Texas GIS

[john goodman]

The middle seat is now level after a few hours of work planning the cleats down 5mm. It looks so much better. I have added a forward bulkhead at the front of the middle seat. This area under the seat will be what I call the "junk drawer" for typical sailing weekends and offer a tiny bit of shade for a soft sided cooler (igloo).

This area will also be used for adding flotation (3 cubic feet) with air bags or foam when I have the boat heavily loaded during our long trips. This adds a little bit of a safety marginal if/when a capsize.
The kids are still involved in the build. The knees are designed by my youngest son, the long haired one, and the picture shows the beginning of the fit process. It’s fun to discuss design issues with the kids and then have them go thru the process of selecting type of wood, grain direction, cutting, chisel work, sanding and finally installation. It took us an hour of discussing and an hour to build the first one. The second knee should be a lot faster.
We glued in the mast steps last night. There will be some epoxy clean up around the steps before the partners are glued in tonight.
Due to time constrains and budget issues I will have to hold off painting the hull with an expensive paint. My wife’s car finally died after 237,000 miles of driving so some of my time and a lot of my money will be used to shop for another car
How does exterior enamel gloss house paint sound?

[callsign222]

Nice touch on the forward bulkhead, that's a good idea, because of course you are going to capsize!

If you wade through the vast pages of sometime-heated conversation on paint, Behr Porch paint continues to score high marks over at woodenboat forums for an economical alternative to the $35+ per quart marine stuff. Now owned and supplied by Home Depot.

That's what I'm doing, though I'm still going to prime the boat with 2 or so coats of hi-build pre-Kote Interlux stuff for the "gription" between the epoxy and paint.

[CCBB]

exterior gloss house paint sounds great for average Joe's using the boat in an average way. You guys are going to use the boat hard, so my vote is for real marine paint. It is all the same, the single part polyurethane types, Pettit Easypoxy being the most kid friendly I have found after a lot of boat painting with kids using many different brands. Put some flattening agent in the last coat on the inside to keep the glare down.

Clint

[callsign222]

What's a flattening agent? I understand the concept, but what would you recommend?

The marine paint is so pricey, though, it hurts me just to look at a quart of the stuff. I mean, how much did we think we needed again? A quart for the inside and a quart for the outside? Or more? I have wanted to do the marine paint, but the paycheck says otherwise...



Oops, thunderstorm, gotta get my boat back inside!

[john goodman]

exterior gloss house paint sounds great for average Joe's using the boat in an average way. You guys are going to use the boat hard, so my vote is for real marine paint. It is all the same, the single part polyurethane types, Pettit Easypoxy being the most kid friendly I have found after a lot of boat painting with kids using many different brands. Put some flattening agent in the last coat on the inside to keep the glare down.

Clint

But, Pettit Easypoxy does not come in the color my kids want to paint the GIS, lime green!

[robhosailor]

kids want to paint the GIS, lime green!

Fine!!!

[CCBB]

I'm glad the paint thing came up. Geoff Kerr boatbuilder in Vermont swears by Rustoleum enamel from the local hardware store.

I may try that on my Goat.

THis is the stuff:

RustOleum.com

[callsign222]

Is that the Two Daughters guy of Pocketship proto-type fame?

[john goodman]

Was buying some supplies at the local big box hardware store and stopped by the paint department. They can mix the Glidden Porch Paint to almost any of their colors, including lime green!

Picked up one of the paint tester bottles labeled GLG04, New Grass Green (looks lime green to me). Painted one side of our GIS model.

Now, I am not swayed by others opinions on things I do or the car I drive, but for the safety of my children I am going to start looking for another color. Someone in the GIS community might torpedo me!

[woodeneye]

Y'know, I wasn't so fussed when you mentioned lime green, but when I saw the model, I changed my mind. It actually looks pretty darned good!

[callsign222]

I am actually really impressed. I would do it for the fun factor, but in all reality that looks downright classy. Surprising, who knew!?

[john goodman]

I have built a set of 9 ft oars for my GIS.
Is there a good way to store them on the boat while sailing?
I would love to see a picture or 2.

How many folks have oars that break down into 2 pieces?

[woodeneye]

I have built a set of 9 ft oars for my GIS.
Is there a good way to store them on the boat while sailing?
I would love to see a picture or 2.

How many folks have oars that break down into 2 pieces?

Joost's pics show the oar stowage. Here

[john goodman]

Summer has arrived in Houston, Texas with 92F (33.3C) temperatures and 87% humidity. Oh, and did I mention a whole mess of bugs.

In order to keep most of the bugs out of the epoxy, I put one of my old mosquito nets over the main part of the hull and turned the big fan on. Brushed on the epoxy, adjusted the net, and then turned out the lights. It seems to being working well; most of the bugs are resting on the netting.

[Boatmik]

Joost's pics show the oar stowage. Here

Howdy,

There are two places for non broken down oars.

One is on the floor - they kinda slide through the hole in the centre seat and drop onto the floor. I don't find that hugely convenient - I tend to forget and trip over them a bit. But it is probably the best location for sailing performance.

The other way is they fit nicely with the blade end up in the bow and the handle end will sit on top of the mid seat. They don't get in the way too much when placed there.

MIK