Today was a fun day. I bought the 4 sheets of plywood that will become the hull panels over the next couple of days. It is always fun to spend money on a worthwhile project! It is also fun to pick up materials at Capital Plywood in Sacramento... they've got stacks and stacks of plywood... 8', 10' 16' lengths... the place is clean... and the guys are friendly and helpful: one of the sheets the guy brought up had a relatively minor scratch - no, I didn't want it, but before I said anything, he said he'd be right back with a better sheet. I liked that.
I brought the plywood home and then headed to Builders Surplus for some indirectly related boat stuff. I wanted 9 pieces of 8' 2x4. Home Depot has acceptable stuff for $1.89 apiece. The guy at Builders Surplus tells me they've got 16' lengths for $2.13 each, and they'll cut it to whatever length I want. Sounds good to me, so I bought 5 of those and had them cut to 48" and 32" pieces for the saw horses. Sure, I've got some extra, but who doesn't need extra pieces of 2x4?
By the way, these 2x4s are some nice wood. I counted 18 rings per inch, and if I remember some of those WBF threads correctly, that ring count isn't too bad. Here's a pic:
I also bought a piece of 1x6x16' primed spruce "facia." I think I can use this for several parts of the boat, including the mast, but a friend questioned whether it is clear enough (few if any knots). I decided to buy a piece to see what the wood is like under the primer. From what I can see before sanding away the primer the wood looks pretty good. Mik's plans comment that some small knots are okay, and from what I can see, this is okay. I'll sand it down, take pics, and ask questions but if I can work with this material the mast will only cost $16 instead of more than $100.
The sawhorses are substantial! Reading the plans for them didn't really prepare me for how big they really are... They are a 48" long I-beam of 2x4s on legs! A pair of these ought to support the hull through assembly. Heck, at 32" tall may need to be cut down some... Maybe another set... Here's a pic of the first not-quite-completed saw horse...
Not-quite-completed as it needs some lower supports and cross supports. And, it is not-quite-completed because I now know that the drill bit is sharp enough to penetrate my finger! A little blood on the boat during construction is one thing, but blood on something like a saw horse?
Observant readers will note several details in that last pic... Boat parts against the wall in the background... My moaning chair... the requisite beer container... (the full ones are in the fridge, the empties in the recycling bin...).
Tomorrow I'll draw and cut out the hull panels. It feels good to be underway once again.
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