Plastic Classic Forum

That looked like fun!

Man, it sure is a pretty sheerline when it's all naked like that. I'll bet your juices are really flowing now!

"You see, Mr. Excavator, I really need you get out here fast, 'cuz I just cut the top off the boat and you would not believe the difference......"

It was, indeed, a good time. There was an awful lot of standing back and saying "wow." It certainly took much longer than I had anticipated, though. Especially getting the cockpit well out.

But, "a wicked good time" was had by both parties involved, I think!

There's something really satisfying about that sort of demolition work. I had no qualms whatsoever about cutting into the deck on the boat; there was never any sense of worry about it. I guess it was made easy by the knowledge up front (even before the boat was truly purchased) that the deck would come off entirety, and also by the fact that the deck, as it was, was more or less beyond salvage without a massive amount of work.

I think both Nathan and I were surprised by how long it took--probably because we were lulled into a false sense of timing by how quickly the entire cabin trunk came off. But the rest of the process was much slower.

The boat is certainly enhanced by the deck removal at this point! Yesterday afternoon (6/8/03), I removed the rest of the toerail and the remaining bow deck section, so the hull looks even sleeker and better now. More pics to come in the near future.

This was a major step in the process, and I'm psyched. As I keep plugging away at the interior structure removal, it will get even better. I can't wait to get all that nasty old paint and other stuff ground out of the interior, and get things cleaned up a bit.

silly question, but how are you dealing with rainwater? drill a few holes through the side of the keel bilge?

Not silly at all. As it happens, there was a preexisting threaded bilge drain at the turn of the bilge that has worked nicely to keep the boat more or less free of standing water.

Obviously, no new construction will take place with the boat out in the open like this--only demolition and prep. New stuff will have to wait till the boat is inside the yet-to-be-built barn.

The boat is slated to be moved sometime this week back to my own personal nothing-grows-here toxic waste site, a boatlength back and caddy-cornered to where she is now (where Glissando normally sits during the off season). Once in the new spot, and more out of the way, I will feel less concerned about doing nasty jobs like sanding paint off the hull and so forth.