Something constructive to talk about!

I wanted to say thank you all for helping me reach 1000 page views.  I know, there is no real reason to have that as a goal, but what makes me excited is that people are following what I am doing!  Thank you all for continuing to view my blog!!!

Okay, so, earlier in the week I ordered and picked up my sheet of marine plywood for the bulkhead.  I was hopeful to get more done today than I did, but isn't that always the case.  What I did get accomplished was some new construction.  I talked a while back about my Tacoma pickup that I got.  I found it to be very useful today.  Who needs sawhorses when you have the rails of the pickup bed to support your work on?  I have also found that the tailgate makes a very useful work bench.  The verdict on the truck is this:  it was ABSOLUTELY the right choice for where I am in my life!

As you can see, it took many attempts to fit the bulkhead into the space, but that is okay, because I was actually able to put it in place as one solid piece.  I was worried that I would have to cut it into two pieces to make it fit, because this could have compromised some of the strength of the bulkhead, but also could have made a nice, ugly seam across it that would be visible to anyone entering the boat.

I had made a template for the bulkhead, and that was my starting point for how big to cut the piece.  I second guessed myself on the template though, and cut the bulkhead bigger than what was traced from the template.  This translated into many more fitting attempts.  In the end, it was a relatively straight forward process of fitting, trimming, fitting, trimming, fitting, etc.  My dear friend Jeff asked me yesterday if I was interested in doing historical boat restorations, and after today, I am certain that I DO NOT have the patience for that kind of work on a regular basis.  For "small" projects such as this, I can manage.

I even took the time to drill and through-bolt the bulkhead to the cabin top, as the original bulkhead was.  As you can see, the cover piece for the nuts was also added to the backside of the bulkhead.  The plan for today was to fiberglass the bulkhead into place, but unfortunately I ran out of warm temps and daylight.  I will be back bright and early to get started on the glassing project since it is supposed to be 50+ degrees tomorrow.  While I love winter and am upset that winter in Maine in the last few winters has been disappointing, I am very greatful to global warming for allowing me to fiberglass in January without the use of indoor spaces or heaters.

As a side note, as I was leaving, I tightened the stand that was under the bulkhead.  I had loosened it because the pressure from the stand was causing the hull to flex inward, and I did not want the bulkhead to be permanently skewed inward.  When I tightened it with the bulkhead only wedged into place, the hull did not flex.  This is a good thing for two reasons.  1) Flexing of fiberglass causes it to crack and break, allowing water to penetrate.  2) A hull that keeps its shape in the water (aka- the hull does not flex) is going to be faster in the water than one that has a poorly supported and therefore flexible hull.  No, this boat is not going to ever be a real performer or a racer, but having a very structurally sound and stiff hull is important regardless.