Author: The Slow Boat Builder

Having removed the surplus bulkhead pieces and “filleted” the joints, the next stage is to finish the inside surface of the hull. This is done now because it would be difficult, if not impossible, once the various compartments have been created by fitting berth and seat tops. The start of this stage is sanding to… Continue reading Sanding – First Pass

Removing the lifting frame was definitely a three man job. Happily I managed to get some help today and hey presto – no lifting frame. I have lots of room around the boat to prepare wood and, even better, fewer beams to hit my head on while working on the inside. The main objective of… Continue reading Lifting Frame Removed

I have started inside the boat. The initial work doesn’t look much. Here are 3 photographs for you to spot the difference (and Henry moving doesn’t count): The bulkheads provided the shape for the strip planking and some parts of the bulkheads only had that purpose. These sections, 6 in all, could now be removed.… Continue reading Finally inside

With the boat right way up and just about where I want it, it was time to construct a cradle. The cradle needs to allow the lead keel to be pushed under and lifted up and bolted into place (when I source it), so I couldn’t have cross pieces. I decided another time laps video… Continue reading Building the Cradle

Fear and trepidation, anxiety and worry. I think perfectly normal feelings when you have been working on a boat for “X” years and it is time to unscrew from the building frame, lift and turn her over – 600+ Kg of wood and resin. And today was the day! To reduce the risk, I called… Continue reading Turnover Day

International paints recommend sanding with 320-400 grit sandpaper before applying the final coat. So here she is (now looking like a boat so must be a “she”) sanded down, masked up and ready. I switched to a foam roller for the final coat. The rollers I used on coats 1 and 2, despite being good… Continue reading Final coat

Time to see what the selected colour looks like. We chose Night Blue – Perfection Pro Topcoat of course. It turned out a little lighter than we expected, but I am not complaining. As per the undercoat, applied by roller. The first three pictures below are after the first coat. The paint went on without… Continue reading Topcoat

Having added another two coats of undercoat, I had to mark the progress with a post. The pictures don’t look any different to those taken with only one coat, but it really has happened – honest!

I can’t put it off any longer. It is time to start painting. My trepidation is about whether the finish is good enough. It is so hard to tell with the patchy colour of the resin, but running my hand over the surface, it feels like it is smooth. The edge of Coppercoat provides a… Continue reading First Coat of Paint

It seems a little strange to think about antifouling already, but it is a lot better to apply Coppercoat while the boat is upside down than attempting to do it crawling underneath and being dripped on. So, this stage is about Coppercoating! Coppercoat is interesting stuff. All boats kept in the water need antifouling and… Continue reading Antifouling Already?