Out for a run (through the yard)

Checking headroom in the future head/shower area.

Checking headroom in the center aisle.

There was a lot of visible progress during the past week.  The hull sides are welded and more bracing was added.  We tested the cabin height with temporary square tubing.

I thought John told me to check out the "lightning bolts" that he cut into the supports.  After a a bit of research, I figured out that he meant "lightening".

The next big project is figuring a way to support the sides to keep them from caving in when the boat gets turned.

Out for a turn around spin through the yard.

Port side view

Lightening holes, not lightning holes.

The empty shop.  It's too dark to see the motor hanging from the handy chain fall.

Turning the boat around....

The shop is so tight that John needed to turn the boat around to fit the rest of the hull sides.

  How he got the tractor in the space is a mystery to me.  Fortunately the yard is big enough to run it around.

Now there is room to trial fit the hull sides.

It's really going to be a boat!

Today's project was to install and tack weld the outside port and starboard hull skins.  These were cut from 4' x 12' sheets of aluminum - .125" thick.  If you do the math, each side will need 2 plus sheets to run the length of the boat.

Cabin sides are going up.  John is feeding the 25' wire feeder cable for the push pull gun into the boat. 

Port side lines are looking good. 

In spite of careful calculations, the skins and the frames didn't line up.  The anniversary gift dead blow hammer came in handy once again coercing the frame to meet the skin. 

Both skins are tack welded.  She is looking good.
  It's time to start thinking of a name for the boat.

Tool of the Day:
Butt clamps from Harbor Freight.
 (no kidding, that's what they are called.
  John modified them to join 1/8" aluminum.