Tom's Tahoe

[TomB]

Hi Tom,

Any progress lately?

Progress...not sure, I had to take most of November off but I have been able get back at it this month.

I keep making sketches of seats. This is the only one that has survived. Survived is progress maybe. And this is the hinge bracket for the seat bolster.

I also started the template for a cutwater. This one goes too far below the waterline and flares too much at the top...progress?

The next post will show a little more progress.

Tom

[TomB]

The guards and the dash have been fabricated and are in the encapsulation stage. At the transom the guards are 3" wide and 1 5/8" tall at the hull tapered to a 1 1/8" tall flat for the rub rail. The angle of taper stays the same as the guard width gets smaller forward.

I use low viscosity MAS epoxy most of the time. I thinned it 10% by volume with alcohol so it would flow and lay down a little better....five or six coats and its almost there. The staple holes filled without much effort.

. The grain looks "dramatic" in the above photo. The photo below is more accurate.

Tom

[JimmY]

Glad to see you're still plugging away at it.

[mrintense]

Dang, such a beautiful boat. Really, really, really nice Tom. I can't say that enough.

[TomB]

Thanks Carl.

I spent most of the afternoon working on the rump. First I sanded and found several staple holes and other divots that needed filling. The convex curve sands ok with a long board, the concave curve in the step, not so much. I resorted to giving it a good amount of flex to a card scraper and take off an even shaving leaving a fair surface without any gouges.

Masking tape surrounds each of the repair spots. A dab of epoxy was applied for repair and then packing tape was used to level the epoxy and keep it from running. Thanks again Neel for suggesting this method.

The transom will get one more coat of epoxy after all the repairs have been sanded out.

Tom

[mrintense]

I think one of the reasons we all love the curves so much is because we all know how much work goes into getting them to look like they do. Looking great Tom. I know it's a headache, but you'll be really glad when finished . Just hope you can take lots of compliments because I think you will getting them!!

[TomB]

Maybe someday.

The guards went on today. For three "simple" boards, they really soak up the time.

And the transom with the guard in place.

Tom

[neel thompson]

NICE Tom

[Bill Edmundson]

Tom

Guards are very difficult! A 3D twisting curve against the hull. There is no hiding it on a bright work boat. Great job!

Bill

[TomB]

Tom

Guards are very difficult! A 3D twisting curve against the hull. There is no hiding it on a bright work boat.

Bill

Thanks Neel and Bill. I'm a big fan of mahogany colored caulk. Tom

[PeterG]

Amazing. Your extra efforts show, they really set off the style and lines of you boat. Good standard of workmanship!

[TomB]

Thanks Pete.

Today I started sanding the deck to 320 grit for eventual varnishing. I found a few high spots...and sanded through. So no pictures, couldn't see through the dust cloud!

Tom

[mrintense]

You know Tom, perfection has it's downsides. If you sand too much, you'll have to start over making a new boat!!

[TomB]

Good point Carl. I was relieved to see the boat still there when the dust settled.

Visitors came for the Holidays, some for Thanksgiving and some for New Years Eve! Had to clean the shop and keep it that way. I find it restrictive to not be able to make a mess.

So I did some thinking with cardboard.

First the cutwater, still need to add screw locations and some spread dimensions for fabrication. The rub rail will hide the top edge.

And a windshield. I like the Riva look but fabrication would to be a challenge. Do I heat and beat aluminum to make a frame or make it out of wood?

The flat plastic sheet looks reasonable. I'm not sure about the bend.


Tom

[TomB]

I rolled and tipped the deck epoxy (thinned 10 percent by volume with alcohol) and elected not to use a chip brush. A few weeks ago someone wrote "chip brushes shed like an old dog". I shorten the bristles so mine shed like a short haired old dog. I tried using a foam brush in the hope of avoiding shedding problem. The foam brushes leave little bits of foam Overall the surface is reasonably flat, but I wanted to remove the brush marks and other high spots without a bunch of dust. I gave the card scraper a try and it worked great, cutting off the high spots while leaving the valleys (The area beyond the scraper is scraped and ready for sanding). And the residue stays put without flying all around the room.

The brush nubs show in the reflections. The area on the right has been scraped leaving a mostly dull flat surface. The area at the bottom of the photo has been scraped and sanded with 120, 220, and 320, and wiped down with water.

Tom