FOUR LETTER WORDS

This weeks conversations around the farm consists of four letter words that we had not heard in a while. The weather has taken a turn i'm afraid. "John, it's cold, put more wood on the fire! Man it looks like its going to snow again. Is there warm food for lunch? You mean we're going out in the cold and WORK!?"

And work we did! Last year we suffered a snow collapse and were delayed by almost a month fixing the shelter. If you recall, several months ago we reinforced the covered shelter that protects Luna from the elements.   Well thank goodness we did. The new ridge pole took the load just fine and all day long we heard melting slush slide off the cover and spat on the ground. Of course what wasn't seen was the time our shipwright took to shake the frame as the snow was coming down to keep it off in the first place. Thank you!

To help our followers understand where we are working on Luna, the work areas are marked in red.

Todays projects continued where we left off last week. Clamps are continuing to be lagged in and the aft bulkhead is permanently set! (sorry for the poor photo quality, all I had was my phone camera today)

In the aft section the clamps are being lagged in. One of the problems we face is getting the wood bent back into its original position. The wood must be forced down to the frame surface then bolted in place. Drills are prepared to make new pilot holes for the bolts as the clamp is about to be refastened.

This is the aft bulkhead being screwed into place! The bulkhead is actually three sheets of one inch thick marine grade plywood which have been spliced to fit together, which results in no open seam. Each splice is then epoxied and bolted together. Eventually this will also be fiberglassed to ensure a watertight and somewhat crashproof bulkhead. The deckbeam has been set in front to hold the bulkheads position while the epoxy dries and bolts are secured. Note the blue tape- its important and you'll see it again in the next picture. Also of importance is the camber, or curve, of the cabin top. This is visible at the top of the bulkhead and will give Luna her distinct appearance.

SEE, I SAID IT WAS IMPORTANT!

The tape was marking off the aft companion way. We opted to make a small hatch for the time being to pass tools and ourselves into the cabin. Its a good thing we are going small as the blue tape went almost down to the deck beam and plywood. Underway and in foul seas, this would allow water to possibly slosh right down the companion way into the boat. We will have to change plans a bit and make the bottom of the way a little higher than expected. It will also be widened a bit more, we just didn't want to make it too wide to start.

Thank you to our volunteers who braved the elements today. We will be off next week as our family spends time with their families, but we plan on having a blog up so please visit again.