Chesapeake Bay Deadrise

 05 Aug 21:

Skipper and I were out for a ride today, checking out some local ramps and waterways and we came across this Chesapeake Bay Deadrise style boat, her name is ELLA. 

We are thrilled to be in an area where we will come across these boats in their natural habitat on a daily basis, vs just reading about them. Stand by for more info.

Mid Atlantic Sunfish Shack Build Update

 04 Aug 21:

Video update for the new Mid Atlantic Sunfish Shack: https://youtu.be/sDw82Xx1sss

The metal roof panels are 3 feet wide and 8 feet long, we sourced them from Lowes. For the 18 foot long sections we cut one panel to 4 feet long, attached it at the low point of the roof slope, then put an 8 foot panel over that with a one foot overlap, then another 8 foot panel with a one foot overlap. Rains sheds off easily with no leaks, as we found out today. 

Also put down 3 more rows of the 2x6 deck planking.

It seems to be a tradition that we start using a structure for its intended purpose before we even get it finished.

Log of the Sunfish Shack.

Sunfish Shack Rafters

03 Aug 21: 

Cut a detail on the rafter ends.

Set the cross beams for the rafters, then rafters started going up.

We'll use the roof panels to square up the rafters.

Starting to look like a boat yard.

Supervisor SMEDLEY.

Detailed design software was utilized....

Fine Furniture Dolly for ZIP

 02 Aug 21:

ZIP and WINNIE are going to hang out in the garage with ONKAHYE and SUPER SALLY until we get the new Carriage House built, and one easy way to store ZIP and save space is to flip her onto a furniture dolly from Lowes. With her flat plank side she rides stable.

She's hard to spot, but WINNIE is hiding sideways in front of SUPER SALLY.

Cord Wrapped Oarlocks

 02 Aug 21:

Wrapping an oarlock in Dacron cord is a quick and easy way to protect oars, and the cord helps protect interior boat finishes as well when the oarlock is being stored. Here are some vintage Wilcox and Crittenden oarlocks that we plan to use on scuppers.

Read more about cord wrapped oarlocks in the August issue of Small Boats Magazine.

Sunfish Shack Deck and Ramps

16 Jul 21:

Today we marked out the spacing for the Sunfish Shack 2x6 deck boards, then put down the 12 boards that we had in spots where we could roll a few dollies up and check the fit. We found that the Penobscot deadwood keel barely clears because the deck joists are sitting on pavers now vs being set in concrete, and we set the deck boards on top of larger 2x6 joists vs insetting them over 2x4 joists. Overall that raised the surface of the deck close to 3 inches over what it had been. Added to the increased deck height were some low spots in the yard, we added some topsoil at the base of the ramps to get the same drop all the way across the base. You might note in the photo that the ramps on the right side of the Shack have been shimmed up a bit with a 2x6 backer board set on another paver block, then we graded the ramp entry with more topsoil. A little more grading in the yard will be needed to eliminate some low spots and ensure that water flows away from the house and the Shack to an existing drainage ditch behind the line of bushes.  The last adjustment we made to ensure ST. JACQUES deadwood keel would clear the deck before the dolly wheels started up the ramp was to cut a small notch on the end of a temporary deck board, per Skipper's direction.

Why not make longer ramps with less slope? We wanted to use some sections of ramp that we brought with us from the Gulf Squadron Sunfish Shack, they were hurricane salvage and had played a role in the rescue of the Armada from the last Shack. They had become flotsam during the storm and we used them to pull boats and dollies up over a small stone wall in the front yard, so it felt wrong to just send them to the Remote Storage Facility (landfill) after we remediated the Shack in Florida. So they made the move out to the Mid Atlantic Squadron in one of the PODS containers, and with lumber prices up, turns out that's about $65 worth of lumber....maybe we should have moved the entire Shack :)

Log of the Sunfish Shacks.

Portable On Demand Storage (PODS) Departing!

13 Jul 21:

The last empty PODS container departed the Mid Atlantic Station today! We are 100 percent pleased with the PODS system, the only damage we had was self induced from lack of proper securing and shoring. PODS transport also reduced our time on the road in a UHaul and freed us up to do other tasks associated with the Homeport change. Plus the boats were safely stored for 1-5 months while we TETRISed the rest of our household goods. And we saved a cargo hold full of money, it cost us $1500 to ship just one boat from the NorthEast a few years back, let's see, multiply that times the 12 boats that didn't have trailers.....

Thanks PODS!

Sunfish Shack 6x6 Posts

13 Jul 21: 

We placed 6x6x8' posts today for the Sunfish Shack, they'll be strapped in with framing and eventually hot dip galvanized lag screws.

We also trailered home some more lumber for the deck. I think it was about this time that I realized my vision of framing a shingled gable roof was extreme, a lot of work and a lot of lumber and a lot of time 15 feet up in the air. So Skipper came out and saved me, she had rightfully assumed and furthermore asserted that we would be doing a simple sloped cover with metal roofing. Yay.

Pavers down and posts tacked in place.

Log of the Sunfish Shacks.

ONKAHYE's Floorboards v2.0

12 Jul 21: 

We saved our Drascombe Lugger ONKAHYE's old floorboards, Capn Jack had made v2.0 to replace the originals and they needed to be replaced a few years ago, Skipper now wants to repurpose them into some wall art for inside our home. We pressure washed them today in prep for a light sanding and varnish.

Wash.

Rinse.

Dry.

Now where or where did I last see that bag of Gleam varnish...it's in the garage somewhere...behind the Lugger I think...

Log of ONKAHYE.

Sunfish Shack Deck

12 Jul 21:

We framed the floating deck using techniques our friend Paul taught us years ago, leveled some spots and blocked the pressure treated wood on concrete pavers. First we went to our local builder supply and picked up some 2x6x16 pressure treated lumber, rated for ground contact.

We learned that "you can't keep water out but you can keep it in," from our Marine Carpenter friend Keith, so we made sure there are no low spots under the deck and that water drains from this area of the yard. 

Made it about this far before I ran out of materials and the Heat Index chased me inside.

Log of the Sunfish Shacks.