by Paul | Sep 20, 2019 | Boat Building, Building Projects, Fabrication
More progress this week! This is the third episode of the 18’ sailboat build and is all about building main frames. It’s the main frames that are rigidly installed on the strongback that give the boat hull it’s shape. As such, extra time and care must go into making...
by Paul | Sep 14, 2019 | Boat Building, Fabrication, Farm & Homestead
Moving forward! This is the second episode of the 18’ sailboat build and begins with completion of the strongback. Then, the measurements and lines are put down on a sheet of ¾” (18mm) plywood for the transom and forward watertight, collision bulkhead. The watertight...
by Paul | Sep 6, 2019 | Boat Building, Fabrication
Finally! The time to begin building has arrived and it seems as though it has been a long time coming! This is the first episode of the 18’ sailboat build and begins with the construction of the strongback. This is necessary to assure a symmetrical boat hull with fair...
by Paul | Aug 27, 2019 | Boat Building, Building Projects, Farm & Homestead
The tarp I ordered for my temporary boat building shop finally arrived, but not without a couple of SNAFU’s. I ordered a 10 mil, 12’ x 20’ white tarp, and it was marked as a “Prime” item on Amazon. I ordered it on the 19th of August, and it arrived today, August 26th...
by Paul | Aug 24, 2019 | Boat Building, Building Projects, Farm & Homestead
Setting up my portable boat shop! I need some sort of shelter from the elements to start building my new sailboat, and there just won’t be enough room in my shop any time soon. So, I’ve resurrected an old 10’ x 20’ temporary shelter frame and ordered a new tarp to...
by Paul | Aug 16, 2019 | Boat Building, Farm & Homestead, Sailing & Cruising
I came across this Alcort Sunfish in the local FB Marketplace today, advertised for free! It was located a couple of towns away and I contacted the owners as soon as I discovered it. The boat was still available, so I jumped in the truck and went right on over to pick...
by Paul | Aug 15, 2019 | Boat Building, Building Projects, Farm & Homestead
My shop is so packed full of stuff, I also used the back of my 1-ton diesel pick-up (plow truck) to store even more stuff. I decided to tackle the truck today in order to remove the drywall cart and use it in the shop for my plywood. In doing so, I was quite pleased...
by Paul | Aug 14, 2019 | Boat Building, Farm & Homestead
It’s been a long, arduous week of cleaning, sorting, and pitching stuff out of my shop, and it looks like I’ve hardly made a dent for my efforts! I’m ready to start building my sailboat, but I must square away the shop and get it ready first. I’d really prefer to...
by Paul | Aug 9, 2019 | Tools & Equipment, Wood Turning
My old wood lathe has done well by me over the years but it’s too small and lacks many features I would now like to have for future projects. Simply put, I’ve outgrown my lathe and need a bigger one with more bells and whistles! This is a Reliant DD70 Midi lathe (made...
by Paul | Aug 2, 2019 | Building Projects, Fabrication, Furniture Designs, Tools & Equipment
My wife is in need of a “production bench” to suit her needs for assembling her felt bird and critter kits she sells on her web site: https://www.downeastthunderfarm.com and the bench had to be at a comfortable height for her, plus it had to offer storage for...
