Thursday, March 30, 2017

Boat Update IV

I'm currently working on the coaming top, half round wood to protect the plywood. I totally underestimated this, it was really hard to bend this half inch piece of wood into the half round shape. Have lots of sanding and filling to do. A better and faster result was creating the anchor locker. I was so pleased when I actually made the hatch and it fitted perfectly. First I made the frame that covers the anchor locker deck frame and then made a piece of plywood to fit exactly into that frame, no small feat for an amateur like me. But I was cheering when it came out so nice. :)

















I am already thinking about some kind of boat tent or cover for spending the night or protection from rain. I need to hold some cloth around the cockpit. And I would need some small hooks on the outside of the coaming to hold bungee cord that holds the cloth down. I couldn't find any of this sort of hardware anywhere. The closest I found were these small plastic J-hooks that are fitted on kayaks. So I decided to make my own out of aluminium. And then it got me thinking, what else can I make out of aluminium? So I made a deck vent, I don't really need one, but they look cool. I hammered a wooden pole into a sheet of aluminium and bent the edges in a vise. Drilled holes, sanded it and polished it. Looks like the real deal with a sort of homemade quality to it.

Soon I'll be starting to think about paint.