Let there be Light! And other things too!

Things keep moving along down here at Shop 61...  The summer weather has finally arrived.  The shop stays cool most of the morning, but by the time afternoon rolls around, you can really feel the heat- especially when you climb the steps up onto the boat.  It must be at least a 5 degree difference in temperature from the shop floor to the cabintop.  Hopefully we can be out of the shop before 100 degree days start to become more frequent.   

Cody finished building the deadwood.  As you might imagine, a solid block of wood 12 feet long, about 18 inches tall, and 12 inches thick at the fat end is quite heavy.  To get it off the table, we winched off the ceiling, and lowered it onto a set of caster wheels.  Then it was pretty easy to roll it around the boat to where the keel is sitting.  

We wanted to check how the two fitted together- and the shaping is pretty much perfect! As you can see, the tail of the keel is a little bit short.  We'll melt down the lead scraps we've got lying around and build the tail up so it's the same thickness as the rest of the keel.  

We're planning to jack the boat up a little higher in the next few days, so we can fit the deadwood underneath.  We'll epoxy and fiberglass the deadwood to the hull, and then the real fun begins....  Moving the lead keel beneath the boat.  And drilling holes for several enormous bronze bolts- which will hold the whole thing together.  

The cabinet I built in the head!  I just finished painting today, I'll have to post some pictures next time.  

We hired some help from the east coast to install our electrical system.  

Cody and his Dad had the boat wired in a day and a half-  pretty amazing!  We now have dome lights above the table and in the head, reading lights in all the bunks and above the "settee"  (the nautical term for couch, which I find obnoxious, but use anyway...)  We also have some lights mounted under the side decks to illuminate the countertops in the galley.  The VHF radio has power, but no antenna, so we can't talk to anyone yet.

Cody also has the stove up and running!  We could almost live onboard!  

We also got the decks caulked with Pat and Lorrie's help.  Lorrie and I sanded all the gaps while the boys were working inside the boat.  Then we taped all the planks, and caulked the seams.   It was a messy, gooey, sticky job, but I think it was worth it!  I think the decks look pretty awesome.  Very "shippy" and traditional.  

After we had squeezed all the hard labor possible out of the in-laws, we drove them home to Star Valley, Wyoming.  They are just home from a 5 month stint cruising on the East Coast, and they couldn't have picked a better time to come home!  Star Valley is in it's prime!  Everything is green and growing.   The weather was ideal- chilly in the mornings, (20 degrees!)  but warm and sunny during the day.    

Cody and Pat performed major surgery on my car-  a timing belt replacement-  while Lorrie and I worked in the yard, cooked up a storm, and worked on some knitting projects.  It was a nice little trip.  

Now we're back in Salt Lake, hard at it once again.  The yacht club is putting on Sailfest this coming weekend, and we're planning to compete in the cardboard boat race.  If you're in SLC, come out on Saturday morning to spectate!  

 My good friend Kitty is coming to visit soon, and my tomato plant has one tomato!  

Life is good!