Twins

Just about done on both boats.  They did come out nice.  I'm ready to race!

Final coat

I put on the last coat of spar urethane.  I used the Helmsman brand.  That makes a total of 8 coats.   Next up is reinstalling the hardware.  I should have the boat race ready by  next week.

Back on track

I got all the nasty varnish off the boat.  Not using that stuff anymore.  The way to go is urethane.  It looks as good,  has as good or better UV protection, and it goes on easy.  Not to mention it's 1/3 the cost.

Two steps back

I haven't posted too much about the Cates because I screwed up the last coat of varnish.  For whatever reason it sagged and clumped up. When it dried it looked horrible.  I've been spending time between the Abbott project stripping and sanding all the finish off the Cates.  I'm just about there.  A few more hours and I'll get to start all over again.

Road trip

I've taken a hiatus from the Cates for a while.  I've concentrated my time on the Abbott that I'm also restoring.  So I had some time today and just happened to be in Washington DC.  I took a few minutes to look around at things that were.  I spent the bulk of my working years in this town and a lot of them right on the National Mall. I took lunchtime walks around the mall and usually stopped in a museum along the way.  My time was limited today so I only got into the Air and Space museum, which just happens to be my favorite.  A few pix of the visit.

 The most famous airplane in the place.  The original Flyer.    If you ever visit the outer Banks of NC you can see the original launch site.  It's still there.  The museum in NC has a flyer but it's a copy.

                                                          This is the real McCoy

I'm back...

I haven't worked on the Cates for two weeks.  I've been spending my time on the Abbott.

I did manage to get the new splash boards on and I got one coat of spar varnish on.  The boat has 6 coats of spar urethane

One more coat of varnish and then I'll start putting all the parts back on the boat.

Looks good!

Right side up

I'm done with the bottom paint.  It is what it is.  I've declared victory...  I made the replacement splash boards and spent about an hour fitting them.  I'll finish that up this weekend and then one or two more coats of varnish and then start putting the hardware back on the boat.