We Do Too Much - The Launching of "Blue Pike"

During the ceremony, we read the boat blessing written by Jawon Jordan.
May God bless the water and the boat
May we be guided as we float
May angels steer us through the day
As heavens from above guide the way.

After the boat was christened, "Blue Pike", we went for sea trials.

Notice that we added a wheel to Mighty Oak (blue stripe). 

The red boat (Blue Pike) gets a head start off the dock.

Getting in line for the race.

Racing fun!

 Blue Pike is the winner!

March Madness

Time flies when you're having fun! There's an update from the boat shop.

Oar handles getting rounded and finished up!

We decided to change the shape of the yoke that was provided with the kit.  There's what we came up with! We are getting it rounded over, sanded, and ready for varnish!

Both skiffs in the shop getting prepped for spring.  Getting fresh varnish, new leathers, fresh paint job, etc.  We can't wait to get out on the water and race them!

Finally, working on floorboards using the old ones from our first skiff as a pattern.  We beveled the edge so it fit against the hull.

Looking good!

Happy Thankskiffing

Our Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful, we had a great dinner with each other.

This is a picture of us having a great Thanksgiving dinner together.

We're putting the last finishing touches on the skiff.

This is one of our great students doing detail work on the skiff.

This is one of our students taking the edge tape off.

Paint It Up Boat Style

We're putting the second coat of primer. 

After we put the primer on, we put on our first coat of paint. 

Now we scuffed the thwarts and prepared for varnishing.

Applied varnish on the foot stretcher brackets.

We applied burgundy paint on the sheer strake.

BOTTOMS UP!

We were putting bottom paint on the boat.

Rollin' and tippin' 

Our group was painting the Keel.

Oar You Ready?

We are using the band saw to cut the kabes.

Then we were putting on the first coat of primer on the keel and the garboard plank.

Now we are using teamwork to finish putting the first coat of primer on the bottom of the boat

We are tipping out the primer on the boat.

Next we taped the boat with pieces of scrap paper so the bottom paint doesn't drip to the topsides. 

Finally, we are using a plane to level and even out the oars.

Roll, Roll, Roll Your Boat.

This is an artsy shot of us priming the boat.

We started applying the first coat of primer.  The technique we used for painting is called "Rolling and Tipping".  We used this method to get an even coat of paint with no bubbles.  

Then we added a second coat of primer.

After we primed, we applied the first coat of paint to the inside of the boat.  The color we chose is Interlux's Seattle Gray.

Teamwork!

The floorboards from last years skiff fit into our new skiff.  We used them as a pattern for the new floorboards.

In order to paint the outside of the boat we had to flip it first.  We set the edge on life jackets and rolled it over.

We adjusted the boat.           

We placed crates under the boat once we got it leveled out.

Pretty Prepping

We sanded and cleaned the thwarts before applying a coat of sealer.  The sealer soaks into the grain of the wood and protects it.  We decided to finish the thwarts "bright" meaning they'll be a natural wood color when we're finished.

Notice the chamfer on the bottom of the seats, we removed some of the wood from the bottom of the seats to make them appear thinner.

Applying the sealer to the seats and seat supports.

This is our breasthook at the bow after we sealed it with the sealer.

We started cutting out kabes with the band saw.

We were sanding the boat, prepping for primer.