Kidney Cancer Diagnosis - All Stop!

Well guys been quite a week! My build is on hold for awhile. I just found out at very minimum I have Stage 2 Kidney Cancer, with a large impressive growth in my left kidney that is twice as big as the kidney itself, my right kidney also has a small growth. I will be undergoing surgery to remove my left kidney as soon as I can get scheduled, then chemo, and then the right. If it all goes well I should be right as rain. I probably will have to wait until next spring for more build progress. I have a catheter right now, so can't do much pre-op dang it!

I wish you all well in your builds and will check in here now and then! Looking forward to getting back at it as soon as I am capable!

My build is put to bed now! I don't know when I will be able to get back to it, and it looks like this is going to be it for this year as I need to focus on fighting this cancer.

Be excellent to each other!

To Varnish or Not To Varnish

 Certainly varnishing the roof will lead to more maintenance, I can always paint it later. This is an interesting guide to varnishes from Practical Sailor:

https://www.practical-sailor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/1209-ON-PART-VANISH-GUIDE.pdf

Fiberglassing the roof

Well, finished fiberglassing the roof, three coats of that new epoxy and caulked the joints the along the full length roof beams and around the hatch..

Its not quite perfect, but damn that SAP CLR is great stuff.. doesn't bubble or foam much, sets nicely. I did have some small issues my fault, I mixed up about 16 ounces and had it flash off in the hot weather in the pan a little quicker than I wanted which makes for a goopy mess, wasted epoxy, and can be a little unsettling as it gets hot.. will it burst into flames... ?? I didn't have that happen thank goodness.. The other issue was that I epoxied too late in the evening, the temps that day dropped rapidly in the night causing dew. The moisture settling on the epoxy as it cured caused a little amine blush... so I had to scrubby it off with soap, water, and scotch brite.. fortunately it was just a small area and after scrubbing and sanding recoated ok.

So now, I beg the question... it doesn't pass the mahogany deck sweet showboat quality test.. but I am inclined to think I do like the look of a varnish. Its not at all perfection, but I think it's a nice look.. if I paint first then I can't varnish later but if I varnish and hate it.. I can paint later.

wood plugs

 Small progress.. It took some time and doesn't seem like much, but I got all the roof rafters on.. and all the screw holes plugged with wood plugs. It was alot of plugs to make! I made the plugs out of the same wood. Probably not any better than just simply filling with epoxy, but I like the aesthetics and feel of it. More of a feel good thing for me, despite the time to do. Now time to fill small gaps, and trim. Call me Mr. Turtle... but progress is still progress..

Hottest Day

 Oh my goodness... Phew! Hottest day EVER on record here today.. needless to say not much work on the boat like I had hoped.. did a little in the morning around 8 a.m. when it was just 88 degrees out. My one day off means while I wanted to get stuff done I need to save energy for my regular work day tommorow.. its going to be rough!! Heat dome in full affect.. temperatures tommorow will be higher they say... even some of the covid the vaccination clinics are closing due to heat..

Roof hatch installed

 Well, back at it.. after a brief hiatus due to my injured hand. Picked up a final load of 12' 1x4 stk t&g lengths of Cypress (yellow cedar) from Kermode.. and also a new bigger ladder.. found my old ladder didn't cut it for reaching to get the hatch in place pn the outside. After blood, sweat and yes some tears.. I have the hatch installed in.. now to finish the starboard side and trim the excess. Minor finishing to be done..

Super SAP CLR

Got a nice surprise from Swell Composites. I ordered fresh resin and Hexcel Fiberglass cloth for the roof. Due to covid, they haven't been allowing pickups even though their warehouse is only a few minutes drive away from my house. But, they called me to say that they would have it at the front desk and if I wanted I could drop-by to pick it up and they would refund the $45 for shipping! So I was like HECK Ya! That was nice of them. They aren't really setup for a retail operation more of warehouse or online direct.

I am excited to try out Entropy Resins Super SAP CLR resin. It is made by the Gougeon Brothers Inc. that wrote the book on boat building and is the parent company for West Systems.

The Super SAP resins is a 2:1 resin that is a more environmentally friendly line of epoxy product, with about 29% bio based formulation. Its claim to fame is as an environmentally sustainable epoxy. The other interesting thing is that it is UV Stabilized, which I still will overcoat as it is only has a higher UV resistance...I doubt any epoxy is UV proof. But a nice bonus for the roof.

I am curious to try it, West Systems is a name you can trust... never tried their environmentally friendly line.. but worth a go on the roof. They say they have been getting alot of orders from backyard boat builders and have had great feedback. So we'll see.. I'm anxious to get going again on it.

https://entropyresins.com/sustaina.../life-cycle-assessment/

Hatch!

Almost finished the main cabin hatch with help from the "supervisor" Molly the parrot. I made 5mm deep and about 1/2"" wide rabbets in the two wings and bedded and sealed the acrylic plexiglass top and bottom with Masterseal NP-1 a polyurethane below the waterline approved sealant that allows oint movement and even passes 4–hour, 4–inch, fire and hose stream test. The arcylic panel is clamped into the window frame with oak strips topsides. I have rubber weather stripping on the outside edge and a three-way gutter system that should channel drips to the outer edge. Brass sash clasps hold the window tight and I just need to put in the hatch window supports to hold it open at various angles.. with limited use of the left hand due to injury this past week, I hope to be able to resume building the roof in a few days.

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Ouch!

 I sanded off the tip of my finger today.... literally with my belt sander and a ceramic belt.. ouch. Dr. glued it kind of back in place.. Not too much damage.. but damn it hurts! A reminder to work safe!! I always use push blocks and feather boards with saws.. but a reminder that belt/bench sanders can be dangerous too.. should have had leather gloves on and used my blocks.

Acrylic window material

 Ended up with 3/16" Acrylic.. 3 sheets of 4x8. I used Facebook Marketplace to source it. Got it from a carpenter that had a bunch of surplus including poplar, fir, mahogany and a maple burl from his shop in the film industry. This is from the production of the remake of the series "Shogun". It meant I got a reasonable price, $80 CDN ($65 USD) per sheet.. or 3 sheets foe $240 CDN. I did rent a 9x5 U-haul Trailer for $30CDN to transport it so I didn't scratch or bend it. I also spent about $15 CDN on gas for the round-trip of about 35 miles. I also bought the 5" x 8" x 48" maple burl.. for $30 that I thought might be good for the door sills.

That being said, I'm okay with the 3/16".. if anything it will give me some weight savings over the 1/4". Sometimes it just makes sense to use what you can get for a reasonable cost.

Installing roof planks

 Despite the rain I am making progress on the roof.. using PL Premium Max as the bonding adhesive. It has some great qualities, and most importantly works in the rain!! Especially since my shelter has now earned a couple small leaks!

So, I apply the Pl Premium Max in the groove and then on the topside of the tongue. I have been using a clamp to squeeze in the board. you can also just tap in light with a rubber mallet or push hard.. but the clamp is easy.

I then drill a hole with countersink for the stainless screws clamping the board in place while doing it. I will fill the hole with epoxy and wooden plug later. I know others have used nails, but this way I know I am not going to crack an oak roof beam.

I am working with 8ft and 3ft lengths offsetting the gap each end, so one row at the bow, and then on next row the seam is at the stern.

When I get a row in.. the PL has set enough that I just scrape the excess squeeze out off with a scraper. So far so good.. once I am done.. a light sand, hole plugs, and then sealed with epoxy and glass.