Jersey Girl

Houseboat update, Wednesday, October 10, 2018 – Disaster averted! Lesson possibly learned, again (or not). I had an Idea that it would be nice to have access to storage below the fore deck from the pilot’s position inside the cabin, so I made sure to plunge-cut an opening in the forward starboard bulkhead, literally years ago. I saved the cut-out wood to turn into a grain-matched door. I actually found that wood, from three years ago, in the dusty clutter of my shop. Feeling pretty puffed up, I turned that piece of wood into a beautiful door, and I was just about to attach it with a continuous hinge this morning. But a little, mocking voice prodded me into wakefulness last night. “Pretty proud of yourself, aren’t you,” it said. “Okay, smart guy, exactly where did you intend to install that gorgeous antique wooden-spoked ship’s wheel you bought a couple of years ago, huh?” Yes, I was about to install a cabinet door in a position where it could not possibly be opened, barricaded in place by the ship’s wheel at Jersey Girl’s helm. So, instead of being a door, that framed-out and finished piece of matched-grain plywood will be inserted back into the place from whence it came, in my three-year-old burst of creativity. It’s not the first time I have learned – and forgotten – the lesson, not to fall too deeply in love with the sometimes misguided peregrinations of my own wandering mind. It has happened before in this project -- remember the aluminum runners I was going to install with bronze screws, until someone pointed out the corrosive consequence of combining these particular dissimilar metals – and I suppose it’ll happen again. One thing I have learned: it seems I never learn. Oh well. And, by the way, I’ll still have access to that storage compartment, through a deck hatch outside. I’m sure I will need that access, first to install the cable connecting the helm to the motor at the stern, for steering, and then to maintain it over the years.

Houseboat update, Saturday, October 13, 2018 -- I've decided to scale back a bit on the grandiosity of my tweaks to Jersey Girl, bringing her more into line with Roy Schreyer's excellent plans. She's stretched out by 3 feet to a 20-footer, and I'm sticking with my plans to recess the central ares of the fore and aft decks. I'm also extending the main cabin roof out over the aft deck, for a shaded outdoor sitting area and a place to install a real stand-up solar-heated shower. But after getting great advice from fellow boat builders on Facebook, I've decided to step away from my earlier notion to add a second-level sleeping loft. First, with the convertible settees in the cabin, I don't really need the extra space; and second, I'm persuaded that the extra height will add more opportunity for unwanted "windage" and thus make Jersey Girl harder to keep on course if the breeze kicks up. So, as you'll notice on Jersey Girl the Houseboat's Facebook page, I've changed the cover photo.

Houseboat update, Thursday, October 25, 2018 -- It's been a while since I've posted new developments in Jersey Girl's construction. Things are slowing down a bit as the temperature drops and stops the epoxy I use from curing properly. But a few last-minute details before I wrap her up and tuck her in for a long winter's sleep. As you can see, her recessed fore deck is in place, but not yet glued and screwed down. I'm in the middle of designing and installing a drainage system, so any rain or spray that might fill the recessed area will flow easily through a scupper in the side of the hull to the water outside. There will be four drains. Each pair will be plumbed through 2-inch PVC pipe to a single scupper on each side. The big hole in the forward center of the deck is an access port, so I can see if any water is collecting below, and so I can tighten the nuts fastening the tow hook at the bow, if necessary. It'll be capped with a watertight screw-in cover. In a couple of weeks, I will hoist a well wrapped Jersey Girl onto her trailer for winter storage.

Houseboat update, Tuesday, November 20, 2018 -- The California grands are visiting for the week, so a special tour of Jersey Girl was arranged. That's Noah at the helm, and Taylor with me in the cabin.

Houseboat update, Monday, November 26, 2018 -- I'm getting Jersey Girl's trailer ready to put her into winter storage. The rubber-covered rollers I'm installing on the wooden bunks should help the hull glide smoothly on and off the trailer. That's my hope, at least. A nice addition I have installed on the trailer is a chain-driven dolly. By turning a crank, I can manually move the trailer into tight spots, maneuvering back and forth into a driveway that would be difficult to manage by backing up with the trailer hitched to my car. If the weather cooperates, I will pull Jersey Girl onto the trailer later this week and tuck her in for a winter's hibernation. I'll be working on smaller components in my heated garage over the winter, like arched roof beams, cabin sides and windows. Stay tuned.