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Today was a lot of sanding, skimming, and repeating. The top of the hatch is satisfactory minus some detailing around the duct and 2x4 supports. I’ll try to get the bottom surface to primer tomorrow.

Sanded, skimmed, and primed the hatch sealing surface. I have a 3/8” thick hatch gasket for it, so the fit can be a little off - but not much. As soon as the primer cures, I’ll pop it on the hatch opening and see how it fits. I have to do that anyway to get the black/white border marked off to match the deck paint scheme. Starting to think I might actually finish.

The weekend was full of driving 8 hours and family time - going to see the musical SIX, and playing with grandkids. Lost the first half of today doing church business. Finally got back on the project this afternoon. Managed to get started on the hatch paint and finish the hood paint. I may be able to finish the machine deck paint tomorrow.

Here’s a pic of the hood for chuckles.

Hatch is painted. That was the last piece before assembly. I’ll give it a day or two to cure then start final assembly.

Hatch piece completed minus a touch-up or two…. later


Bottom of machine deck painted white. This will be flipped over and screwed/epoxied to he hatch.

That paint job looks NICE! Matches the style of the Mac raccoon stripes. Makes me think about giving in to the fading of the gelcoat deck stripes and just painting them like Ray did.

Thanks. Yeah, the painted heater unit will be the shiniest part of my boat. I think paint would be the easiest spruce up - even though it’s not super easy.

I envy guys like you with the talent to build stuff that looks so professional. That looks like a factory accessory.

Well done.

A few more progress pics. Mocked up the assembly to see how it looks. Still doing that last 10% before I put the major parts together for good.

That is a FINE looking project! WOW!

I had to build a cradle to hold the hatch properly so I could finish assembling the hatch and machine deck. As I was wrapping that up, my neighbor called and asked if I wanted to go sailing…. The rest is history.










Me, in the foreground, trying to stay warm at the helm.








Great afternoon on the water! A little chilly, but perfect wind and very little chop. Speed was 3.8 to 5.3 kt, for the trip. We ran from just north of Dog River to Gaillard Island, then tacked twice to get back. Wind was from the north.

I'll take bundled up to stay warm sailing over our lake is still frozen 1 foot thick.

*envious*

I might have to explore moving South towards your way.

Jimmy,

Are you the guy who looks like he’s ready for arctic exploration, as opposed to the other chap in jeans, and a top?

NiceAft wrote: ↑Tue Feb 25, 2025 12:48 pm Jimmy,

Are you the guy who looks like he’s ready for arctic exploration, as opposed to the other chap in jeans, and a top?

Yes. 2 factors. First, that guy is a Viet Nam vet and he is tough as nails. Second, he’s more protected by the dodger.

Plus, that mask is a sun mask, not for winter use; and the jacket I’m wearing does little in the way of preventing wind from blowing through.

But, when you get down to it, I’m a southern boy and start shivering when it gets below 60 deg F.

Had a lot of other duties today, so didn’t get a lot done. But, I finally got the new tank mounted so I can see what it’s going to look like. Fuel line is not permanent yet…

You Southerners are not tolerant of cold temp apparently. Your blood must be acclimated to warmer temps. Kids here don't put long pants on until temps are below 50. We are exploring a warmer state to retire without snow.

I was wondering what your plans were for the fuel tank. That looks pretty sharp. So are you planning on running it on diesel? Get the red dyed cheaper stuff. That tank looks like it has a fairly large capacity and I imagine you won't need to run it long to heat up the cabin.

Russ wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2025 6:20 am
I was wondering what your plans were for the fuel tank. That looks pretty sharp. So are you planning on running it on diesel? Get the red dyed cheaper stuff. That tank looks like it has a fairly large capacity and I imagine you won't need to run it long to heat up the cabin.

I appreciate the nice comments, guys! It’s been a fun project to do. Of course, now that I’m drilling holes in my freshly painted fiberglass work, things have gotten a bit more stressful. But, I can see the finish line.

Yes. Diesel is the fuel.

The aluminum tank is 2 gallons and matches the capacity of the plastic tank that came with the kit.

Should be good for about 48 hours of continuous operation. If you can believe YouTube, the unit modulates to maintain the cabin temperature (the mode I intend to use). In this mode the current drops down to about 0.3 amps while the unit is maintaining temp. However, starting current is about 10 amps for several minutes (glow plug has to get the fire started). So, there is a trade-off for using it intermittently vs letting it run.

I bought a power meter to monitor my house battery usage. I’ll have to get some run time data of my own before I know what I’ve actually gotten myself into.

This is the tank that came in the kit. I couldn’t figure out how to make it look good.