The Greenland Bug Cont. (Pt. 9)

Only one month has past since my last posting. The boat is finally done. In fact it was done not long after the past posting was completed.

Since the weather has been cold lately, most of the final work was done inside in the back room. By the time I got to the final coat of varnish, I was getting much better as applying it fine and even with a two inch foam brush. It went on easily and needed little sanding. I believe that on a relatively warm day, after taking the boat outside again, I sanded the outside all over with 220 grit paper and then with 600 grit wetted paper. It took a lot of wiping and rinsing to get the wet finish done, but by that time it looked like a smooth matt finish.

Deck surface after a wet sanding.

The day hatch installed.

Now I started to concentrate on fitting the deck additions. I decided that I should put the day hatch in at this point, and I would wax around it. It went in easily with six bolts and locking nuts. The bow deck line, which holds the end of the paddle in place was faily easy to pass through the designed hole and to tie off. I cut it to an estimated length and re-tied it around the cedar bead that I had finished some time ago. I then finished the fore deck block which threads through the three deck lines, and came up with an idea for attaching the line with as little protrusions inside the boat as possible. Instead of tying off the line into a knot inside the hull, I fed the line trough a large plastic washer and melted the end into a slightly spread out disk which would not pass back though the hole in the washer. I did this on one end, threaded the line through the deck holes and the block and then carefully did it again at the other end (sort of which cramped insode the boat). I left the static line a little loose. It is just snug if both the paddle and the norsaq are under the line. If only one or none are under the line, it appears to be a little loose. I have yet to see how this holds up under continuous use.

Deck lines installed.

With all that done, it was time to wax. The last step. I then took a friend's power waxer and applied about three coats of outdoor wax, buffed down between each coat. This did not take long. Maybe a couple of days, allowing some time between coatings to let the wax dry.

Waxing.

As for the fittings inside of the boat; I have completed the carving of a double height layer of four inch thick closed cell foam into a curved back support. I glued two layers together with neoprene cement and then kept carving and refitting for a couple of days, until I was happy with it. It slides in and out with some effort and sticks out into the cockpit area by about three inches. I cannot decide what to do for the foot support. I know that sometimes I will not want to have a support for rolling, and at other times I will. For now, I am just sticking in some foam pieces which came with an old Wavesport boat. Hopefully it will sort itself out later. Also, I am unsure about hip pads. Originally I had thought I would make some small pads to rest against under the lip of the cockpit, but now I am not sure. For now I have two one in thick squares that just squeeze in that area, and again I will figure it out as I use the boat more, I hope.

Roughing out the back support block.

Back support block finished and installed.

So I waxed the boat and waxed the boat. After three coatings of wax, the boat was so slippery that I could barely carry it without fear of it slipping away from me like a banna popping out of its skin. It reminded me of the Tim Taylor "Tool Time" episode where he waxes the new dance floor so much that when the first person steps onto it, they slip and break their leg.

Super waxed.

The waxed surface of the boat is shiny and slightly darker than the bare epoxied wood. It is very smooth, although if you look close enough, you can find some varnish waves that I just did not care to try to sand completely out.