Monday, January 21, 2013

Rubrails, Companionway Sill and New Dog



The rubrails are made from black walnut.  Very brittle stuff and doesn't seem to want to bend very well.  The act of putting in the temporary screws for the first layer punched holes into the cabin.  These will have to be filled and then re-painted.


The first layer required steaming and bending.  The steam system (outlined in a previous post) was required to for each of the three lengths on each side to get a good bend.  Even then I broke one because I didn't move fast enough after I had removed it from the steamer.


The second layer only required steaming for the front section.  The rest I just soaked in the swimming pool overnight and they could make the less acute bends.  The final layer being thinner didn't require any steaming at all, just soaking.


The sill was an easier build than the rub rails.  They are milled out of white oak.


The sill frame needed to be beveled on the bottom to take into account the slope of the cabin roof.  The table saw made short work of this.


The corners needed to have a 45 degree bevel to make everything nice and strong.


The front of the sill turned out to be a little higher than the sides.  This is no problem as I will take care of it with a block plane.


Plenty of clamps hold the assembly in place while it dries.


In November 'Sassy' my dog 10 years died from cancer.  It was a sad day when I had to make the decision to put her down.  The family was missing having a pet and so was I.  A trip to the local pound and we were able to rescue 'Cocoa'.  A pretty, long legged mutt of unknown origins.  Like most pound dogs she seems very happy to have been adopted and is quickly bonding with the family.  She likes to be near me in the garage while I'm working on my boat.  She seems to like water so I think she may be first mate when I finally get this thing floating.

Hours this session: 18
Total hours 468