Boat Rigging #1

Labor Day was the last day that I saw Jon Johnson.  He hitched a 1 7/8" ball ride west on I-94, swung North on 53 and kept going on Hwy 61.  I brief couple of days in a lonely driveway until TP swung by to collect on a verbal agreement whereby he is the rightful owner.

In case there is any doubt about the selection process...I received this text from TP yesterday:
"Picked up the boat.  Words don't explain how perfect this boat is for me THANK YOU."

I already knew that Jon Johnson was streamlined, no-nonsense, kick-ass fishing machine.  What the text proves is...so is TP.

The lesson: If you have to move and you can't take your beloved black lab with you.  Make sure it ends up with one of your buddies who digs black labs as much (or more) than you do.  No sense in remorse...
Jon isn't the family pet.  But, he might as well have been.

Jon Johnson - bags packed.

Alrighty then.

The next order of business is to get Jon's replacement (yet to be named) up and running.
I've got grand plans and the time to make them happen.
The Yamaha is hung and I even took the kids for a joyride on the local lake. Things went swimmingly or rather not swimmingly...maybe floatingly is more apropos...

The first rigging task is to assemble a floor.  I picked up some 2" foam insulation, cut out a jig and mass produced a floor leveling system.  I had to buy a handful of retractable box cutters from the local hardware store as these seem to be the best way to cut the foam.  The guy working the checkout asked, after I dropped my purchases on the counter, if I was planning to fly somewhere soon...
I couldn't help but think it was still too soon for 9/11 jokes.

Back to the project.

Sections of foam cut-outs were glued and wrapped in landscaping cloth (as I did with Jon Johnson) to keep the floor from sagging and to make sure that the whole works didn't squeak when stryo met aluminum.  Cheap system + added floatation = winning.

Foam cut to create a level floor

Foam strips glued

Glued strips dropped in to check fit...

Landscaping cloth wrap - silence is the key.

Finished wrap.

Cut glued and wrapped.

I've been researching the decking options and have been shopping around.  The plastic plywood that I decked Jon with is no longer available from the local Menards.  I looked at acrylic and polycarbonate and decided they weren't quite right.  I have been asked a few times why I'm not using plywood and my answer is...because I don't want to.  I called a local plastics shop and the guy (Jim) suggested I look at Marine Grade HDPE.  I told him I was considering ABS.  He said that he had a sheet of 1/8" ABS that I could come take a look at so I drove up and checked it out.  The good news is that 1/8" ABS would probably work very well, and if I am concerned about strength, I can custom order 1/4".  the bad news is that it only comes in black.  Black would look cool, but it would certainly not feel cool (especially on bare feet).  He is now making a few calls to see if he can get me some 1/4" marine HDPE in gray.  While I was there I mentioned that I also needed some UHMW for my oar lock sockets.  He had a 4"x4"x12" brick that I thought would work well.  He told me to take it and that we'd settle up when we got the sheeting/decking worked out.  One phone call and a short visit and they are already letting me buy on credit.  Unheard of these days...

Oar Locks - Last night I did some drawing and brainstormed my plan for the oar locks.

Blank Slate

Tonight I started milling the sockets...things are underway.

Underway...

I hope to keep reporting on the progress.  If this stuff doesn't put you to sleep, stay tuned.