Jersey Girl

Houseboat update, Thursday, October 24, 2019 -- Jersey Girl's starboard gull wing is complete, but for the face board under the overhang, which will tie it in visually to the surrounding stationary roof. When the epoxy cures, I will remove the six temporary screws holding it in place, install the hinges and finish it up with fiberglass and paint, matching the rest of the roof. I am considering using gas lift struts, like the ones on the rear hatch of an SUV, to raise and lower the gull wings. Now, on to trimming the fiberglass fabric hanging down from the roof, giving everything a light sanding, and applying one more coat of epoxy.

Houseboat update, Thursday, October 24, 2019 (part 2) -- Now that the epoxy on the starboard aft gull wing has cured enough, I can remove the six temporary retaining screws and lift it enough to give an idea of what it will look like in use. Pretty nifty, eh what? I'll bring it into the house for a full cure overnight, and tomorrow I will start finishing it with a layer of fiberglass. I expect it will be next week before I can permanently install it with a piano hinge.

Houseboat update, Friday, October 25, 2019 -- the starboard gull wing has its face board installed and its green fairing glop applied. When this cures, I'll sand it down, then fiberglass it. Now, on to the same treatment for the port side, and a whole bunch of long- deferred little details that have to be attended to.

Houseboat update, Saturday, October 26, 2019 -- Jersey Girl's roof has its first coat of primer. That, plus attending to some pesky leaks that were diverting rain water from the decks into the cabin, is how I spent my Saturday. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, so I'll learn how successful my efforts were.

Houseboat update, Monday, October 28, 2019 -- Yesterday's downpour provided good information on Jersey Girl's leaky places, so I spent today attacking as many of the points of vulnerability as I could get to in one day. First, I fiberglassed the starboard gull wing roof section, knowing it would take the rest of the day for the epoxy to cure sufficiently for me to put it in place. Next, I applied a second coat of epoxy to the two tongue-and-groove boards I would need to finish building the port gull wing roof section, and set them aside to cure. After that, I edge-cut thin strips from an inch-thick board, for use as drip-edges on the forward and aft ends of the roof shoulders, to prevent water from curling around the end-overhangs of the roof and flowing into the joint between the cabin walls and the undersides of the roof planks. Then, I cut filler strips of plywood to start closing gaps between the aft deck and the roof posts, and to serve as a bulwark against seepage at the joint between deck and the base of the cabin wall. The last things I did in a busy day was to position the newly fiberglassed starboard gull wing in hopes it would help prevent rainwater from entering the still-uncovered deck hatches under it, and built the port gull wing in place. An all-day rain is forecast to start Tuesday mid-morning, so we'll see if I am on the right track.