weekend escape

With the air quality in SLC as bad as it was, and flows coming up on the Dirty Devil with this mid winter thaw, it was time to get the backpacking gear and packraft out and head south! On friday we decided to head to the Greater Canyon Lands area and do a wknd loop on the Dirty Devil. Flows were up to 160cfs, and the sun was out. 

Some sketchy areas of hiking with the snow lingering on N facing aspects, but we made it down safely.

Cedar Mesa Sees the light

got the boat rolled out into the sunshine for the first time. pretty awesome. Will make for nicer sanding sessions while the weather stays sunny and warmer.
here i am contemplating the footwell setup

Bulkheads are in place, fillets and tape are curing. Making progress! now just have to figure out best treatment for skin reaction to some epoxy...its just like poison ivy, but wont go away! ill spare the pic.
Next up, some sanding, and the flipping the boat. Still trying to decide best way to do this.
Looking forward to some sunny, warmer days to work in the driveway. But, the snowboarder in me still wants to do a lot of touring in the wasatch!

Chine fillets are done, and I added some fiberglass tape to the Chine tonight. Back is a little sore from bending over the hull, but well worth it! Next up, glassing the bottom. E glass, 17oz biaxil mat, and more  e-glass.  Huge thanks thus far to Andy H (highdesertdories.com) for answering my constant questions. Also, thanks to Brad Dimmock (fretwaterlines.blogspot.com) and his idea for Tequila beach paint color from Kirby Paint (kirbypaint.com). Such a great idea, and i will be ordering that soon for the decking. Just need to decide on the colors for the hull.
This has been such a fun and rewarding experience. I have never taken on a project like this, and already know this will not be the last boat i build. Gota have a smaller drift boat for fishing, right?!

Bottom tacked on and ready for fillets!

Bulkheads are dry fit and where we want  them, Floor is screwed in place temporarily, and the Briggs line are here! love the look  of these boats. Next up  Fillets!

starting to take shape

Starting to see the Briggs Lines..soon!
Also, considering a name change...."Cedar Mesa"  it's a place near and dear, and feels fitting..we shall see

Bow Post and Transom

We have been dealing with rather cold temps here in SLC lately, so progress has slowed a bit. But, we are still makin moves.
 Getting the Bow Post glued up with the sides was pretty pain free

Starting to Resemble a boat! 

A couple days later we moved on to the Transom...a bit tougher

Took some elbow grease, but Rick and I were able to get the second side attached to the transom. Now we let the epoxy do its thing..

Photo skewed by panorama function, but you get the idea.

Cant wait to get the floor on!