BeBop Gets A Facelift Part III

Hello world and welcome once again to BeBop Around the World. Lots of little things have happened this week concerning the project so I'll just write up a paragraph about each one.

Two weeks ago I ordered up the 5 1/2 foot oars for Notes and they arrived on wensday. I got them from Jamestown Distributors who have turned out to be a nice company to deal with. They said the oars were out of stock and wouldn't be in for another week but they shipped just 2 days later. They get high marks from me. Right now they are primer gray but I'm going to paint them to match BeBop and Notes. The paddles will be green and the shafts white. While at West Marine to get some tacks for the oar leathers, I spotted the foam rubber grips for the oar handles....for $22. Wait a sec. TWENTY TWO DOLLARS for a set of foam rubber grips? I think not! Rich saw them and laughed, then said the same, but quickly came up with a really cool idea to get a set cheap. Bicycle handlebar grips. Off we went to the bike shop and found a set that will work just perfectly for $5.99. They are actually nicer since they are contoured for your hands. Boat stores are such a rip off. Only shop there to get the items you absolutely need (like paint) and improvise everything else that's possible. I swear they think all boat owners are millionaires. Anyway, it will take a couple of hours over the next few weeks to get them painted and ready for use.

What good are oars without the yacht tender? Notes is coming along nicely too, she received her first coat of primer on the outside Saturday. I spend like 5 hours sanding the outside preparing for this and I suspect I'll have to spend 10 more sanding out the imperfections for the 2nd coat of primer. The 1st coat was really just to fill in the weave on the fiberglass cloth and to show where it needs to be sanded again. Ugh, sanding...the story of my life. Anyway, I could just put the oarlocks on and take her for a row but I'd rather wait until she's completely done. It's still going to be awhile as there is a insane amount of sanding and painting to do on her to get her into Bristol fashion.

Sunday I painted the top deck on BeBop to give the new anti-skid it's 2nd coat and something interesting happened. It took twice as much paint then it did to paint it the 1st time. It was perplexing at first but then I figured it out. It's all about total surface area. When we put the sand on the deck and it really increased the total surface area...hence it took twice as much paint. I didn't consider that but it's ok, I need to get another gallon anyway. The anti skid is just ludicrous in how effective it is. I busted up my knuckles prep sanding around the deck area and it was so strong I had to wear kneepads for the 2nd coat. It's very possible I might have to put a 3rd coat down or build up one helluva set of calases on my feet. This combined with a safety harness, jacklines and lifelines when underway and your not going to be washed overboard very easily. It all looks ok so far, the perfectionist in me sees the flaws and it's bothersome on a certain level. The weather deteriorated later in the day or was going to put the 1st coat of paint in the cockpit too. That's probably going to be next weekends goal along with the 2nd coat for the sides if there is very little wind. There is so much stuff to paint that it feels like it's taking forever, but considering were I started about 3 months ago tons has been accomplished I suppose. 3 months down 8 to go.

I know there are not any pictures on this update but there isn't really anything exciting to share with you. Sure I primed Notes but that will need some sanding and a second coat before it looks decent enough to share. Just the way it goes. The whole BeBop project is so big it seems to take about 3 weekends before something major is completed and I can really show you all before and after pictures.

Off Topic, most of you know I really dig Jazz and it's pretty much all I listen too outside of when I'm driving in my car. There isn't much in the field that's been made since about 1965 that I can dig (even less with vocals in it) but I discovered this new artist by the name of Katie Melua. She's very young, only 21 now but has 2 records out. Some of her songs have a real Jazz feel, others not at all, but her voice is just incredible. You have to check it out here.

That's it, I'm beat. Time for a Gin & Tonic then some shut eye. Assuming your still awake and I haven't bored you to death, tune in next weekend for BeBop Gets a Facelift Part IV if the weather is nice.

BeBop Gets A Facelift Part II

Welcome once again to the wild world of sailboat refitting where yes, you the reader gets to see pictures of me working my butt off. It's not so bad really, sometimes it's even enjoyable. It would be more so if I wasn't under some pressure to get her done by late summer.

This weekend on Saturday I put anti-skid on the decks. Sounds fancy eh? Not really. In researching the cheapest method of doing this, I discovered James Baldwin just painted his decks and sprinkled sand on them. Shear genius I say. It's ultra cheap, easy to apply and heh, trust me you will *not* be slipping on my deck. You might even be able to discard your nail file and just rub whatever body part that needs attention on the deck.


I did some easy prep work by sanding the areas with 220 where anti-skid will be applied and then ran one inch piece of painters tape to mark the borders between where non and anti-skid will be placed. I then painted about a two foot section at a time with Interlux Brightsides White and Richard then sprinkled the sand on using a salt shaker. Move on to the next section, rinse and repeat. Figure we used about five pounds of sand in total. I'm also adding some anti-skid in strategic areas around the cockpit to make getting on and off BeBop a bit safer while at the dock or underway. Later on after all this dries I will paint the entire topsides again. This helps keep the sand on the decks and cuts down on the sharper edges of sand. Depending on how it turns out, I may have to use a 3rd coat of paint if the sand turns out to work too good as a anti-skid agent.

Here is a close up of a area we just painted and put the sand on.


This is after about a hour and a half after completion and I just removed the painters tape. You have to look close but you can see it. After another coat of paint it will look like a factory finish.


Now for some not so great news. For the past two weeks my neck has been hurting more and more each day. I've been doing streching exercises and taking advil for the pain but it's not helping all that much. After working on the deck Saturday it caught up with me that evening and I was ready to visit a hospital to get some decent pain medication. (Or perhaps the vet and get them to put me out of my misery) Then I remembered that doctors don't believe that people really do have severe pain anymore for fear of getting sued. I know some of you will still say go see the doctor, get *something* to help you out. Let's face it...they are a scam. You spend 2 hours in a lobby..after 2 weeks to just get a appointment.....to spend on national average 7 mins with the doctor....who more often than not doesn't give you any of the good medication because you can't feel that bad according to them. Oh, that will be $35 dollars for 7mins work thank you. Well I used to be a medic in the Air Force so I don't need them to tell me how bad I feel and or what I need to do.

How did I end up like this at the age of 32? In a single word, motorcycles. They are the most fun you can have with your pants on right til you wreck one and you end up like me. Messed up knee, pins in both my wrists, back pain and (severe!!!) neck pain. Now I'm not telling you not to ride....I did after I wrecked 3 times...but understand how bad you WILL hurt when you go down assuming your unlucky enough to live. Sooner or later everybody who rides....wrecks. Understand the price for this level of excitement. The titanium pins, I always know they are there, especially in cold weather. I wear a brace on my right wrist at work all the time now to help with the pain. I've learned to mostly live with reduced range of motion with my right wrist. My neck has degenerative arthritis and I've messed up the muscles pretty bad there too. My manager at work thought I was trying to pull a fast one on him until I showed him my X-rays one day. He doesn't make fun of me anymore.

So what do you do? Take it one day at a time and use the time honored remedies to help you get by. Here is what I do since I can't get decent medication. Oh, for the record, Celebrex is really nice stuff but it's not on my drug formulary at work so I can't afford it. Nice huh? Anyway this is what I'm doing right now trying to alleviate the pain.

Chris' Solution for Neck Pain:

Exercise if you can, it streches out tight muscles groups which help to temporarily relieve pain
Rest if I can't or don't feel like exercise, such as lying down to relieve the pressure on my neck
ICE for half a hour then a hour off for inflammation as needed
Tylenol Arthritis 1,200mg's twice a day
Take Kava Kava in large doses to promote sleep/rest
Take Glucosamine, Chondrotin and MSM, some studies indicate it's better than celebrex for ostoarthritis.
(I'm discovering herbal medicine does make a difference and it's not witch doctor stuff)
If it's under 75 degrees drink Jim Beam on the rocks. Over 75, Gin and Tonic in liberal doses for pain.
I'd love to have my favorite comfort food (M&M's) but I eat low carb these days. :-(

In the meantime, if any of you have a shitload of Percocet you don't need, email me and I'll pay for the overnight shipping.

I really wanted to get more done on Sunday but I spent most the day in bed with a ice pack on my neck trying to ease the pain of merely existing. I'm sitting right now with a ice pack on my neck writing this up.

All in all I'm mostly satisfied with the progress that's being made. I think I'm on track to launch BeBop in late August. Next weekend assuming my neck doesn't get any worse I'll be working on BeBop gets a Facelift Part III. If bad weather arrives I'll be doing more finishing work on Notes. Until then...Fair Winds...

A Yacht Tender is Born....

Cruisers around the world all have one thing in common. They all have a yacht tender, dinghy, dory or rowboat depending on what name you prefer. I tend to stick with yacht tender most of the time. If the boat is your home, I consider the tender to be the family car so to speak. The boat manufacturers know this and like to charge crazy sums of money to purchase one. Doesn't matter if it's inflatable or hard side. Just to drive the point across, they would have you believe that a 12 foot Avon inflatable, 20 horsepower engine with a bimini complete with his and her matching cupholders is required to have a good time. That will be about $5,000 thank you and we DO take visa. As my 2.5 readers know that's more money than I spent on buying BeBop, the trailer and trip to Georgia to get her. Nope can't afford it. I decided before I even had BeBop to build my own.

I'd like you all to meet BeBop's little companion. It's a "Apple Pie" class yacht tender designed by Chuck Merrell. (chuck@boatdesign.com) www.boatdesign.com You can download the plans for free from his website to print out. What he provided was a pretty basic interior so I decided to make some major modifications to include better seats and positive flotation. In keeping with the musical theme for naming my boats I've decided to call her "Notes."

She's nearly ready for her 2nd test floating. Here is the latest picture.


Specs:

7 feet 1 inch loa
3 feet 6 inch beam
50 pounds in weight
3 flotation chambers
150 pounds of positive buoyancy (ie she ain't sinkin')
30 pound thrust electric trolling motor
5 1/2 foot oars (renewable energy) ^_^
Cute as a button

I am extremely proud of this little dory. I basically built her out of 3 sheets of marine grade plywood, 2 gallons of fiberglass resin and fiberglass cloth. I've repaired a lot of stuff in my life, restored etc but I've never taken a bunch of plywood and turned it into a boat before. Every piece of wood on Notes is 100% custom measured and fabricated. Just for the record, fabrication is very difficult but you get a incredible sense of accomplishment from it. Nothing was store bought except for the trolling motor and hardware. I still have about 3 days worth of bonding and sanding to do before she's ready for the final float test and then paint. Figure about 7 days, 40 hours more of labor. Total Cost minus trolling motor and oars is about $350 bucks. Big savings over that cookie cutter Avon and it's one of a kind too.

I want to put together a longer "this is how I did it" guide at some point in the future but for now, I wanted to show everybody what I work on when the weather isn't so great and I can't really do much with BeBop. Now you know about my dory, Notes. I plan on painting them both the same way so they will match, the white with green trim. I figure it will be so cute it will be sick! lol!!

For now to get a idea of scale this is a picture of me in her. (In front of BeBop)


Very tiny eh?!! She has to be to fit on deck. Sometimes the locals will slash up a inflatable boat if they are mean, jealous etc so I decided early on to have a hard dink over a inflatable, but it would need to be *very* small for the boat sizes I was looking at. Now at this point I know you thinking it's too small but James Baldwin of the "Atom" built a similar model that was actually 6 inches shorter!! (Of course you know this from reading my links ^_^) Sorry James, mine is defiantly cooler even if you do get the smaller dory award.

Well it's about bedtime, my neck due to various reasons really hurts right now so I'm signing off til next time. Perhaps if the weather is better next weekend we'll get to BeBop Facelift Part II. Until then....Fair Winds...

Learning from Mistakes....

I figured out why my painting job wasn't as good as I hoped. This might sound stupid but it wasn't very obvious to me until I was driving home tonight while thinking about it. Ok, without fanfare....here it is.

I treated painting BeBop like you'd treat painting a house. It seemed like the way one would do it. Heh, it doesn't work that way, I understand this now. You have to treat her like your going to paint a fine automobile. You can't just slap some paint on like it's drywall. It doesn't absorb into the fiberglass like latex does on sheetrock. Instead it just sits on the surface in a *very* thin coat and runs extremely easy on vertical surfaces. After doing some more research into this unusual paint I'm getting a grasp on how to work with it better. How do I describe it? Imagine trying to paint with a very thin plastic that sets up in less than 15mins. Very weird properties. You have to see the finish on this stuff to believe it. Very shiny because it has Teflon in it. It actually squeaks when you rub your fingers over it...dry mind you, not wet. Very slipperly. Yeah I'll be putting down some serious anti skid on the decks too.

Rich thinks we did a ok job on but now he understand how this stuff works too and feels we can really do a nice job for the last coat weather permitting this coming weekend. I feel the same. Actually I feel better now that I learned from my mistakes. Not great because I don't like making error's being the perfectionist and all but certainly better than yesterday now that I understand what's happening.

That's about it for tonight. I'm tired after a long day at work and just thought I'd share my discovery with my 2.5 readers. Until next time...fair winds.

Interlude....

Things didn't go quite the way I wanted them too this weekend.

Saturday was too cold to paint, so I just worked on my yacht tender some more. She has about another seven or eight full days of work before she's ready for primer.

Sunday the weather was perfect for painting. I did put the first coat of paint on the sides after sanding the primer. It came out horrible imo. I've been painting stuff here and there for money going on about 17 years now and this is nearly the worst job I've ever done. Richard, who runs on a totally different set of standards, doesn't think so. Now we are going to sand and paint her once more so this isn't the final coat. But it's my boat, I have to live on her and I think she looks really bad right now. I've come up with a different way to tackle the painting issue for the final coat and hopefully it will turn out better.

I hate being a perfectionist. I think it's perhaps my biggest personality flaw, but I cannot change who I am. I want BeBop to look good enough for the cover of Good Old Boat when I'm finished. Is it possible to do this with a 38 year old boat, no real money, and only the help of one trusted friend? Do I ask to much in too little time? I would really like to know.

I'm really tired and I don't want to share anymore right now. Maybe I'll write something more motivational (and longer) later in the week once the disappointment of this horrible paint job wears off.

BeBop Gets a Facelift Part I

After 315 hours of tear down on the outside it's finally time to start building her back up.


Last weekend we finished putting in the ports if you didn't read my last couple of entries. BeBop looks so much better with them in. Now, you'll get the 1st side by side picture of the entire boat from when I first started to what she looks like today. But you have to put up with me writing some stuff 1st. Don't cheat and scroll down to the before and after.....I know you want to.

Saturday after the morning dew had burned off I started to prime the exterior. I started off by cutting in all the deck hardware. Now this was not as simple as it sounds lol...it took all day to get the deck finished. Not the area around the ports...just the parts you walk on. In trying to keep as much dirt from getting in the paint as possible I took off my shoes and went barefoot while working on her. It was great!! Being barefoot on the deck I could almost smell the salt air and a cool ocean breeze. The reality is the blisters on the top of my right foot from crawling around for hours. Didn't even feel it until I cleaned up for the night. Ouch. I'm a limping around some today. While I was doing the deck Rich cut in the sides and rolled the primer onto the bare fiberglass above the waterline. The roller left some orange peel in the primer from using a "medium" roller instead of a "smooth" one, but that's no problem, it needs to be sanded anyway before two more coats of finishing paint are going on. It's all a learning experience.

Sunday, 93% humidity with fog early, then a light rain later cut my painting time in half. I just can't seem to catch a break with the weather. I'll go to work on Tuesday and it will be calm with no clouds...just watch. Anyway getting back to the point, I was able to get primer around the ports today. I covered the ports with painters tape first then used a knife to cut away the excess so it would look perfect. Easy, but time consuming labor for sure. Right now the only thing that still needs primer is the starboard side around the ports and the cockpit. They are calling for 10 to 20mph winds tomorrow so I don't know if that will be completed or not...really like to at least complete the primer before I have to go back to work.

Ok, now for the next few weeks...heh...like six or so, I will be painting her weather permitting until her hull is done from the hatchcover down to the keels. I suspect I won't wanna see a paint brush for awhile after that too. ;-) I guess what I'm trying to say is this is pretty much what she'll look like for the next four weeks until I do the bottom paint, put anti skid on the decks, the green trim and of course her name and registration numbers. Then just have to paint the mast, rebuild the interior lockers..put in the new headliner....and on and on and on. Can't forget get the mainsail refurbished, a new dodger built and new running rigging purchased. Sailing is so simple....once you got all the stuff to do it....crazy how much it costs to do such a ancient activity eh? I figure it will take another 900 or so hours of labor to get her ready for coastal sailing. Add another 200 or so in for the necessary offshore gear (like a homemade self steering vane) plus money.

Ok, yes my loyal 2.5 readers, I've tortured you enough with my bad sarcastic writing style. I know your eyes are bleeding......so drum roll please........





I let the pictures speak for themselves. But I will interject, this is hard F'in work. BeBop, Rich and I have accomplished a lot but we are only about 1/4 finished I figure. Perhaps less. That's it for me, BeBop and I are signing off, catch us next weekend for BeBop Get a Facelift Part II.