So I took a few days off from blogging. My most loyal friend, Rex the dog, had to be put down due to illness and that was very hard emotionally,  also its varnish, varnish, and more varnish everyday seems about the same and the pictures from one cote to the next look the same.  I can only say so much about it. I can tell you that I start the process with interlux interstain and then interlux sealer and then petit high build varnish, then epifanes high gloss but isnt that what everyone uses?  I roll and tip my varnish cotes sanding between cotes with a soft 220 block or scotch brite pad and then higher grit the closer I get to the final cote. The painter will come to do the gold leaf lettering so i can have a minimum of 3 cotes of varnish over it.  It takes a long time because varnish doesn't dry very fast, and it has to be done in manageable sections keeping a wet edge.

Building boats will drive you to drinking and what better drink for a boat builder then a screwdriver.( to start anyway)

A while ago i saw an article in one of the woodworking magazines about wood surf boards.  I liked the way they had done the frames with plywood and holes cut out to reduce weight.here is a similar project.http://wavetribecompany.com/make-a-wood-grain-surfboard/ i liked the project so much that i have continued to think about it, i have some clear western red cedar and was thinking that it would make nice looking decks on a stand up paddle board built in the same way as the surf board. i am thinking that a solid nose and tail piece. but the rails or as a boat builder calls them chines for lack of surfboard lingo. solid or decked with the same material as the rest?

Long day yesterday.  I drove 730 miles to pick up an engine for the Chris Craft i am restoring. Its a modern engine PCM. Low hours, pretty much brand new. The snow made that drive take longer than it should have taken, we had about 6 in on the roads when we started out at 3:30 AM the snow got lighter as we went south but the drivers got worse. seems that they dont get that much snow in southern Ohio so they are unaccustomed to 2 inches they had on the road. All in all we made it and the motor looks great. I need to thank Jeremy at the Antique Boat Center for helping me get it loaded and for showing us around.

I want to put this in here for fun.  this is the first boat i ever built.  It was a fun project when i was building it but its hard to look at now. I have learned so much in the last 10 years, I am sure that my current clients are thankful.
http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/af328/mcleodcarpentry/Boats/IMG00078-20100327-1513.jpg
this boat is a cedar strip canoe, i think of it more as a kayak without decks. Its great for cruising skinny water. easy to pick up and over logs or any thing that blocks the waterway.  one thing that i dont like is that without chines she is too tipsy for my taste.

Off to the Antique Boat Center in the morning to get an engine. gonna be a long day in the snow on the road.  Rummer has it that there isnt any snow in cinnci, we can only hope. I am not convinced that its cheaper to drive 12 hours to get this motor than it would be to have it shipped but... developing personal relationships in this business is valuable. I will be meeting the seller in person and you never can pass up making stronger ties.