Crunch Time

A WHOLE lot has gone on since my last post. I have worked on the boat for the past three weekends (except one day--the day the hurricane came through). Also worked on it just about every week night too. Here are the things I have done since last post:
1) Faired the entire topside, including fine filling filling small lows and digs as well as pin holing.
2) Faired underneath gunnels where the rods will be stored (this part was miserable due to working in tight place).
3) Cut out deck holes for the read hatches to go, and cut out center console hatch hole.
4) Cut out front deck hatch, and built a ledge for it so it will lie flush with the deck. Borrowed my friend Scott Lindsay's router to make a trough around the lip so water won't go in the bilge.
5) Cut out access holes in the bulkheads so I can get to the below deck areas where different items will be mounted.
5) Put in reinforcing substrate material under the front deck so the deck will be able to support the weight of the trolling motor.
6) Built up strakes - they waved a little bit, so I used west systems 403 which has a little glass in it to even them out. I basically took a 2x4 and cut out the shape of the strake all the way across one end of it using the table saw at a 45 degree angle. Then I lined that cut out with plastic wrap, packed it with West 403, and then turned it over on top of the strake. This way, it cured in the shape of the strake. Once cured, I sanded it down, and then faired again using Interlux WaterTite.
7) Faired the spray rail using US composites fairing compound and epoxy.
8) Faired center console. It isn't perfect, and the reflection will walk a little on the sides, but it is close. Plus it will have things like speakers mounted on the sides, so hopefully that will cover some imperfections.
9) Made mount on floor using divinycell where center console will mount.
10) Primed topside of the boat, and sanded down to be ready for slick coat.
11) Ordered the rest of the hardware I need for the boat. All I have left is the spray rail, poling platform, and seat cushion that Tommy from Salters Marine is going to make. Plus the wiring materials that Luke Donat will need.

Here are some pictures of the progress:

This is the fore deck taped off and ready to be cut out.

Fore deck after cutting out the hatch. I made it large enough so the fuel tank can be easily removed.

A load of fairing work, but she is finally ready for prime coat.

Robert, the friendly ghost.

Topside primed and sanded.

Boat flipped over thanks to the help of Kyle Hines, Juan Echevery, Robert (my helper) and the other Robert, my neighbor.

Robert and I getting the strakes lined up.

Got the Logo Done

Had a guy here in Wilmington, Derek Schmidt (DesignLoud.com) do the logo. He did exactly what I described, and was really patient with all my edits. Really reasonable rates too. The logo is the silhouette of a fiddler crab (a food item preferred by redfish) .

First Float

Robert and I have been absolutely busting tail working on the boat. Having it back in the garage has been wonderful--can work on it every time I get an hour free. I've worked on it every night for between 2 and 6 hour blocks.

Took Kendell with me, an we floated the boat at Mallard Bay, and it sits just right. The chines come up out of the water about 3/4 of the way up so that's going to result in a little hull slap, but I am okay with trading that for a better ride than I had on the old Pathfinder.

Back to fairing.

1 Step Forward, 18 Steps Back

Got it all primed on the topside, and it looks slick in a picture. Problem is that it there is still another round of fairing to be done. So I have since gone back and started filling, and now it looks rough again with blue streaks of fairing compound all over it. Soon enough I will seal it all up though.

And it continues...

Topside Fairing

Flipped the boat right side up and started fairing. I used a fairing compound I got from US composites along with the US Composites epoxy. This epoxy is actually really good for fairing because it is already kind of thick.

I mixed it up and poured it over the various sections of the boat. Once it cures I just sand it down with the polisher with 36 grit, and then move on down to about 80 grit at the end. It sands pretty easy, and spreads nicely over the glass, filling the weave.

I got Robert to help me sand it, and this day was tough for both of us. It was a lot of work, and a lot of glass particles down the shorts and all over.

Carp Fishing

I took my dad along with me to go after carp on the fly rod. I thought it would be a good way to get him into fly fishing--to catch a few 5 lb fish on the fly rod. It wasn't easy though. In fact, it was quite challenging. We were sight casting to them in about 2 feet of water with little bead head nyphs and wooly boogers. You had to drop the fly right on the fish's head to trigger a strike. We went ona  lake near Gastonia with Capt. Paul Rose: http://www.carolinabonefishing.com/

Primer Coat

The hull has now been sprayed with Interlux Primer paint. It looks damn good, but needs a touch more fairing before the final coat can go on. Robert and I got it pretty fair over the past couple of weeks so that is really going to save on time and material as I move forward. Here she is: