"Not all those who wander are lost."

J R R Tolkien

HOME...................................................EMAIL: joel.delorme@btopenworld.com............................................. MY WEBSITE

16 September 2014

Reflections...

Now and again, when I feel things aren't progressing, I remind myself that not long ago, the boat looked like that:

An empty shelter
Now, it looks like this:
There is a boat in there
 

 There are times where proper boat joints are the easiest to make and use. Reminds me I am after all a proper boat builder!

 

 
 
 
We are now mid September. The weather will  soon be too cold for the epoxy to work as it should. That means that I won't be able to fibreglass the cabin top as I had planned. The shelter I use has been up nearly two years and was not designed to stay up that long in all weather. It is now leaking quite a lot when it rains. Therefore, I am now planning to  use aluminium sheets to cover the top of the cabin. I have made a couple of samples, one being a piece of aluminium glued to a piece of 1/2" ply with gorilla glue.  It does not look like its going to move. So I think this is what I am going to do.
 
Unusual covering for a boat of course, but I can see many advantages. Pretty bombproof weather wise. No more expensive than glass fibre and epoxy. I can use gorilla glue down to 4 degrees so that gives me an extended building period. There will no need for painting. Not now or at any time. Aluminum is very corrosion resistant. I know aluminium and wood expand and contract at different rates, But our summers never get that hot anyway, and a good part of this roof will be covered with solar panels in any case.
 
Sample aluminium border. The batten underneath will still need glass to protect it.
 
I'd like to introduce my constant boat building companion, best apprentice! and best friend. This is Jack our English Bull Terrier. Full of patience, particularly if I have biscuits in my pocket!

3 comments:

  1. ...great to see the progress, Joel and to learn you are obviously well! I have been a bit sloppy with commenting and mailing, my apologies. Also all the best from Drui, and keep up the good work!

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  2. Hello Joel! Although I haven't been around much, I do still pop in from time to time to check your progress. I'm glad to see that it's coming together. The cold certainly puts a damper on things but take heart in the fact that it could be worse! Tonight it's -34C here, and that's not counting the windchill. And we have a long way to go until spring with colder days to come.
    Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and to wish you and your family all the best over the holidays and hope the new year will be better yet.

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