The first problem or issue I came across was more of a logistics problem. Namely, where do I put this thing? Where do I work on it? My carport isn’t big enough for it. The roof isn’t tall enough, the boat is too long. I don’t want to put it in the back yard on the grass.
So I decided to put it on the side of the house. The house is at the end of the street with an alley running along the side of the property to the back of the property and then turns 90 degrees and runs along the back of all the properties on the street.
On the side of the property next to the alley, the house is set back 9 or ten feet from the fence. This is large enough for a parking space. But the fence returns to the house from the alley, so I will have to remove this section of the fence, a tree in front of the fence, and then remove the grass and pour a concrete driveway or put down gravel from the house to the street.
Also, at the street, or at the back of the sidewalk the lawn is a foot above the side walk with a small block wall holding back the dirt. So, I’ll need to remove a section of this wall and then return it to the house.
The first thing I started on was pouring concrete from the side of the house to the fence.
I found that I could handle a section about 6’ wide at a time. I had to buy the concrete premixed in bags from the local home improvement store. I could only carry 30 bags at a time due to the weight. I then mixed it in a wheelbarrow and poured and finished it.
By doing this, I could pour a slab 6 foot at a time until I got to the front of the house.
Then I removed the tree and the fence. Next, I removed a ten foot section of the one foot wall at the sidewalk and dug a trench along the side of what would be the new driveway. I had to reroute the sprinklers that served this section of the lawn. Then, in the trench, I poured a footing and built a one foot tall wall from the sidewalk back to the house. This defined the area of the driveway.
I dug out the dirt and sloped it, then poured concrete in 6 foot sections.
Now I have a smooth, level, hard surface to work on.
The next project that I worked on was to put brake lights on the trailer. I ran wires from the front to the locations for running lights on the sides, a license plate light at the rear, and brake lights. I enclosed the wires at the front in a rubber tube and put on a connector.
While I worked on the driveway, I built a deck over the bow or fo’c’sle and raised the cabin roof to give me almost 6’ of head room inside. I also had to rebuild the cockpit and widen the cabin to 8 foot.
I have covered both Amas with three layers of fiberglass cloth and resin. Now I am covering the main hull and cabin with fiberglass. That is a new experience. I feel that by the time I’m done, I will be pretty good at laying fiberglass. I’m not sure yet how I’ll fiberglass the bottom with the hull sitting in the trailer but I’ll figure something out.
I’m using polyester resin even though I read a lot about the advantages of epoxy or even West System Three. I just can’t justify the added expense at this time. When I am done, I’ll probably wish that I had used epoxy, but I figure that if a wooden hull can last for thirty years, my fiber glassed wooden hull should do as well.
