On Ft. Lauderdale trip #2, Uncle Tim and John put the engine on a pallet and we drove it to VI Cargo – sent it on it’s way to St. Croix. There were a lot of ancillary hoses and spare
Drive System
Shaft log, cutless bearing & housing, stuffing box
The first set of parts from Frank and Jimmie’s Propeller in Ft. Lauderdale. The drive shaft will go through this assembly to – at the end of the day – make a waterproof transition of the drive shaft from the
Build Progress
Keel progress
Frank started the keel construction. The stern looks awesome – all those jig saw pieces to create a solid wood section of the forward keel.
Build Progress Lofting
Box Keel takes shape
This is a short post. The bottom in done and we’re starting to loft the box keel. Frank (builder) coated the hull with pigmented epoxy to protect the wood. This was a fun step because everyone who drives by
Build Progress
and now… a bottom!
The bottom, (not to be confused with the keel,) is made up of two layers of overlapping marine ply which are deliberately cut and layed at opposing angles of the grain to add strength. It looked like a massive jigsaw
Build Progress
Side panels finished
Here we are with the sides glued on, rough-sanded, and ready for the next step!
Build Progress Drive System
Screwed!
After a lot of hours spent at Frank and Jimmies Propeller and hunting down a bunch of (unsuccessful) leads on synthetic teak, Uncle Tim was still game for one last stop: Sailor Man – a used/new boat stuff emporium. I
Build Progress Drive System
First “research and provisioning” trip to Ft. Lauderdale
About five months into the build, questions of “drive train” started to come up. Yeah, I found a motor and Uncle Tim has done an awesome job getting it ship-shape, BUT… there’s a big black hole of unknowns between the doohicky
Build Progress Drive System
Getting the motor running…
During my visit to Ft. Lauderdale in January to source drive train parts, I also spent time at my Aunt Pim’s warehouse where Uncle Tim and I ran the motor post-rebuild. very cool!