Sanding the hull is boring.
The last report had us looking at the preparation of the hull.
Well I’m here to tell you it’s a mind-numbing process. The layers of Everdure have been put onto the hull and the primer laid on. At the same time the little dents and holes show up and the filler is laid on thick. This then has to be sanded back and those applying the thickener pay no regard to the mob that have to take it off again.
Out comes the wet and dry and slowly but surely the dents and swales in the hull are smoothed over, only to be reminded that no one will be looking at the hull anyway. It will be in the water. Oh bother! But the innate pride of workmanship comes to the fore and the hull is rubbed to a gleaming finish in preparation for the first layers of undercoat.
The discussion on the hull colour continues with a choice being made and we won’t tell you what’s going on, just yet.
How to move the hull off the mould has become the major topic, with the realization that we can’t fit two hulls in the shed. Finish the first, get it out of the shed and then concentrate on the next boat. How we do that, has had people measuring boat widths and heights under the roller door and various emergency measures if required. The major call is between using mechanical means and man handling the boat off the mould.
However we are having a bit of fun with the undercoats as they take time to dry and plans to rub down the hull the next day simply get knocked on the head as the paint is still soft.
Patience is called for. Fortunately there is always other work to do, routing the gunwales, preparing the rudders, scarfing timber and general preparation for the next phase of work.
At the same time, a visit to the bosuns shed by the Amateur Boat Builders Association of Western Australia, ABBA for short on Sunday the 6th of November was an added fillip to the build and the afternoon was a wonderful show for the regulars. Many thanks to Lorraine who brought along some very tasty bacon puffs.
As ever, visitors are welcome to come down and see what’s happening and if you call at coffee time, there’s always a brew spare.
Rick Steuart
