Time Marches On

January 18, 2016 Hours spent building to date: 2,004

Broke through 2,000 hours this weekend detailing and sanding the deckhouse beams, installing the deckhouse side supports and the aft bulkhead. Pretty routine stuff.

The 2,000-hour mark brings up the question I am asked more than any other: “When do you think you’ll be done?” Inquiries on this issue from readers in California have become quite pointed.

I think I am about 70% done, but there are some big jobs to come that could eat up the hours: cabinetry, electrical, plumbing and trim out. (The engine and controls will be left to the experts.) If that’s true, then I am looking at 3,000 hours to complete. I can spend about 35 hours per week physically working on the boat. The inescapable conclusion, therefore, is that there are about six months to go.

As I flew through the framing and planking , requiring pretty much the same skills as house carpentry, I really thought I was looking at 2,500 hours. But starting at the absolute bottom of the learning curve on every phase since — glasswork, fairing, bonding, fairing, beams, fairing — I have really slowed down. I have a list of items that I can leave until after the launch, but it is surprisingly short. Boats are a system, and the every piece seems to depend on every other piece.

One way or the other, we’re going into the water (somewhere) this year. But as to the WoodenBoat Show: See you in Mystic in 2017.