My current "challenge" (they're never problems) is two fold. Firstly, a significant chunk of my "dedicated" boat funds has found itself diverted to household revenue (i.e. sucked up by urgent bills). My wife has promised me that I will get it back ASAP, but it's meant that I can't get my cedar just yet and the project has therefore ground to a frustrating halt. It's not all bad though because the second part of my "challenge" is the fact that I've been struggling to nail down a price/supplier for the cedar anyway. I never thought it'd be so confusing to get this stuff, even in such small sizes. Plus the money most places have quoted so far, all seem pretty high to me.
So I've been searching in the phone book, on the internet and asking just about everyone I could possibly ask for tips/solutions. I wasn't keen on cutting the stock myself, in case I stuffed it up and I dreaded the cost in setting up machinery to do it. I've now come to the conclusion that cutting the planks myself will have to be the way I'll go. From my estimates, it'll cost me about the same (maybe slightly less), but at least I'll then have the machinery to use on future builds, and I'll learn heaps plus there will be the satisfaction of knowing that I did it all myself. Ironically, whilst comparing prices in Bunnings this morning, I came across a "flip combination Mitre/Table saw". It was a clearance sale as it was the last one. Retail price was $399, clearance price $200. I went home to think about it and promptly made the decision that I wrote about in the lines above. I flew back to Gosford, snapped it up & it's now sitting in my (now quite crowded) shed.
I still have to order a thin Cerf blade for it, as well as track down a reasonably priced trimmer, along with bead & cove bits, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Another little gem that I bought today was something I'd ordered ages ago. It's a wet stone sharpener. When I did a night course in boatbuilding some years back, the necessity of razor sharp tool became obvious. I've got a bench grinder, but apparently they bugger your blades by overheating (spin too fast), so I was on the lookout for something proper for the job. I came across this interesting little unit in the Gasweld catalogue and so I ordered one. Seems cheap enough at $99. Anyway, it'd arrived so I went & picked it up this morning as well.
So that just leaves me to solve the initial problem of cash flow. The good news there is that once I sell my cat, I should have plenty to carry on with. I have just about finished repairing the rudders (which has been an adventure in itself).
Now, if I can just get a few non-rainy days off, then I can sand/paint the rudders and wash/polish up the rest of the cat and finally get it advertised for sale. I'm so looking forward to having the funds and getting this boat built. My severe lack of time and money has meant I haven't been able to do anything with my local outrigger club for months and I'm gagging for a paddle. To make things worse, they're hosting a huge regatta this weekend and I'll miss it due to having to work(as usual).
Oh well, enough whinging. Hopefully my next post will detail heaps of progress on the actual boat.
