FlaMike's Pirogue Build!

[FlaMike]

Now that I've had some sleep, I'm pretty much OK with giving the epoxy a couple of days, minimum, before getting the boat on the water. (For real, this time.)

What I'd been doing the last couple of days was to come home about 8 am and work on the boat until 11 to 11:30, get maybe 4 1/2 hours of sleep, then go in for my 12 hour overnight shift. Today would have been my 3rd such day in a row, but this time, I took the long way home and picked up a sack full of "throw-away" paint brushes, a neat little cooler for the boat, and some other stuff. Got home, laid everything out to get started on the boat, and then sat down on the bed to eat a snack & watch a recorded fishing show, before going out to the garage and getting busy.

And that's the last thing I remember before waking up at 5 pm, with a piece of BBQ chicken stuck to my butt!

Man, I needed that sleep! :lol:

When I first woke up, I was a little miffed about "losing" a day's work on the boat, but then I remembered what I'd thought about doing some time ago. Normally, I don't have a problem switching from a night orientation to a day one, for my days off. But I'd been complaining about working in that garage in the Florida heat. (Like working in oven!) I kept saying that I should just remain on a night schedule and work on the boat during the cool of the night.

Much easier on the old bod, no sweating off gallons of water and no having to re-set the internal clock, either.

Well, that's what I doing now. So I haven't lost a day's work time on the boat, after all. I just had a good "night's" sleep and and I'm ready to go out there and get back to it. I don't go back to the "paying job" until Friday night, so I have until then to get things finished up. Then I do my 3 nights at the hospital, let the epoxy cure, avoid becoming a patient in my own hospital, and when I'm off again, the boat can go in the water with no concerns about it being too soon for the epoxy.

I'm betting that I'll be a lot more productive staying on my night orientation with no pressure to "get 'er done," and no heat-induced exhaustion.

All in all, I'd say, "Life is GOOD!"

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[oldsparkey]

Ain't shift work fun , I had the same problem , days then evenings and the dreaded mids then back to days and so on and so on....... We rotated three on one off........ back then.

I really got hooked on the Dunking Dough-nuts coffee. :roll: Then we would always have court on the days off or when we were on evenings or mids , all day at court and back to work , never on day shift.

Never put in for vacation , that was guaranteed to call up court duty ( testifying) for what ever time you wanted off.

Chuck.

 

[bearridge]

never had any "shifts"
never drew a guviment check :wink:

 

[FlaMike]

For now, I'm pretty darned happy with my current situation. I put in 12 hours, 7 pm to 7am, every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Then my time is all mine, the rest of the week.

I offered to cover that shift, one that they'd likely never be able to hire someone to work, in exchange for not having to be "on call." That deal has worked out very well for me, and for the boss.

This way, it's more like having a part-time job, but with full-time pay and "bennies."

I figure after 17+ years at this place, I'd earned that much. They saw it the same way (much to my surprise!)

Nope, wouldn't trade it for anything. Well, maybe for 6 good numbers in the Florida Lottery. :lol:

It is great to love what you do for a living, and being able to maximize your time off at the same time. For once, I didn't have to make some sort of compromise to get what I wanted. 8)

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[hairymick]

Ain't shift work fun , I had the same problem , days then evenings and the dreaded mids then back to days and so on and so on....... We rotated three on one off........ back then.

I really got hooked on the Dunking Dough-nuts coffee. Then we would always have court on the days off or when we were on evenings or mids , all day at court and back to work , never on day shift.

Never put in for vacation , that was guaranteed to call up court duty ( testifying) for what ever time you wanted off.

Chuck.

I hear you brother.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Chuck said the w@#k word!!! (Musta eaten his gritz before he wrote that.)

Mike - DEADLINES SMEDLINES "We don't need no stinkin' schedule!"

Actually, it sounds like you are striking a nice balance. Don't forget the wife in those equations. She's going to want some time too.

 

[cctyer]

Thanks for calling him out Jack. I was gonna but thought it was someone elses turn. Aint life grand :lol:

Jack here - Chuck is SO forgetful in his old age. (And, he wasn't all that memory-laden as a youth either!)

 

[oldsparkey]

Jack here - Chuck is SO forgetful in his old age. (And, he wasn't all that memory-laden as a youth either!)

Jack is my hero ( yep , I don't have very high standards) and I am trying to be just like him , trust me it is taking a lot of effort to regress that far. :wink:

Chuck..

Hairy here When I grow up, I wanna be just like Jack HELL! So do I! And I AM Jack.

 

[FlaMike]

My decision to stay on my "night orientation" is paying off. I do seem to get more done, and get it done better, when the garage is not doing it's impression of a Tandoori Oven.

As they say on another forum that I still visit from time to time, "This thread is USELESS without PICTURES!"

First up, I got the final coat of epoxy (no FG cloth,) on the inside, including the inner & outer rails. Note that the inner rail doesn't run full length. My original idea was to deck over from the last frame to the end, on both ends of the boat. But I changed my mind about all that deck, thinking it looked more "Pirogue-esq" with less decking.

What isn't seen here, is a few too many runs in the epoxy. Guess this one will be a "50 foot" boat. From that distance, it looks good. Any closer and well. . . Before I paint it, IF I still want to do that instead of varnish all over, I'll see about sanding those runs down as much as possible.
Oh yes, da pic:

With what's done so far, the boat is now ready to be turned over and the bottom glassing done. 6 oz cloth and epoxy, sides & bottom, up to but not including the rub rail. That rail will get several coats of epoxy and then varnish, later on. (Just a thing I have about wanting to be able to replace that rail without having to deal with the FG cloth.)

Here's a shot of the deck on the bow. Same on the stern, but without the dark grain pattern.

Another angle on the bow:

The thwarts I added to support the decking can also be used as lifting points. (Yep, already tried that, seemed strong enough.)

Tried to get a shot showing the rails, but it didn't come out very well. I only put a single spacer between each rib. (Going for "openness.") I think it is plenty strong that way, but if I develop any doubts, I can add more latter.

A couple of times during the night, I had to wait for some epoxy to kick-off before going on to the next step. I used that time to tie up some more freshwater flies. I want to have some ready to go for the boat launch. Once past the stability & handling test, I'm going to give it a "fishability" test, as well!

In a way, it's "morning" for me right now. Already too the dog out for her mandatory Frisbee session. Now it's time to feed the kitties. After that, I'll turn the boat over and prep the bottom for the glassing.

And tonight, I'll see if I actually have enough epoxy to finish her off! 8)

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[dangermouse01]

Mike;
Forget about trying to sand down all those epoxy runs. Go down to a hardware store and in the paint section, pick up a CARBIDE paint scraper.

I like the Warner brand that ACE hardware carries. The 803 with a 2 inch blade will work wonders on those runs. It will shave down those drips flush with the surrounding area, way easier than trying to sand them flush.
Blades last a very long time and when one side finally gets dull, just flip it over and you are good to go.
They also have a small triangular shaped blade that works good in small spaces.

Boat looks great.

DM

 

[FlaMike]

DM,

Thanks for the tip! My wife was asking if I really wanted to paint it, but she didn't notice those runs. Come to think if it, they'll show up even more when painted, I suspect.

I'll get one of those scrapers and give it a try.

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[dangermouse01]

When you scrape the drips down, the shaved epoxy will have a dull grayish look to it. That is actually a good thing, when you sand the epxoy that is what you are going for, a uniform dull grayish surface. Shiney spots area un-sanded epoxy (low spots). When the entire epoxy surface is sanded to dull, take a water dampened cloth and wipe the surface, that will temporarily show you what it will look like when varnished. When it dries it will become dull again.

Hope this makes sense, I probably have pictures I could post somewhere in the camera.

DM

 

[FlaMike]

Your description was good, no problem! I'm sure I've seen the same item in Home Depot, but there's also an Ace Hardware not too far off, actually closer than Home Depot. Seems there's a Lowe's right across the street from there. Talk about "in your face" competition!

I also wanted to thank you for posting those "trip reports" recently. I'd actually forgotten that I lived within range of so many good locations!

I've spent many hours getting bottom time in the springs you posted on, and a few others, besides. Most all would be great "day trips" for my Pirogue. Used to look for fractures or cracks in the lime rock bottom that had filled with sand. A ping pong paddle swept the sand out and often we'd find fossils, shark's teeth, and sometimes some flint arrow heads.

Don't know how far you are from it, but if you have Google Earth, search out "Ozello Trail, FL" Follow it out to the end, there's a public boat ramp on the NE point of that island. Word is, it's a gateway to some very good, shallow water fishing. (Or give me a little time, I'll let you know for sure!)

I just tried another method, just in case you don't run Google Earth. Go to the Google search home page and click on "Maps." Search for "N Ozello Trail, FL" once it locates it, click on "satellite." Then you can zoom in and see it pretty darned well, then zoom out and see what that ramp gives you access to.

Gotta' love it! :lol:

 

[cctyer]

I Like It Alot! The king size pirogue is gonna make a splash soon I can feel it!

 

[FlaMike]

The king size pirogue is gonna make a splash soon

But the question is, "WHEN?"

Spent a little more time than I expected last night, sanding the sides & bottom, filling in a few dings, here and there. I really want to make a nice bed for the epoxy/glass.

Got started laying on the glass, did a saturation coat first, then put the cloth on while that was still tacky. Kind of awkward doing that by yourself, but when you are doing it at 4 am, help can be hard to come by. :lol:

Almost done with the wetting out, but I had to stop for a minute and decided I had time to sneak this post in. I stopped to make a phone call. . .






TO ORDER SOME MORE RESIN!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll have just enough to finish the wetting-out, and I'll be surprised if there's any more than "just enough."

When I started, I had what I thought should be enough and the guys at Raka thought so, too. But I don't think I took into account the fact that this Pirogue is a little larger than average, and that I used more than I realized saturating the inside. I think I used about 3 coats for that, with the last one being a bit thick.

My bad!

With just a little luck and maybe a tailwind, the resin will get here tomorrow some time. And that will be Thursday, the day I "normally" stay up most all night, so I can sleep during the day Friday, and be ready for my night shift that night.

Even with this monumental screw-up, I just might still be able to get the boat glassed before my 3 day w*rk week. If so, that will do for the "cure period" and I can try for a launch Monday or more likely, next Tuesday. :lol:

In the mean time, I still need to get those seats built. And the truck rack. Those can be done while I'm waiting for the resin to get here.

Building this boat certainly is FUN, but I'm not so sure it's really survivable. . . :roll:

Maybe I can get one of you guys to help out with a Viking funeral. :lol:

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[cctyer]

Hey Mike, Take a deep breath!!!............Ok!
It's all good man! Now that mine is done accept for the final sand and varnish I am twiddling my thumbs a bit without the boat project in the garage. I understand your time constraints but there is always going to be another deadline and one after that. I'm not trying to preach at all, just hope your taking the time to enjoy the build :wink:

She is coming along great and you are gonna have a very nice boat. I made the 1.5 gallons of epoxy work with a teeny bit extra but I built it to be lighter so I can car top easily. For instance, I did not put glass tape on the seams inside or out. I figured fully glassing inside and out as Chuck suggested would be plenty strong for the type of water I will be using her in. I may regret that later, but I can always build another boat right? I am going to order more epoxy to have for added coats of grafite on the bottom when these get scratched up and to do any other work or mods as needed.

Have fun, and enjoy! 8)

Chad

 

[FlaMike]

No worries!

I just had a bout of sleep deprivation-induced ranting. (Or, maybe this elation is the sleep deprivation-induced part. . . I dunno. :shock:

No, I'm fine. Like I said earlier, my "deadlines" are strictly motivational. Today, tomorrow, next week, next month, it really doesn't matter. I am having a ball just being "in the process." I am one of those who enjoys the journey, whether a destination is reached, or not. I've always been more interested in the "going," much more so than the "getting there."

I found myself just staring at the resin pump, wondering why. So I think it's past time for me to log some sleep.

Tonight's fun & games will be working on the seats and the truck rack. Might even take time out to cut the grass this afternoon, weather permitting.

See you later! :wink:

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[Kayak Jack]

... I am one of those who enjoys the journey, whether a destination is reached, or not. I've always been more interested in the "going," much more so than the "getting there."...

My late wife used to fish in a boat with a 60 hp outboard. I hated to ride with her - loud, bumpy, couldn't see anything because it went by too fast. I preferred my stealth boat.

 

[FlaMike]

Up till the fly fishing bug got me, the only interest I had in boats was sailing. Not much use for the "go-fast" stuff. Now sailing is something I've done since I was knee-high to a short sheep!

Running out of epoxy resin wasn't bad luck, it was just poor planning. Thought I had a handle on it, but I thought wrong. No problem, another gallon should be here Thurs. afternoon. In the mean time, I'm working on those seats.

Right now, I starting to reconsider that "bad luck" theory. My little jigsaw died while cutting out the shear plates. So, with no back-up jig saw, I took off to the only game in town at 2 AM, the WalMart Super Store.

Maybe not the best place to buy such things, but the 4.5 amp jigsaw I came home with for $29 was an improvement over the old 3.5 amp model that just croaked! Also picked up some of those real, narrow blades and they make cutting those curves a breeze. My old jigsaw with the wide blades had a hard time with that 1/4 inch ply. The new one flies right through the thicker red oak I'm using for the seat base.

I did finish wetting out all the glass. Looks like I'll have enough epoxy for the boat seats, too. If that epoxy does get here in the afternoon, I'll have it done, at least done until it's time to paint and do the graphite bottom.

I mean done enough that I'm planning to get it in the water on my next set of days off! (Where have I heard that before?) 8)

Could happen! :lol:

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[hairymick]

Mike,

I have allways been a believer in buying the best quality tools I could - till I started messing about with boats. In particular sanders etc.

I have since found out that the fibreglass is particularly hard on them and I find the real cheap, throwaway jobs are better value.

When your cheap jig-saw dies, throw it away and get another one. My latest R.O.S. (random orbital sander) has lasted for three boats but is getting a bit tired now. I think I paid about $80.oo Aussie dollars for it. It is a cheap Chinese imitation of the very good Festool ROS that is about10 times the price. I would be very surprised if the Festool stood up to 30 boats.

Some of the Chinese stuff is actually pretty good! :shock: