Day Two

Woke up this morning with my hands throbbing. I'm not used to real labor. It feels good though. Started the day by getting some wire brushes for the angle grinder. Removing the paint with that turned into a three hour job instead of a [projected] twenty hour job. After lunch, I cut out the new bunk boards, popped off the wheel hubs, I'm going to need new bearings. Then I began with the primer. The trailer now has one coat of primer on it.

Tomorrow I plan on putting a second coat of primer on, then going shopping for some bearings, a piece of carpet for the bunk boards some new wheels, and a lights system. After shopping I will commence with painting. Right now it's a distinct possibility that the trailer will be done tomorrow afternoon.


Favorite Tool of the Day: Angle grinder

Day One

Today began the work on the trailer. Initial inspection shows that the bunk boards are mostly rotten and will need to be replaced. The axle still turns nicely, but the hubs will need to be taken apart and the bearings cleaned. The paint is in terrible shape, so the trailer will need to be stripped, primed and painted. The center beam of the trailer has been rusted through.

Began the day by welding on a piece of L beam to the middle bar for support. Removed the bunk boards carefully so we can use them as a pattern for the new bunk boards. Started chipping the paint away. It's coming off easily in most places because it was not properly primed the first time. After about 2 hours of slaving away with a small scraper and a chisel, I decided to go to the hardware store and purchase a large wood scraper. That did the trick and has sped up the work infinitely.

Favorite Tool of the Day: Hawksbill knife.


Slide show via flickr

Day Zero

The day before I left to come back to college at the end of the summer, my dad asked me if I wanted a sailboat. After talking about it, I agreed to get it. Some guy my dad works with has an old Y Flyer class sailboat out behind his house just growing weeds. It's not in terrible shape. From the pictures and the guy, the fiberglass is intact, save for one crack in the bow. Most of the wood is rotten, but the hardware is all good. There is no apparent rudder in sight. The sails are in near perfect condition, having been kept in the garage. The trailer for the boat is in terrible shape. The wheels are missing, the paint is chipping off, and the whole thing is coated with rust. As far as we know, the boat has never had a name. At this moment I have a name in mind, but I will not reveal it to anyone (except Lauren) until the boat is complete. Until then I will refer to it as vessel 2291.

Since our initial conversation this summer, I've done some research about Y Flyers. They are a strange little rectangular boat, but if built up to class specifications, I can race in Y flyer regattas. Up until today, I had not heard anything from my dad.

Dad called today to see if I really wanted the boat. If I did, he'd go up and get the trailer. Over break, I'll rebuild the trailer and then go get the boat and repair the boat. The goal is to have the boat water ready by the date I return to school.

I accepted the challenge