious.
Grant,
What size Maverick was it? Those are sweet boats. Did you catch anything? If so, we need photos.I am still making slow steady progress with this thing. You guys just let me know if you get sick of this stuff.
I have to say the credit goes to Zach for this evening’s subject matter. He came up with the majority of the design for the braces that we worked on tonight. Having glassed in the decks this weekend, these were the only fiberglass work left to do. These things have been pretty difficult to deal with since we started, but when everything is done, they will certainly be one of the talking points of the boat.
I started out by taping them off and filling in the voids with foam.
I don’t know how many of you have ever worked with this stuff, but it just keeps growing and growing…..
It successfully filled the voids, but left me with a little bit of mess to clean up…
Once again Zach gets the credit for reminding me about wire cutters. I made this out of fly tying wire and a couple of screws. Last time I used one of these was in sculpture class in high school. They are great for cutting clay, and turned out to be just the ticket for cutting foam as well.
The result….
After a little detail work, we were ready to glass.
The finished product…
On another note, the shop called me today and said the motor was ready and running like a top. Once this thing gets sanded and painted it should be ready to get out on the water and do what it was intended to do. As luck would have it though, I have to head out of town this weekend, and the following weekend I will be fishing in the Keys. I guess the maiden voyage will have to wait a little longer…..
Vieques is another small island right next to Culebra that is definitely worth checking out. There is a guide there named Greg McKee that I believe is a member of this board. We opted not to fish with a guide because we were trying to do the trip on the cheap, but we did speak with him and he is a super nice guy. I also know others who have fished with him and say nothing but good things. I would highly recommend that you check out Vieques and give Greg a call. You won’t be disappointed. We had a blast, and caught a ton of fish in a VERY out of the way place. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any questions.
Zach,
One step ahead my friend. I ordered 2 of those this morning and the specs say to just lay a bead of caulk around the opening and drop the cup holders in. All we need to do is drill out the openings. They should show up sometime this week.Regarding the paint, the specs do call for primer. But the paint itself has some texture that gives it the no-skid properties.
I am thinking about painting the inside with Interlux non-skid boat deck paint. Have any of you guys had any experience with this stuff? Any feedback would be appreciated. From what I can tell, it is pretty well suited for this type of application.
Hopefully I can paint it sometime this week after I get a little bit more of the detail work done and get it sanded.
