Jersey Girl

Houseboat update, Tuesday, July 2, 2019 -- I'm still figuring out water management for Jersey Girl's forward deck. Here you can see how I hope to persuade water to stay out of the under-deck storage compartments. I've created a series if channels around each hatch opening, and scuppers to let water follow gravity to either the outside or into the footwell, where it will find its way out through drains connected by pipes to through-hulls. The raised curbs will be topped with rubber seals, and the hinged lid will rest on those, serving as seating when closed.

Houseboat update, Saturday, July 6, 2019 -- Jersey Girl's front porch now has a nice place to sit on the starboard side. But wait, there's more! Under that hinged seating are three storage compartments. A similar arrangement on the port side will offer three more compartments. With the addition of one of the forward-looking windows affording a nice view over the deck, Jersey Girl is taking on a nice home-y feel.

Houseboat update, Thursday, August 1, 2019 -- After two weeks away from Jersey Girl for traipsing through Yosemite, I am back at work. The forward deck area is pretty much complete, but for the railing and other details to come later. The hatch covers are installed, and they fit perfectly. The forward-facing cabin windows are screwed and sealed in place. Tomorrow, I will work on filling the spaces above and below the windows.

Houseboat update, Tuesday, August 6, 2019 -- Jersey Girl is putting her best face forward. I've installed all the bead-board tongue-and-groove planks in her forward cabin bulkhead, leaving window trim and building the door for later. Tomorrow, weather permitting, I will get started on the roof. Good news: I've discovered that the same six-inch tongue-and-groove I used for the cabin will conform with the arc of the roof very nicely. This will save a lot of construction time, and it will look great from inside the cabin. Stay tuned.

Houseboat update, Sunday, August 11, 2019 – Please allow me a small moment of reflection. Patience is right up there, among the most critical requisites for boat-building. Case in point: I have no control over the weather or even the ability to know what it will be, so all I can do is cover Jersey Girl up with tarps when I finish working on her for the day. If I want to make it easy on myself, I take the extra time to “flake” the tarps as I remove them (the sailors among us will know what that means). For one person to flake a 20x12-foot light poly tarp in the mildest of breezes can be quite a do. So here’s a tip – with each fold of the flake, snap on a few small spring clamps, removing them and reclamping them with each successive fold. Then, when it’s time to put the tarps back on, just fasten a couple of lines to the grommets along the leading edge of the flaked tarp, toss them over the roof and pull on the lines to haul the tarp up an over. As I work on Jersey Girl, it occurs to me that patience is a learned attribute. When I was young and had all the time in the world, I was impetuous and impulsive, and patience was nowhere in evidence. Now that I am old and relatively little time left, I seem to have all the patience I need. It's kinda counterintuitive, but there it is...