There's a hole in the boat, dear Cody, dear Cody.....

In the past few weeks we've tackled another big job on the boat.  Beth and I drilled out the deadwood and the lead keel for the keel bolts that will hold the 4000 lbs of ballast to the bottom of our mighty craft.  I will say that Beth and I both underestimated the amount of hassle this would be.  We started off by drilling through the 2 foot thick deadwood.  To do this we used a 16" auger bit, then switched to a regular paddle bit with two 12" extensions.  As you can imagine it is hard to start drilling a hole on one side and have it come out at the right spot on the other...

Double extensions, and it still barely made it.

So...the second hole we drilled went by really fast, in fact we only used the auger bit, mostly because we missed the deadwood and drilled out the side of the boat! 

It sounds worse than it is, Beth had it patched up a few days later.

I am to blame for the hole in the hull.  I for some reason thought that the centerline of the boat was not where it actually was and when I marked out where it was both holes were shifted to one side.  The first one ended up closer to center than we wanted and one of course came out the side.

We also managed to get the boottop stripe on before we left for a short trip to Bainbridge Island.

After running the entire way from the train station to the ferry we ended up being the last people on the boat.  Pretty lucky!

Beth's sister Amy plays "ULTIMATE! Frisbee" and we went to Seattle to watch her team play in a tournament. 

Beth says:

Most of the players from Amy's team came over for a barbecue after the tournament.  We had some great food, and a fun party, complete with crashers.  They brought pie, at least.  

We took a family hike out on the Olympic Peninsula.  It was a beautiful day.  

Grace was PSYCHED. 

We hiked out to a clearing with a small shelter, and had a picnic on the sunny river bank.  

We were on the east side of the Olympics, in the rain shadow.  It's really open beneath the canopy, with very little undergrowth.  The moss was beautiful, and a perfect spot for a break.  

It was nice to get away from the project for a bit, and good to see family.  

We did manage to visit a couple boat consignment shops, and found some good deals, and parts that are hard to find in Utah.  

When we headed home, we were refreshed and ready to get back to work.

Just a couple days ago I drilled out the holes in the lead keel.  Something I forgot to mention is how we are going to get the holes in the deadwood and the holes in the lead to line up.  What we did was to have the lead keel under the deadwood when we drilled it out so when we pushed through the wood the drill bit lightly drilled into the lead marking exactly where the hole should go.  

Looking at the bottom of the keel, you can see the hole is drilled through the 11" of lead and then countersunk so that when we put a nut and washer on they will be flush with the bottom.  The drilling was done with the auger bit and very powerful drill, it went though it almost as easily as the wood.

The keel upside down in the shop, I used a floor jack to roll it over, and you can see the drill with the 2 foot long pipe handle I used for the holes.

I've been hard at work on upholstering the boat recently.  I should be done by the end of the week!  

We're looking forward to the launch party...  It feels like it's coming up!  We'll be sure to let you all know the details as soon as we do.  

Oooh. So shiny.

Well.  There went another three weeks!  They just flew by-  but late summer always does that.  Unless you're in Squamish, BC.  And you get to eat your fill of blackberries and long, moderate trad routes on perfect granite....  sigh.  So crunchy and delicious.

Anyway-  The Salt Lake City heat- while it is abating, has been getting to my brain.  So instead of blogging, I put my head down and work.  And we've accomplished so much in the last few weeks!  I didn't really realize it until I looked at our last post.

So-  First things first I guess.

The Keel Is Underneath The Boat!!!  Whee!  

Cody welded an axle for two big wheels we found at the NPS store.  It's sort of an industrial garage sale kind of place-  they've got all sorts of random stuff.  We wanted to be sure they would be strong enough to carry a fair amount of weight, so we called the manufacturer.  Apparently, they're good for 5300 pounds each at 11mph.  Since I don't think we'll ever do more than 11 feet per hour,  they'll do.  We jacked the keel up, situated the wheels under the balance point, and with another wooden axle under the tail end, we were able to push around our 4000 pound keel!  

I can now understand how glad the Cavemen must have been when they discovered the wheel.  Pretty crazy that less than 300 pounds of human can move 4000 pounds of solid metal without any powered assistance.  Makes you appreciate the power of simple machines.  

To fit the keel beneath the deadwood, we had to lift the boat up another 14 or so inches.  It's surprisingly easy to lift the boat-  the jack stands that support it have handles that turn to elevate or lower the pads that hold the boat, and Cody and I just turn them in unison.

Now the boat is really tall.  I am standing in this photo, between the rafters, looking down on Cody.  When I work on deck, I hobble around like the Hunchback of Notre Dame.  We completed most of the work up there before we lifted the boat, but a few things remain up there.  

We took a break from work to visit Cody's family in Star Valley.  His Aunt Becky, Uncle Jim and cousin Sarah, her husband and two sons came to visit.  Jim and Becky live in Lacey, Washington, and had come to see us when we lived on Bainbridge.  It was so nice to see them again!  

Cody's sister Afton came up to join the fun from Colorado.   It was a full house!   

We all missed Cody's brother Dylan, who is still working up in Northern British Columbia, training sled dogs.  

We had great Wyoming summer weather-  cool and crisp at night, (down even to the mid thirties!) and warm and sunny during the days.  We swam in the pond, went hiking, messed around on horses...  

Sweet Capone.  He was so nice to me. 

Afton and Junior.  

I had so much fun in Star Valley that I stayed a few extra days.  Cody went back to Salt Lake on Monday, to get some more work in at The Mine, the new bouldering gym in Park City.  Afton wanted to come see the boat and hang out with us a bit in Salt Lake, so she gave me a ride back.  

We had a nice visit with Afton here in Salt Lake, as we always do.  She helped out on the boat, we went to some movies, (Oh my gosh-  The Great Gatsby!  SO FANTASTIC!), we ate ice cream.  It was fun.  I love her.  

 We said goodbye to Afton, and then said hello again!  She had to turn around about 15 minutes out of town because her "check engine" light started blinking angrily at her.  Cody helped her replace the spark plugs and wires and that solved the problem.  After we said goodbye for the second time, it was back to work.   

Since Cody's got a paying job these days, I've been doing full time at the shop by myself.  Things run a little differently when it's just me.  

To do lists are throughly doodled upon.  

I am enjoying the work- it's so satisfying!  I've installed the windows and their waterproof gaskets, fitted out a cutting board holder,  I've sanded and painted and epoxied.  It's nice to be more involved in the process, to make plans and carry them out.  To finish things!

We're at the stage where lots of surfaces are getting their finishing touches.  The cabin roof is nearly done, the cabin-sides and windows are done,  the deck is nearly complete, the interior is looking liveable...  The exterior...  Well, we'll get to that in a minute.  

I work hard when I'm at the shop by myself.  There's nothing else to do!  

But when Cody's there, I usually go hang out in the nice, quiet, dark aft cabin and play games on his new smart phone.    

Lately, the most exciting thing we've done is PAINT!  

We've now got three coats of beautiful, glossy paint on the topsides.  

We use a method called "rolling and tipping" which gets us that super smooth finish.  Cody rolls on the paint, and I follow him with a brush, brushing perpendicular to the roller marks.  The brush pops the bubbles left by the roller, and smoothes out any drips.  

We're off to the Seattle area at the end of this week for a visit with the Allens.  All three sisters will be home at once- and it's not even Christmas!  I'm looking forward to some pickleball, great food and quality time together.  And we may scour some secondhand boating shops while we're there....  

Until next time...