Started the bottom work. Filleted the sides of the keel with thickened epoxy. Planed off the undersides of the rubrails. Will have to fill the gaps under them with thickened epoxy, sand and varnish or paint. Also put another coat of varnish on the new hatch cover for Cal and also the icebox top.
Another coat of spar varnish on the spars (boom, mast, bowsprit), boom gallows, tiller, Tabernacle, rubrails, the icebox cover from the Cal 28 m, hatchcover I made for the Cal 28.
Working on the Cal 28 hatch cover I am making. Also put another coat of minwax helmsman spar varnish on the rubrails, tabernacle, bowsprit, bo om gallows, tiller, mast, boom, and inside the Cal 28 hatch cover.
Put helmsman Minwax spar varnish on the spars. I think it’s much better than the Woodshield by Home Hardware, though the same price at $30 a quart. Also made a hatch cover for the forward hatch on the Cal 28.
The gluing worked well on the boom. Cut it to 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 with the table saw. Planed it down to 2 1/4 x 2 1/4. Cut it to 142” long. Trimmed the last 15” down to 1 1/2”. That makes a nice tapered end on the aft end. Then routered over the edges Then wood is still wet so going to let it dry out for a week before varnishing. That was the last construction piece for the pocketship. Now to flip her and Fiberglas the bottom.
Milled up the 2 hemlock rough 2 x 4 that I bought from Ridge Cedar for the boom. Had to plane it and then rip on table saw to two pieces of 1 7/8 x 2 1/2. Glued it up with thickened epoxy. Also made a box for the new Furuno radar display for My Dream, the Cal 27.
Put the first coat of spar varnish on the mast. Coat # 4 on the boom gallows. Coat # 1 on the tiller. Coat #2 of Solignum super white on the companionway cover.
Put a coat of epoxy on the the last two sides of the mast. Took forever to scrape and sand off the thickened epoxy that I put on to fill in any of the gaps and screw holes. Then sanded and put another coat of Solnigum super white on the hatch cover and hood.
Have the mast rounded over with router and sanded ready for one coat of epoxy and probably at least 5 coats of varnish. Same for tiller. Only the boom left!! Except of course the flip over, fibreglass, sanding and painting of the bottom.
Decided to put her outside and blow the stink off. I put the parts on to see what she looks like. So who’s up for a boat flipping party so I can fibreglass the bottom?
Well that was the hardest job I’ve done since I started this pocketship. I milled up the blocks for the base and top of the mast and then spread unthickened epoxy on the inside of all four staves. Made up thickened epoxy and coated the mating surfaces. I used 20+ clamps and probably 30 or more screws. We shall see. :)
One coat of super white Solignum on the cockpit today. That’s one coat everywhere above the rubrails. Also put another coat of varnish on the tabernacle, bowsprit, boom gallows, and rudder.