July 1

Canada Day was quiet for me with a large contingent of sailors in from Sodis Bay filling the transient berths. The weather was a little too cool for me to hang around outside so I caught the Formula 1 from France and hung out with firends.

It was a little like proper Trawler Feast last night as over a dozen trawlers arrived from Oswego at the same time. There were 2 1971 Grand Banks, a 33 and a 42 along with a Mink 36 and I think anotherGrandBankss 50, with a scattering of far east glass.

It does not take long when such a gathering occurs for the saved bottle to come out for a good gam as one plans the next days adventure. Whatever the case it is interesting to be out in the middle of the Transient folk as I get to meet a lot more people and see a lot more groovy boats.

Faydra a custom 37' steel cutter seriously rigged for offshore has now moved back to her ball leaving me alone to represent heavy metal on D Dock.

Rufus has staked his claim to the beach and the leafy shade shore beside the dock. Smart cat as even on the hottest day it is pleasant in the shade with as much breeze as there is cooled by the lake.

Monday, July 02

[For more on the repair of the Cedar Skiff go here]

Generally, I have worked forward from the stern repairing planks and frames as I go with lots of sanding in between. Unfortunately, I continue to find more “questionable” planks with cracks that now concern me. I started out to epoxy the blocks in place with 21 blocks, then it became 23, and have now decided that I do not dare take a chance on NOT backing the smaller cracks which will be another 6 blocks & 6 hours. Once we launch the boat any epoxy repairs will be far less effective than on this super dried wood so the time to do it is now.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

The Fien detail sander seen here is a critical part of the project.

Now that I am half way done with the backing blocks and clamping the old girl I am far less optimistic regarding the time frame as I just logged another 50 hours in the past 2 weeks and still have the front half to do, let alone putting the boat together and painting it.

I have the stern half of the final backing blocks epoxied in place, and will move to the forward part of the skiff tomorrow. If I progress at the current rate of roughly 1 set of frames per day, and depending on what I do with the cracks mentioned below I should have the bottom repairs completed by early next week. At that time I will move up to the shear and seat areas.

Project milestone: aft portion of repairs completed.

[For more on the repair of the Cedar Skiff go here]

I finished the planned backing blocks and sisters on the aft half of the Cedar Skiff. This compleat 95% of the repairs to the inside aft section of the skiff. Interlux says pre coat with epoxy, so be it. THe next step in preparation is two coats of Interlux Epoxy Primercoat with a recommended sand out to 120 - 180 grit.

The forcast is for scattered showers and the humidity is creeping up today so I approach lay up with caution.

Moving forward of the seat....

The forcast is for scattered showers and the humidity is creeping up today so I approach lay up with caution. This image shows todays backing blocks located below the middle seat and the two planned blocks ahead of the seat. Notice the tape marking the secondary cracks that I have become concerned about.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Marine Forecast issued for Lake Ontario. Issued: 10.30 AM EDT Wednesday 4 July 2007 for the period ending at 10.30 AM Thursday with an outlook for the following 24 hours. Forecast: Wind south 10 knots increasing to south 15 to 20 near noon then diminishing to southeast 10 late this evening. Scattered showers ending late this afternoon then chance of a shower. Waves less than 1 metre. Outlook..Light southeasterlies backing to southwesterlies.

By evening the rain has moved in accompanied by low clouds and a generaly wet world better suited to ducks.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

The fog is hanging over the bay with a light mist of rain falling as we start another rainy day. I will be careful of the humidity as I put in the next backing blocks on the skiff as the humidity is getting high enough I may need some heat to dry the shop out.

Friday, July 6, 2007

The day arrived with much more promise than yesterday. The sun is trying to poke its head out and the humidity is down. I stopped at the Blue Moose for breakfast and found it surprisingly quiet considering Rochester Yacht Club was in. The good news is they had better weather than last year and they always enjoy themselves.

Cedar Skiff: Friday, July 6, 2007

I have the forward half of the interior pre-coated and the humidity is holding off nicely which makes me happy. It looks like there is going to be good weather on the weekend so I plan to put the first coat of Interlux Epoxy Primercoat down Saturday AM when conditions are forecast to be good.

Unfortunately, the finish cost is directly linked to the time spent sanding and fairing. If you analyze the time sheet you will probably find that putting in backing blocks & sisters, with required sisters averages out to something like 2.5 hours per frame section with an average of 2.5 blocks & .3 sisters per section. I consider that pretty decent going as that includes: prep., milling, cutting& shaping block, clamping & gluing in place (lots of fun), and then a sand out to 120 grit. If I to go back again and do another fairing with block sand out will probably add at least an hour per section which is what 8 10 hours?

Please don't ever get me wrong I am more than happy to do it as the more you prep the better the finished product will look.

Marine Forecast issued for Eastern Lake Ontario. Issued: 1:37 PM EDT Friday 6 July 2007 for the period ending at 10.30 AM Saturday with an outlook for the following 24 hours. Forecast: ..Small craft thunderstorm advisory in effect.. Wind west 10 knots increasing to northwest 15 this afternoon then becoming light and variable late this evening. Isolated showers and thunderstorms becoming scattered this afternoon and ending this evening then fair. Mist and fog patches developing this evening. Waves less than 1 metre. Higher winds and waves near thunderstorms. Outlook..Light and variable increasing to moderate westerlies.