Shiny happy people

So after an adjustment phase with my new spray gun, I think we've come to understand each other.

I like seeing reflections, even better when they are undistorted! The tape sorta shows where nonskid will go, and having those areas where I don't need to paint actually makes the ergonomics of painting the boat a whole lot easier- I could get in and look at the cockpit sides as the paint went on instead of spraying backwards, for instance. The little things...

Blocked.

After the first two coats, things weren't looking good so I did a mulligan.

While waiting for paint to arrive, I finished off the boom. Cut the ends, cut in outhaul exit sheaves, and gave it a coat of clear epoxy.

I came in at 6.7 pounds, so 1.2 pounds heavier than C-Tech's boom. Rats!

I thought it would be interesting to see what kind of keel deflection I get when the boat is laid over 90 degrees. This is the highest load the keel sees, although this static test doesn't account for waves/bouncing, or a crew person climbing on to right the boat.

So, too much deflection? Let's just say I'll be trying hard to keep away from 90 degrees for a while, and maybe getting started on MkII this winter. I have a snazzy beaver tailed bulb mold to try out...

Making little widgets to fill in the odd few minutes. Too hard to explain what this does, so I'll wait till later when it's installed and then a picture will suffice.

Next up is one more coat of white on the deck (fingers crossed it comes out as well as this morning's), then I can start on the green part, and installing hardware on the white bits. I just received a big ol box of cleats and blocks, and I have a bunch of nuts and screws coming tomorrow. Looking forward to that process, even if it means spending some quality time in the nether regions of the boat's interior.