Jersey Girl

Houseboat update, Saturday, May 4, 2019 -- Dodging the raindrops that come and go, I am spending my 77th birthday adding more roof beams to Jersey Girl's aft deck. You might wonder why there are three spanning the center area, but only two on each side. I'm glad you asked. There will be a gate in the railing on each side, for easy boarding via the aft deck no matter which side is snugged up to a dock. But the 45-inch headroom from the sheer of the hull to the low-hanging eaves of the arched roof will present a problem to most adults, especially if they happen to be in my age category. So, I am designing a "gullwing" roof section to fill that empty space on each side that will lift up to allow boarding with a minimum of stooping down. I'm thinking of using gas-lift cartridges, similar to the ones you'd find on an automobile hatch, to support the roof section. It's all experimental; let's see if it works. A neighbor stopped by to wish me a happy birthday, and pronounced a traditional Yiddish blessing, "you should live to 120 years!" That'd be fine by me, but I would hope that by then I'd be enjoying an easy life on the water, and not still building this boat! Anyway, thanks to all who have wished me a happy birthday. You're all welcome to spend some time with me and Jersey Girl, when she's finished (but not all at the same time).

Houseboat update, Monday, May 6, 2019 -- I have sealed Jersey Girl's starboard aft cabin bulkhead with two coats of epoxy, on both sides and all the edges, to seal any moisture out. Now it's time to saw and shape more roof support posts, which will raise plenty of dust. Painful experience has taught me that I must not raise dust while epoxy is curing. I know it seems obvious, but sometimes when I am impatient to get on with the job, even the obvious is easy to overlook. So, before I start sawing, I will put on a pair of nitrile exam gloves to handle the sticky work piece, put it in the garage and close the door. (Again, obvious, I know, but if I don't think about the consequences of shortcuts, I spend even more time dealing with them.)

Houseboat update, Part 2, Wednesday, May 8, 2019 -- Yippee, a break! FedEx just arrived with the two eyebrow windows I've decided to use in Jersey Girl's aft bulkhead, the ones overlooking the aft deck. So I get to do some challenging (but fun) work. First, I position the window where I think it should be, and trace a grease pencil line around it. Next, I use a circular saw to make a plunge cut along the line, leaving just a bit at each corner so the waste piece doesn't break loose in an uncontrolled way and splinter the surrounding wood. Plunge cuts require practice and concentration; plunge cuts on an arc, even more so. The trick to making a plunge cut on an arc is to set the depth of the saw blade just a tiny bit more than the thickness of the wood, to minimize the length of the chord of the circular blade that you are forcing around the arc. Finally, I use a Japanese pull saw to cut out the remaining corner bits, making sure to support the waste piece with a saw horse. Do all this right, and you achieve something like nirvana.

Houseboat update, Wednesday, May 8, 2019 -- I have been spending the last several days machining four midship roof support posts, a difficult, complicated job; arduous both physically and mentally. When I am working with expensive material like cedar, I greatly prefer not to make mistakes. So it's measure two or three times, check for fit, take break, come back, check again, then cut. Still, I make mistakes that need adjustments, but none I can't recover from. I still have to cut the decorative chamfers into the visible corners of these posts, then sand them and seal them with several coats of epoxy, before I can install them. Then, I have the four forward cabin posts still to be made. They will be the most complex of all, because they will have to be cut on angles matching the bay-window shape of the forward bulkhead and companionway of the cabin.

Houseboat update, Friday, May 10, 2019 -- As I mentioned in a previous post, the design I'm using for Jersey Girl calls for a forward cabin bulkhead sporting a sweet bay-window shape instead of being flat from one side to the other. I want to stick with that design. But that calls for some rather complicated shaping of the posts that form the framework as it transitions from the sides to the angled forward windows and meet at the door frame in the center of the forward bulkhead. As an example, the side posts need to be square to fasten into the hull and its below-deck framing, but twist abruptly to accommodate the topside shape of the forward bulkhead. That calls for some complex planning and slick execution on the table saw and finished up with a Japanese pull saw. Here is that transition, and I am happy with how it seems to have turned out. The outside posts are ready to be sanded and sealed with epoxy. I still have to shape the two door jamb posts, which will be different, but just as complicated.