Project Mississippi #2

Since our last post things are moving right along with the Solvi build! As of now we have about 4 weeks until we drive away towing our new boat behind us. In my last post you saw that we had just epoxied the outside of the hull. Since then we have turned the boat over, added bulk heads, started on the benches, and made lots of headway with the interior and rigging set up.

As I write Kyle is working on getting the mast step in place and epoxying that to the hull. It has been a lot of work-Kyle works 10 hours a day 6 days a week and I help when I can in between my jobs and getting things ready for our 9 months off.

Flipping the boat over was an exciting day filled with laughter and giddiness. We both felt that it made the whole thing seem much more real. Kyle and I carefully lifted the boat over the forms and walked it out of the boat house onto the grass. Even though it was just an empty hull that needed lots of sanding, I just couldn’t help myself but jump inside.

Kyle spent the days after the flip grinding, sanding, and prepping the inside of the boat for the bulk heads. Sanding and grinding definitely aren’t his favorite, but they sure do produce results! Once the hull was smooth it was time for more epoxy and fiberglass.

Sanding and Grinding

Applying Epoxy

Laying Fiberglass

Last weekend we spent the whole day Saturday putting in bulkheads. It was a lot more work than I was expecting and took quite some time.

First Kyle had to prep the area for the bulkheads and practice fitting them into place. Once they were all fit and had their place, we began to use a mixture of saw dust and epoxy that Kyle calls “dooky shmutz” in honor of Nick Schade. We took turns applying the goop to the area where the bulkheads meet the hull of the boat. Once all the bulkheads were held in place with the goop in big fillets, Kyle went around and added strips of fiberglass in order to bind the bulkheads to the hull strongly. We felt pretty accomplished after the bulkheads were put into place as now the boat was structurally very strong. I made the mistake of being barefoot during this whole process.. it has been almost a week and my feet are just barely coming clean- oops!