First SHIPment!

 I got a call from the trucking yesterday.  The guy named Ralph told me they had a shipment for me and had tried to call earlier because they could not find my house.  I checked my phone messages and found that and sure enough they had called...SIX days earlier!  Not sure what my shipment was doing the last 6 days..oh well, I don't have anything yet to glue together.

The shipment was from the MAS epoxy guys from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Six boxes. The stuff that will hold everything together.

The guy shows up with a 45 foot trailer on the back of his semi.  No, I don't think he is going to be able to back up a 1/4 mile down my narrow twisty driveway.  He parked it on the highway and I backed up my pickup to his back door and we unloaded it with no problem.  Well, no problem,  except for the traffic we stopped when he turned around.  Not sure what is going to happen when the plywood and timber are delivered but the driver told me to request a "pup".  I am guessing that is a tailer that is not 45 feet in length.  Pup it is.

• 10 gallons of MAS marine epoxy resin
• 4 gallons of MAS slow hardener
• 1 gallon of MAS fast hardener
• 25 pounds of epoxy thickeners

A friend says I have enough to glue Beirut back together.

Two weeks for the next shipment and the real boat construction begins.

I Started the Boat!

The kit will be shipped sometime in the late this month but that has not stopped me from starting without it.  I don't really count collecting lead wheel weights for the keel ballast as "starting to build the boat",  but today I actually did some woodwork.  On PocketShip.net I found dimensions for the tiller.  I laminated some mahogany and maple 1/8" X  1 1/2" strips in an MDF mold alternating the wood colors for a snazzy tiller.  It is a bit oversized and will be cut down considerably.  The suggestion on the forum was for the tiller to be 3/4" in width but that seemed a bit on the narrow side to me.  Even the boat designer built a second one that was a bit beefier.

Checked the bend of the strips in a dry fit.

The picture shows a dry fit (no epoxy) to be sure the strips would not crack.  All went well and I proceeded with the epoxy.  It was a bit messy so I didn't get my phone out to take a picture, but you get the idea.

Evened out the sides on the jointer.

I used the jointer to even out the sides.  One of the sides was a bit out of square due to the sides not being parallel.  A quick run through the planer with the bad side up and all was right with the world.

Cut down on the bandsaw closer to finished dimensions.

Having nothing to size it off of, the end of the tiller that goes through the transom and connects to the rudder will be left uncut until I have it built.  I'll shape the handle end for something to do while I wait for the arrival of the kit.  For now I can walk around with my tiller and tell people, "look I started a boat!"

I Got a Date!

Chesapeake Light Craft has set a date for the PocketShip kit to be shipped!  The last week of July if all goes well,  the stack of timber and plywood will loaded on a truck and headed to Texas.

Today I continued with shop organization, bought new respirator filters for my mask and a couple of 8 foot long fold up tables.  The tables have plastic tops and with little wax they should be easy to remove epoxy drips.  An added bonus is that with the fourth of July near Sam's Club had the tables on sale.  WOO woo winner!

Tire weights have been a fruitless quest until I found a little independent shop that would part with them.  The guy I bought the Michelins from recently was too afraid of the EPA to give or sell me any.  Seems some where down the line people started chewing on the Pb and got sick so we all need to suffer...or something like that.

Running out of  preparation tasks, I will start with laminating some mahogany and maple to start on a tiller.  I found some dimensions on the internet to get started.  I'll leave it oversized because, well, you can't believe everything you read on the internet.  At least it will be a start.

Yesterday I received the manual from CLC.  I read the whole thing last night.  It's good reading, a real page turner!  Combine the manual with all the blogs PocketShip building blogs I have read I'm really getting a sense of what I have gotten myself into.  It looks fun.

The countdown to the end of this month begins.  Tonight I get to sail again at the Wednesday night races on the bay.  I will play photographer and ballast.

Plenty to Do...

There are still 3 or 4 weeks until my kit arrives.  This will give the chance to focus on the organization and cleaning of the shop...er....shipyard and button up a couple of ongoing projects.  The cleaning and organization is a huge job.  I have been a bit messy and disorganized for too many years.  This should occupy 3 weeks nicely.

One important factor, well maybe the most important factors at this point is, "will the boat fit in my shop AND be able to be removed from the premises when completed?"

The answer to both of these is yes!  Not only yes but with a lot of room to spare after a bit of moving of machines and work benches.  The shop is air-conditioned and insulated.  It never has been cold enough in the winter to turn the heat on.   Epoxy will kick in the dead of winter in standard epoxy time without artificial heat.

Another task that I have found that can be a bit of a challenge is finding enough lead ballast for the keel and centerboard.  If I understand correctly from the bloggers (my manual is due in sometime this week) I need 150 pounds of lead.  So far I have found about 20 pounds laying around the shop.  Turns out car wheel weights are a popular source.  I just bought a set of Michelins, hope the guy remembers me.

If I run out of things to do in the wait for the kit I did see the dimensions on of the tiller.  I could laminate some wood and knock that out before the kit arrives...or build the cabinet my wife wants.

The Start

After seeing the PocketShip in the Chesapeake Light Craft catalogue when it first appeared around 2008, it has always been in the back of my mind to someday build one.  Lately I have been pouring over the numerous blogs on the building processes and stories.  The consensus has been from the blog authors is, beautifully written instructions, acurate plans, great support from CLC and a joy to sail.

My background comes from a sailing family.  Before I was born my parents won the International Highlander Championship in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.  My dad built sailboats, race cars, airplanes (model and full size) and anything else that moved. I spent many hours learning building technics from him.

I grew up sailing as a kid and spent my summers "inside the rocks" sailing my family's Sunfish on the Corpus Christi Bay.  I was not allowed to sail alone until I weighed 80 pounds.  Since then I have blown past the 80 pound barrier quite proficiently.  It has been many years since I have sailed. Recently I went for a sailboat ride at the local Wednesday night races (see photo).  I forgot how exhilarating sailing is.  I live on the Texas coast and need to take advantage of my surroundings...the water!

Photo I took aboard "Stupid Monkey".

I have built a couple of kayaks and learned a lot about fiberglass, epoxy and mostly about tedious sanding in their construction.  I found I liked building them more than paddling them, but sailing is much different from paddling. Time to build a Sailboat.

On June 23, 2014, the eve on my wife's birthday, my kit order for my PocketShip has been placed  and confirmed.  It is official, I am building a sailboat!

It will be about 4 weeks until my kit arrives so in the mean time shop clean up, organization, unfinished project completion and did I mention shop clean up will give me plenty to do.