This weekend we managed to get some serious work done on Monomoy No. 3. Last week we realized that prior to re-framing, we had to reef all of the seams, i.e. pull out all the old caulking, putty, dirt, sand, crap. And while to the inexperienced bystander this sounds mundane, it's really quite a lot of work to dig all of that out without damaging the soft fir planking. In the first 6 man-hours of work, we managed to reef a total of 15 feet ot the boat's 624 feet of seams. Ouch.
And to make the work just that much worse, all that time weilding the scrapers starts to wear down your hands. After 10 hours of work on Sunday and 5 hours on Saturday, I'm finding that my hands can't grip and hold anything unless it's the same relative size as the scraper - my joints are that sore. Plus, add in the myriad blisters, raw spots and an occasional slice and you have all the reasons you should be wearing gloves while doing this.
After a couple of hours reefing, most volunteers begin to realize that they have other, pressing business that they must do, right now, and start to pack up and take off. Not that I blame you, necessarily, but we do have to get it done at some point - dipping out is only stretching the job to a longer and longer timeline. At the end of the day, I'll still be there scraping away. You guys can come back for the fun stuff.
BT
Wednesday this week we'll be meeting again for another working session, though instead of reefing (I'll keep going) we'll have the volunteers slicing and chiseling out every other frame in preparation for the first round of new frames. Like reefing, I'm sure it will be a slow, delicate process but at least it should be easier on the hands.
BT
Next weekend, our big planer will be coming back to the shop so we can start making up new framing stock. I'm also putting out a wish list via email for new materials, so anyone who wants to chip in, buy and donate them will be greatly appreciated.
NNNN
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