The Doors.

by Riley

You can't judge a boat by it's doors, but they sure make a difference. One of the things I've been wanting was some companionway doors. Most boats have wooden slats that slide into a groove, which can be kinda problematic in my opinion, although they are stronger. Buying the doors would have cost around a thousand dollars, which I didn’t have. So after looking at a few pictures... I decided to make my own. While talking to a good friend about my upcoming project, he tells me he has some rough cut Mahogany in his barn that I could have. What are the odds? I also already had some glass. So the other day I got my tools out and built these... 

The Mahogany is stained to the same color of the oiled teak on the boat. So now I just need to oil and refinish the trim around the doors, then it will match. So instead of spending $1000, I only had the cost of a few hinges and some stain. 

Thrifty sailing.

Replacing leaky boat windows.

by Riley

The other weekend while working on the boat, we tackled replacing the leaky boat windows. They were cracked, foggy and leaked like a sieve. A previous owner had replaced them, but had done so incorrectly, causing them to crack. I fabricated my new ones using polycarbonate plastic. It is stronger than plexiglass, with minimal cost difference. Using a tracing bit and my router, I cut copies of the windows. The hard part was getting all of the old silicone sealant out of the groove that the window fit in. Nothing bonds to silicone, so if there was even any residue left, the new glass would leak. Lucky for me it was my birthday, so Allison couldn't complain about me delegating that task. While she prepped for the new windows, I fixed some busted fiberglass gelcoat around the windows, thanks to my new friend James, who showed me how to mix the gelcoat epoxy. All in all, the windows took about a day and a half but look great, and most importantly, don't leak, allowing the interior to be finished. 

The same weekend, I also installed the speed and depth sensor in the hull. It was kinda scary cutting holes in the bottom of the boat and getting the sensor sealed. I hope it will still float. Will find out soon enough.