Long time, no work... finally got a little done today, which was really nice. It was hard to get motivated back into it, but once I was out there, Dane and I had a good time.

Started off doing a little work for a friend who needed some wood cut, which kind of helped get back in the swing of things, and got me motivated to get the tools out.

One thing a boat-building hobby gives is an infinite source of present ideas. My family did very well this cycle :-)

Got a nice 6" bench vise, a set of clamps (there are NEVER enough clamps when building a boat), and lastly a nice set of LED trailer lights to mount on the trailer. Those will be very handy and are a requirement to getting this stuff on the road.

Sorry for the long absence... just wanted to let all my hoards of adoring fans (well, all 3 or 4 of you, anyhow) know that we are still alive. Between illness (nothing major), work and generally cruddy weather, we've had a long "wet" spell (its too rainy to be a dry spell) to get much of anything done on the boat.

If it dries off long enough, I want to get some paint on the interior where it hasn't been, get some flooring down, and be ready to really start some systems work. Its going to be plain-jane, but we need basic nav lights, bilge pump, etc.

Anyway, we're still here!

p. 48, Issue #4, 2009.

DIY Boat Owner magazine.

Made the big time now :-)

They were kind enough to do a one page about my V28 build, including pictures and everything. Neat.

Mad Mariner™ owns DIY Boat Owner and I do write paid articles for Mad Mariner's online magazine.

Got the porthole windows mounted with sealant behind and then around the plywood "frame". Will need a final coat or two of paint and those should be ready to go.

Time = 1 hour

Well, between family commitments (got to love those term papers), got a little bit done... got a coat of paint on the porthole frames and a second coat on the front/rear cabin doors where I had sanded the other day.

Except for interior stuff, the exterior needs a final sand and paint and is about there.

Well, I figured some sanding and maybe a little painting was about all I would get done today. Dane got me going on the cabin side "porthole" windows and we got a good bit knocked out right quick.

Did get the front and rear door windows sanded, along with some filler I had put on the transom. Then moved to sanding the hull a bit prepatory for another coat of paint. Was going to get Dane to work on that but he lobbied for the portholes.

I know we need the rain, and that we've been in a drought, but this is beginning to get rediculous. Local lakes are over full, people are getting flooded, and we have another day of rain :-) Guess I didn't get the treat.

I was loose, went down to my folks, and was going to get some of the welding done on the trailer frame. Have to get that finished up down at the welder before I can bring it back home to get it wired up and a boat on it.

It rained.

Not mixed, thankfully.

Got a bit of epoxy filler on the front and rear door window frames... they will need plenty of sanding, I'm afraid.

Stepped inside for a minute and found that an ant "hill" had taken up residence in my boat. That necessitated finding the ant spray and then vacuuming up a bunch of ant bodies.

Something about all the wet weather we've had seems to have all the ants moving to higher ground. I would just as soon they skipped my boat.