Sentisah's Novelty Boats!

I was able to nail the fronds to the underside of the hull. When all the fronds are nailed on, I'm going to connect them with metal joiners. I hope the metal joiners are strong enough to hold because they don't appear all that strong.

 It looks like  rain so this time I covered the boat ahead of time. I wanted to work on the boat before it started getting dark which is usually around 9 O'clock but it started getting cloudy. If looks like I'll have to wait until tomorrow.

As I was looking around at the fronds that I had propped up against the house, I decided to see how they would fit on the bottom of the underside of the hull! These fronds have a natural xurve to them that I thought is a better choice to use in order to get a more rounded hull bottom. These pieces came from fronds that were different sizes in length. Some being 8ft which I cut into smaller pieces. The next step is to see how I'm going to add these pieces to the hull. At the moment I thinking with thin nail of considerable length. Wanting to do something the way you imagine you could don't always work out the way you think they will.

They don't look like much right now but I see great potential amongst the pile!

I cut all the tops off the fronds that I'm using for the bottom of the underside of the hull! This will allow them to lay neatly side by side close together.

 I had to turn the boat over on it's iron cradle. The bad weather we had, pounded the boat into the ground causing it to get a lot of sand in between the hull! I also noticed that the underside of the hull was still damp. This caused the boat to become very heavy. I dragged the cradle with boat on it to where there's plenty of sunshine so the hull can dry out.

Today I was spreading the green fronds on the ground in the sun in order for them to completely dry out. When that occurs, then they will lose all the moisture in them making them way lighter than they are at the moment! I did weight measurements of the pieces of dried out fronds on my dietary scale but I would need to use my pound scale to weigh the very long ones. I have to see if taking measurements that way will be an accurate one.I'm also brainstorming on the different ways the fronds can be arranged! A light bulb always seems to light up with new ideas of doing something differently than I originally planned. The final lay out once glued can't be undone so I want to place the right type of fronds on the inside and outside of the hull.

I did a lot of processing this morning. I was able to do both piles as well as bag the fronds leaves for pick up next week!

We had severe weather for two days so it's going to take at least two days for the fronds to dry out. The rain cooled down the temperature so drying won't be all that quick. I need to start calculating weight for future reference.

I can't do much at the moment because I have buy the glue! A nice size bottle of glue cost $18! I plan on buying 2 bottles and I doubt that will be enough. So I'm just arranging things around and processing fronds! I don't need anymore fronds at the moment. All the green fronds must dry out first and then be processed.

I found some fronds that were cut back at two different locations! There were the smooth kind and the ones with teeth which I find really pretty, to bite the way they do! Getting stuck by them really hurts! Both locations had a whole lot of fronds to my delight. I had to use my car in order to get them to the house. Some fronds were already processed because of the way they were cut.

I did a lot of rearranging today to find the best way to place the fronds on the boat for the deck. This arrangement covered a lot more area than placing the fronds horizontal to the boat. Placing them vertical made it so that less fronds were needed to cover more area.

I cut more fronds for the deck. I couldn't help thinking that I am actually creating something that didn't exist before. Similar to giving birth or being born. The difference being I'm creating something using my mind and hands to create it.

I did a lot of measuring today. I must get technical now about how I am designing this boat! The most important thing is this boat is able to float. The boat has to be able to handle the weight it will be subjected to. The boat must be very sturdy for the demands that will be placed on it. I'm working with thicker and wider fronds now. They are going to be used for creating a deck. I'm also going to add railing as well so the boat will look less like a raft. I'm really happy with the direction this project is going. I need more fronds for the deck and I've been getting them from my dwarf palm tree in my back yard. From now on everything will be glued into place. I wanted to have some idea of the placement of the fronds to create the deck. The underside of the hull I'm thinking about using thinner pieces of fronds to finish the bottom of the hull and short thicker fronds to strengthen the sides of the boat! I was able to figure out how it will be done, so it&

Today I was sizing up pieces of fronds! I'm now working on building up the deck of the boat. The deck right now is very shallow. I know that it's better to sit high up from the water. Or at least be able to be sitting in the boat instead of it being more raft like! The hull isn't hollow so I'm considering building a light canopy for shade. I'm doing some brainstorming on how I'm going to do it.I didn't really working on the boat today so I don't have anything new to show. I'm in need of some more material so there's not much I can do at the moment.

There's no space left to stuff so I'll have to say she's quite full. I still have to strengthen the sides of the boat where the protruding fronds are. It is the next thing I have to brainstorm about. For the mean time, I can let my hands heal from being bitten constantly by the boats frond teeth that she has now! It has really been painfulI working on her!

A Close up of the outside of the hull! It's really packed.

I added more stuffing today and the boat is fairly stuffed. I'm running out of places that's in need of stuffing! I was also able to stand on solid fronds literally. I also sat comfortable on them as well! I really put in a lot of time into the boat today. I was even able to still turn her over.

Today I did some caulking. I hope I'm using the right term. It shouldn't have taken so long but my neighbor wanted to hold a conversation and that was a total distraction.This post is going to be short and to the point. I have to call it a day.

Today I did some minor work on the boat, adding more fronds to the topside. The fronds I used were the sharp Thorny kind. Working with those type of fronds is torture on your hands! Today it seemed like avoiding getting stuck by those fronds, just wasn't possible being that they were so close together. I can now add the last layer of fronds that will be a shallow deck. I'm thinking of adding more fronds to the ones that sticks out on both sides for more weight support when it's in the water. It has to remain buoyant when it is subjected to the weight of two people. All those things were going through my mind while I was working on it. The fronds for the sides will be the smooth ones.

A storm is heading this way. Don't think it'll help much but at least there's a little protection from the elements.

Turning the boat over wasn't going to be as bad as I thought it was going to be. If anything what I saw made me happy with excitement because she's appearing more and more like a boat. The way both ends of the boat bending upwards makes it look like the boat I'm attempting to build. I still have a way to go but the excitement seeing the boat coming along is a boat builders dream. I sat in her and it's really comfortable. The real test will be on the water to see if she can stay afloat..

Along with growth, there's a lot of weight gain. I'm almost done with the outside of the hull. It's getting to the point I don't have anymore space in between the fronds. That lets me know that I have enough fronds in that area. Making the sides wider added more weight to the boat. Tomorrow if everything is secure I'll turn the boat back over. I really need to see if the weight is going to be a challenge for me, since the boat is not mounted on a boat cradle.

I did so much work on the boat today. Way more than I planned on.  I added more fronds to the bottom of the hull on the outside of the boat. I also added more width to the hull. I was able to finish one side and tomorrow I'll cover the large gaps on the other side. Right now she's hardly resembling anything that looks like a boat but I really like the way it's starting to take shape! I'm still daydreaming as I work, about her first launch. The thought really motivates me to work harder to get closer to the dream!