Back to Upholstery shop

First of all. I cant believe this website has received over 10,000 hits!!! That just crazy. I hope it helped/inspired another builder like previous builders sites did for me.

The boat is out of my hands. The deadline Bill and I agreed on is Sept 6th and it looks like its quite possible it could be ready early. That's six days later than my schedule I set at the end of June. Cutting it close. I sure hope we dont run into any snags with the motor, or fuel system. IF things go smoothly the 12th is a possible tentative launch day. Knock on wooden boat.

When I dropped the boat off today another customer was picking his boat up and looking at the Zip said, "Thats an oldie but a goodie, isnt it?" I just said "Yep!" and left it at that. Made me smile. That was the first comment from someone outside my neighborhood or family.

Ill be heading to the BMV tomorrow with my stack of receipts to show I paid the required tax on materials and pictures to show I actually built this thing. That's all the IN BMV website says is required so I can get it registered and a hull ID number assigned. Then I will be heading to a local sign company to design and print the name that will be applied in vinyl lettering. Im thinking faux gold leaf and some elegant font thinly shadowed.
Any guess as to what the name will be????

Jewelry

Mounted the cutwater and transom bands today. Also, ordered a new half-round rubber rub rail to get by for the rest of the season until I have more time to figure out what I am going to do with the stainless steel one. Ill get better pics when I take the boat into the driveway the next time. The cutwater really needs the rub rail to tie everything together. Without it, it just doesnt look right.I couldnt drill the bottom screw holes in the transom bands with the trailer frame in the way. I'll get to that next time I have some more muscle around here to help scoot the boat back on the trailerI also cut out the notch I needed for the steering cable to clear but I dont think I am going to have time for another test fit of the motor before the boat goes back to the upholstery guy Thursday.

Motor Install Logistics

Today was another good, long day of boat work.
First, I finished up some tasks for the interior guy that he wanted done before I take the boat back to him late this week. (Set the gaps for the seat fabric, rounded corners, encapsulated ply)
Then Heather and I went to a local car show, it was a nice break.
After the car show my father in-law came by and we mounted the motor and marked and drilled most of the holes for the motor connections. We got the throttle and shift hooked up and working. Also, most of the steering is ready to hookup but I need to get a extension for my drill to remedy a clearance problem before I can see the motor steer with the steering wheel. We also planned for the electrical connections cutout. I need to shop for some more boots to cover the steering cutouts as well. So close but so much more to do.

Windshield and Deck Hardware

Today I got to work installing the windshield. Then I decided to install all the deck hardware now while the deck is sanded down, prior to the final clear coat. I'll remove them again before the clear coat is applied but I like looking at it all installed for now.

Rub Rail Woes

This morning my plan was to attach the rub rail and maybe even the cutwater and transom bands then remove them and clear coat the deck one last time.
Well the rub rail fought me from the start and never would fit right. It will not twist and i need it to twist in order to get the bottom edge to lay flat on against the hull. Here is a picture of the part I got mounted at the bow from a side view which looks okay then looking up from the bottom and you can see the HUGE gap.
A thinner rub rail like 1/2" or maybe 3/4" should help alleviate the problem but some guys say I still may have a little gap. I dont want to spend the money if Im still going to have a little bit of a gap. So frustrating.

Upholstery shop

This morning the boat made another road trip. This time to the upholstery shop. Bill the upholstery guy was able to get the measurements he needed and a we talked ideas, picked material, and set the price. He cant actually start on it until the 26th so I brought the boat back home and I have a couple things I will do to save Bill some time when he does start and I will sand and re-coat the deck one last time. Then I will start installing the stainless exterior trim if I have time before I need to take the boat back to Bill's.

Stripe Painted

Finished up painting the white stripe today. You can also see the cutwater on the ground in front of the boat. Some folks asked to see a picture of it taped in place but I dont want to put it in place until the paint is cured but there is a sneak peak at it.
I also have green paint for a 1/4" pinstripe between the blue and white but thats gonna wait. I only have 45 more days until the big Gathering in TN. So its necessary items only now then I can add little touches like that if I have time.

The boat is safely back in my garage. The cutwater Mike made looks great and appears it will fit perfectly when I am ready to install it.
I got to work on the floor as soon as I got back home so I can get it re-installed soon. I also taped off the boot stripe and prepped it for paint. Ill try to get that done early tomorrow morning.

Im hoping I can get enough done to take the boat or at least some parts to the upholstery guy by the end of the week.

Cutwater is done.

Got the call from Mike today, saying it would be done by this afternoon.
Mike and I's schedules dont match up for me to get the boat until monday though, no prob though I havent even got the floor boards cleared yet.

Leaving the nest

The Zip is leaving the confines of the driveway and garage for the first time. Headed for the metal man 2 hours drive north. Neeerve Wraaacking

16th month now

Another month flew past. Only 51 days left until the big Gathering of Glen-L boatbuilders in TN. So far 35 boats are registered and almost 100 people, gonna be a great time.

Anyway, I worked on the boat 77.5 hours in July. Bringing the grand total of hours spent working on the boat to 648. Funny, I originally estimated I could build this boat in less than 500 hours. I blew the budget estimate by about the same percentage too.

Insurance

I am planning to drop the boat off for the cutwater and transom bands to be made this weds. I'll finalize the deck clear coat later.
This means the boat needs to be insured before I take it out of the shop for the 2 hour drive. I called Hagerty collector car/boat insurance and they set me up. They are one of the few that will insure homebuilt boats and are familiar with the Glen-L designs. Im quite pleased. They asked how much I wanted the boat to be valued at I told them 10,300. They agreed with that value, which does not depreciate over time and the premiums are $265/year. This covers the boat and trailer. We also agreed on a value for the restored motor of $900 and that is $20/year for a total of $285. The liablility coverage and details are very similar to my auto insurance, if you want the details email me. I am very pleased with that for a homebuilt boat since they only have pictures of your boat to go from its pretty risky for them since they dont know the integrity of your work.