We Had a Flippin' Party!

One of the big milestones in building a Pocketship is when the boat is first flipped over to do the bottom work.  To do this requires friends.  Pocketships can become so consuming that friends could be a little hard to cultivate, but fortunately for me I still have a few.  Great friends that like boats in fact.  These are the captains and crew of Stoopid Monkey a J-29, and great boat flippers they are!

Lots of beer and Cheetos later the Pocketship was doing a great impression of "The Poseidon Adventure ".

Before the flip there was the rub rail project because with out the rub rails there would be nothing to grab onto for the flip.  Rub rails are pretty much a week long project.  Each rail consist of three pieces  and one has to be epoxied in place one at a time.   Before the next piece can be installed the epoxy must cure.  During the curing times I was able to work on a few other projects...rudder, center board, and the bow sprit.

The flippin' boat crew.

Hot rags!

I found the best way to bend the last section of rub rail towards the bow where the radius decreases requires a bit of persuasion in the form of hot rags.  I put the rags in the bottom of a bucket and poured boiling water on top of the rags.  They would not stay hot real long but long enough to easily make the bend.

One of the projects during the rub rail installation.

Built the rudder while the epoxy cured.  The tiller was the first thing I built.  It was done before the kit arrived.

Another "stay busy" project.

The center board has been close to being finished for quite some time.  It has been sitting in the corner with the two halves glued together but not shaped and no fiberglass.  It was a fun item to have to work on waiting on the rub rails.

Hole for bow sprit.

Cutting the hole in the bow for the bow sprit was a bit unnerving.  I prefer to sneak up on the fit...it is still a bit too tight.  I used a section of the cutoff from the bow sprit stock for fitting to get the size just right.

Cut off from the bowsprit being useful.

The shop sure looks different now.

Everything looked good on the bottom of the boat.  It had been a long time since I had seen the keel.

Bottom side of the rub rails.

Each strip of the rub rails gets progressively shorter.  On top each strip is situated flush with each other.  On the bottom it becomes stair stepped.  This is so the underside has a nice taper.  When the boat is upside down it is the best time to shape the underside of the rail.  I used a belt sander.   My belt sander is really loud and puts out a lot of dust. 

After the belt sanding.

Fairing compound to the rescue.

I found a slight dip on both sides right at the finger joints.  Jamestown Distributors fairing compound is an excellent product.  It can be used on wood or fiberglass.  I prefer to get it on the wood and cover it with fiberglass.  I also use it on my fillets.  It has a good working time but still can be sanded after a few hours.

Festool is nice!

Before I started this project I invested in some Festool product.  I know the stuff cost 3 times as much as anything else on the market but I have been extremely happy with their products.  Yes I am turning into a fanboy.

Takes a lot of glass.

After the wet out.

...and below...or is that above?

Extra protection.

The boat will be used in this year's Texas 200 (hopefully).  The 200 requires several nights of overnight camping and beaching of the boat.  I have four layers of fiberglass from the bow all the way to the front of the keel.  Hope it is enough to keep from grinding through to the wood from the abrasion of a sandy beach.

Finished off at the keel.

This is the last major part of fiberglass left on the project.  I think after all of the epoxy application I am finally getting pretty good at it...well good enough.

Done...almost.

My paint comes in today.  A bit more touch up on the sanding and I'll start taping off for paint.  After the paint I'll have another "flippin' party"!