Tuesday, April 22

Cut from 90 degree copper fittings that come with solder in that "bump," these two pieces make perfectly-sized bushings for the 7/8 inch motor mounting tube inside the schedule 40 PVC we have 'glassed through the hull. We thought two straight connectors of the same fitting-type would be meet our needs, but when Grant went to buy them at the Home Depot (where Howard bought the 90's), he was told those type of fittings are no longer carried. Rats! (They didn't work all that well for their intended purpose, anyway. So Home Depot made probably made the right decision.)

Look at the epoxy dust sanded from the strut supporting the motor-mount tube.

Grant put a coat of stain on the gunwales, then started to built a "fixed" rudder to 1) plug the motor-mounting tube if the motor is not being used and 2) make the boat "track" better than without the rudder. The rudder post will have a pinned, removable cap to keep the rudder in place. The rudder blade will be 'glassed to the PVC and faired with wood. Back to the drawing board for this idea, now that we don't know if the bushings will stay in the tube -- or on the motor's shaft.

Wednesday, April 23

Grant faired the 'glas supporting the thru-hull motor mounting tube and put a coat of paint on the boat's interior.

Friday, April 25
Yesterday and today, Grant stained the "bottom" of the gunwales and put a coat of varnish on them. He also asked Don to weld a little tab on the inside of the hole in the aluminum tiller "crank." This will make it much easier to "find" a small hole we'll drill and use to "pin" the crank to the motor mounting tube:

Grant went to Wal-Mart and bought two wooden paddles for about $10 each. We'll scarph them together as a "kayak paddle." That's a lot cheaper than the "Bending Branches" model we left at the lake last year. (We'll probably buy another BB paddle at the "You Can Paddle Day" on May 10. They'll be "on sale.")

Because the source of our copper bushings (pictured above) seems to have dried up, Grant and Don tried to drill some Schedule 40 PVC fittings to bush the 7/8 inch motor mounting shaft. It ain't easy.

Grant made some sketches of the seat/battery box and wiring we'll be making soon.

Saturday, April 26

Larry and Zac put two layers of 2 inch tape and epoxy resin on the keel.

Zac made and installed the two PVC lifing handles.

Grant scarphed and, with Zac's help, glued the two Wal-Mart paddles together. The resulting "kayak" paddle measures 95 inches overall.

"The book" says to make 'em 84 inches to 90 inches, but we can always cut some out of it. Paddle stretchers are hard to come by any more.
   

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