Missing the SEA...

One of the things I have come to realize in the last 4 or so years of my life is how much I enjoy the ocean, it took an amazing trip with friends to Greece and the help of a very nice albeit pain in my ass girl to help teach me that. The combination of such things has been in part the impetus for building my own boat. However, you may have noticed that SEA was in all caps. The title of this post is in fact not about the ocean, but about Seattle. A place I visited for the first time last weekend and have to be honest I kind of fell in love with it. There are many reasons for this, but at the top of that list are the fact that some amazing mountains (Mt. Rainier) and the ocean (Puget Sound) are literally within minutes of downtown. I have a few commitments to attend to over the next few months but upon completion of my boat (and my lease) I may very well pack up and get the hell out of Boston. I'm sick of the crappy winters and crappier skiing anyway. Oh, and the other reason in case you were wondering is that the moment I landed in Seattle all of my problems in Boston seemed as far away as they actually were. Of course, the time I had while I was there helped... as did the hot cougar... but that's another story. ;)

Lots of pics to share today too!

So working from top to bottom, this is looking down into the bow compartment of the lower hull. You'll notice the strips of heavier fiberglass fabric backing up the bow stem and seams just in case I decide to ram someone I don't like out on the water. This compartment will soon get painted, filled with flotation foam and sealed off ne'r to be seen again (hopefully). Next you can see the stern and following that the bow of the boat. The discolorations are just epoxy filling the holes and gaps from stitching the boat together. They've since been sanded down nice and smooth. And the last two photos are the entire lower hull after fiberglassing was completed on the interior. This was a major pain in the ass and I'm glad it's done. I have since almost completed sanding the entire interior including feathering all the edges of the fiberglass perfectly smooth. Since they are the interior of the cuddy where I'll be sleeping I wanted this area to look as perfect as possible.

Over the next few days I plan to go purchase the interior floor decking and am still undecided as to what type of wood to use. My first choice is Lacewood because of it's distinct grain, shimmering qualities, and because I built my thesis project out of it. That is this weekend's project along with finishing the sanding, priming, and painting the entire interior of the boat. The progress is palpable!

I'm thirsty.