On my last post you saw that we had flipped the boat, installed the bulkheads, and Kyle was working on getting the mast step installed. He successfully installed the mast step and it went quite well. He designed it a bit differently than one would expect as rather than coming straight down from the mast into the keel, it curves. This makes it so that our storage locker has more room.
After getting the mast step and support beams all installed we installed the foredeck which was very exciting as it made the boat seem much more complete. Then came the benches, the seat backs, the hatch covers, and all the other fine little details in order to make the boat both sea worthy and attractive. All the panels which are shown in the photo below had to be sanded, epoxied, and then glassed over. It took quite some time but they came out looking shiny and beautiful.
Once all the panels and parts were installed on the boat, next came the sanding. Lots and lots of sanding in order to prepare the boat for bottom paint and varnish. I probably spent 5-10 hours a day sanding for 5 days straight. The dust from sanding the fiberglass makes me so itchy and definitely caused some discomfort. I was so very excited when I cleaned that damn sander off for the last time and put it back on its shelf. I’d like to say that’s the last time I have to hold that vibrating, dust creating, exhausting machine, but unfortunately when it comes to the boat life, that won’t be happening. But for now I will enjoy my time away from it!
Skipper and Flipper 