The Old Boat

Is gone! 

Well, one of the deck demolition guys saw my old jon boat sitting in the backyard full of leaves and asked if I ever used it.  Well, I haven't for 5 years.  So he made an offer, I made a counter offer, he made a 3rd, and I didn't care about the difference so we agreed on a price.  He got a good deal, but the boat wasn't doing me any good either just sitting around.

So he paid me half as a down-payment and I wrote out a receipt.  He came by Sunday with the remaining amount.  He's never had a boat before and is retiring this year.  Wanted a cheap boat to go fishing in.  I sold it "as is" which may get him in trouble.  "As Is" was boat, trailer, and an electric motor.  Nothing beyond that.

Still, the next morning, I decided I couldn't let the guy drive away with leaves blowing out the back, so I cleaned them out (have I already mentioned all this?) and used the garden hose to blast it as clean as I could.

Good thing, because I found 2 wasp nests in the bait well and they would have been really p*&&ed by all that bouncing on the road home.  I killed them, but I did have to dodge the ones who returned to their absent nests later.

 So yeah, it was "as is", but I decided to improve the "as is".

I even made sure the boat was still waterproof by filling it up 6" deep in water and waiting a day to see if there were any leaks.  There weren't.  Draining the boat was impressive, and the shrub behind it appreciated the deep watering..

It wasn't perfect when the guy returned, but he sure did appreciate the improvement.  But it allowed me to show him how some parts of the boat worked.  The bait well, for example has a drain below the water line.  But there is a pvc pipe that rises above that so outside water doesn't come in.  Onshore, you pull the pvc pipe and it drains.  That sort of non-obvious thing.

But it looked OK.

I hope he enjoys the boat.  I had it for 21 years, so I got my money's worth out of it and some cash back.  But it sure looks odd not seeing a boat in the yard...

Now I'm deciding which way to go on a new boat.  I DO plan to start fishing again.  I like stillwater freshwater fishing, so I might go for a squareback canoe (for attaching an electric motor).  But there are some slightly fancier boats for getting out on the calmer waters of the Potomac river.  I'll wait a while to decide.

I'm Still Here!

Sorry I haven't posted here very much lately!  Many causes... 

1.  I've been focussing on the cat blog most days trying to post every day AND visiting all my cat blogging friends.  That has become important to me; I really like seeing what other people's cats are doing.  And I have learned that MOST cat bloggers are really clever and creative writers. 

2.  I just tend to stop doing anything interesting in Winter.  The temp outside is 30 and I just think "I don't wanna go OUT there.  That's kind of shameful; I grew up in Massachusetts and (as kids), we used to make tunnels UNDER the snow!  I have become a WIMP...

3.  You would think that Winter would be the perfect time for wood-working activities.  But the basement is 58.  I just try to avoid it in Winter.  Besides, who wants to wear a coat and gloves while building stuff?

4.  Daylight matters, too.  Doing projects is easier during the daytime.  But in Winter, I tend to stay up late at night and get up at Noon.  By the time I feed the cats, make lunch, and read the newspaper, it is 4 pm and getting dark. 

5.  I have discovered MSNBC!  Progressive talk TV to counter Glenn Beck, Hannity,  and Fox Channel in general!  On weekdays (they don't have the talk shows on weekends), I am locked to the TV from 6pm to 10 pm.  I DO some stuff because I listen more than I watch (and as a consequence, the house is actually cleaner than it used to be and I prepare food better).

6.  And I like to watch both Daily and Colbert on The Comedy Channel.  I have a deep and abiding love of intelligent sarcasm.  Its the Johnny Carson opening monologue on steroids!

7.  I have a good list of projects for this year once the weather improves.  Nesting end tables, sturdy TV trays, a dictionary stand, enclosing the patio below the deck with 2"x3" mesh fencing so the cats can go out without danger, replacing the 4x4 posts under the deck with 6x6 posts, relining the pond and regrading it so the rain flows around it rather that into it, and building a boat shelter so the damn boat doesn't fill up with rain and falling leaves.

Boat Canopy Again

Well, I waited too long.  I need to assemble it in halves in the garage (for the outside access) and assemble the 2 parts outside on the spot.  It is now too cold!  I am going to bundle up all the cut PVC and set it aside until Spring.  There were just too many questions about constructing it that made me hesitate in warmer weather, and then too many things that distracted me from the project the past month.

Next week will be cold but dry, so, as soon as the insides of the boat dry out and I can clean the leaves out of it, etc, I will simply put ropes over the seats bow to stern and across an tie a tarp down over it for the Winter.  Too labor-intensive for daily use, but worth it for the season.  I think other boaters call that "winter shrink-wrapping".

At least that frees me to pursue the other inside projects I have been putting off while dithering about the stupid boat canopy.  The pedestal dictionary stand, the end tables, and flooring the other half of the attic (though it does get cold up there in Winter, so I'm not positive). 

I put plywood on half the attic floors years ago, but the other half had wires running over the joists.  I cut notches in the joists for one sheet of plywood, butdecided that seemed structurally unsound.  It suddenly occurred to me last week that I could glue spacers/supports between the wires and simply raise the plywood up a 1/2 inch.  I am usually quite creative, but in this case, quite stupid!  The solution was obvious in hindsight.

I think I will set up a Betta (Siamese Fighting Fish) breeding tank.  I have a new tan male with unusual darker spots on the fins, and I've never seen that before.  And since I have a tan female showing signs of eggs, why not?  I've raised them before (decades ago).

I think I will do the Bettas first, to get them on their way.  I need to make a multi-compartment insert to place in a aquarium for the newborns.  Even males a few weeks old will attack each other, and fin damage never heals perfectly so they need to be separated real early.

Then the dictionary stand.  I am really ready for that.  I want to work with wood again!  All that PVC stuff really threw me out of my comfort zone for months.  Not that I am a great woodworker, but at least I understand the stuff!

And gardening season actually starts in 1 month!

Back on track, ever optimistic, and ready to go back to what I know...

Boat Canopy - Yet Agin, Part 3

Drat, forgot to get the PVC cement!  I had a can, but discovered it was rock solid.  Well, it was 10 years old...  I tossed it.  But I meant to get new cement yesterday and forgot.  I need to build the top of the base first, and that involves some combinations of fittings, so they need to be cemented and carefully aligned first.  Can't do anything useful until that is done!

For my design, I have to put a 45 degree elbow into a 5-way cross piece exactly perpendicular, then cement in a bushing that changes the 1.25" PVC to .5" PVC.  I think I want to make a jig to assure the correct angle...  Perhaps clamping the 5 way into a bench clamp and having an upright to mark exactly 90 degrees.  Or I could screw some blocks into cheap plywood horizontally.  I'll have to look at both.

I can't decide how long the arch pieces will be until I have the top of the base cemented.  The base is 7'.  So the best arch top might be between 8' and 9'.  But I want to see it physically before I start cutting the top .5' PVC pipe.

May be a couple days before I get around to that.  The lawn is covered with leaves again, the boat is full of leaves,  and I have more spent flowers to cut down for the year...

The Boat Canopy - Yet Again, Part 2

Well, I've hesitated cutting the PVC pipe. I've never used a reciprocating saw, and I've never cut PVC where accuracy was important.

Today, I took saw in hand and went at it! Of course, as I mentioned previously, I set up clamps and a sort of jig. I clamped 2 portable workbenchs so that there was a spot exactky the 5" distance I needed to cut. Then I moved the pipe so I could cut it straight (really easily with the reciprocating saw's guides).

I cut the 1st pipe and checked the measurement... Perfect 5'. I did the other 12 pipes the same way. I got some off by 1/8th", but generally, worked quite well. The slight difference won't make any difference (I'll match side by side pieces to match).

So now I have all my 1.25" pipes cut to the 5' and 7' lengths I need. I'll construct the bottom part 1st. Then I can try out a few roof arch lengths to see how to cut the tops pieces.

The reciprocating saw worked GREAT!  I found one sawblade at the Home Depot marked for PVC (marked as "8/12").  But they were sold in packs of 10, and I sure didn't need that many.   Individual blades were not marked for PVC.  But the 10 pack was 8/12 so I bought a single 8/12 Rigid blade.  That's the one to use.  Cuts through like a hot knife in soft butter, no casting of PVC dust at low speeds, and a nice clean cut!  The DeWalt saw gave a good square cut with almost no vibration.  I was utterly pleased!  No hint of melt, and the burrs rubbed off by hand (I"ll run a file inside and out anyway).

.

The Boat Canopy - Yet Again

I'll admit it.  I have all the pipes and fitting for the boat canopy design.  I'm just a bit afraid to start making it!  It suddenly feels a bit more complicated than I expected.  It's one thing to design something, but another to actually build it.

The first thing that struck me was how to cut dozens of 1.25" PVC pipes into the pieces I needed.  I have a pipe cutter that you turn around on the pipe and keep tightening.  But doing that for dozens of cuts seemed daunting.  I considered the radial saw, the tablesaw, a hacksaw, and a jigsaw.  All seemed problematic.  I googled a lot of PVC discussion sites and the evaluations of the various cutting methods all had supporters and detractors.  Serious power tools not only toss up a lot of nasty PVC dust, but can make bad cuts, and even spray splinters that get into the skin.  Low-powered tool like a jigsaw are slow and tend not to make square cuts.  Manual saws are s-l-o-w...

I decided a reciprocating saw was the best choice.  So I pulled out my never-used reciprocating saw.  It had only 1 saws blade on the kit, designed for metal.  And I had read some reports that said those blades melted the PVC edges and left hard blobs.

So I went to the net to find reciprocating saw blades designed for PVC.  Go ahead and search for yourself.  They are mentioned often, but never specified!  It was a maddening search.  There is basically "metal", "wood", and "multipurpose".   I was so frustrated!

I went to Home Depot yesterday and looked at reciprocating saw blades.  The hardware/tool clerk (manager?) helped.  He pointed out that all the blades fit all the saws.  That helped, I thought I need the same brand as my DeWalt saw.  Then he noticed that there were little graphics on the blades that showed what they were designed to cut.  One had a picture of PVC pipe.  But that was a pack of 10 blades and I sure didn't need THAT many.  He had to go help another customer.  But then I noticed that the teeth description on the PVC blade was "8/12".

So I looked at the individual blades and found others that were "8/12".  It seems to be a pattern of varying teeth.  I bought one!  Yay...

I have a few old pieces of PVC pipe and I will try the blade on one in the next couple of days.  If it works well, I will start cutting Boat Canopy PVC soon.

I've been thinking on how to cut pieces accurately.  I need a bunch of 1.25" pipes at 7', a bunch of 1.25" pipes at 5', a bunch of .5" pipes at 5" and a bunch of /5" pipes at 2.5'.  I think I will have to set up stop blocks on my workbench and use the far end to mark the cut points.  Then I can set the PVC pipes in a pair of Workmate benches set 1/4" part to guide the reciprocating saw in a straight cut.

Assembling all the pieces is going to drive me nuts...

On the other hand, I'm going to be thrilled after I get it all finished.

I'll sure be glad to go back to working with wood when this project is completed!

Boat Canopy Design - Again!

Finally, I think I got it right. I became concerned about "snow-load", so I decided to add two additional long secondary ridge poles to the top for stability. Fortunately the extra .5" tees (H) and crosses (I) parts were available locally!

Here is the final design.  Enlarge the pictures (click or double-click), cuz not all shows at normal view.

The rear view above doesn't mean much except that the sides are straight up and the top is arched.  The top view shows the connections (identified by letters) of the arched roof (much stronger than angled roofs).

This shows the side view and the quantities of pipes and fittings required (by letter and shape of fitting).  I'm doing that for those who are not familiar with the available fittings (as I was not when I started this project).

I am working out the order of construction.  I think it best to construct the top first.  You want to make sure to get all the cross-pieces square to each other, so constructing it on a flat surface like a garage floor or patio is probably best.  If you construct it on a nice flat basement floor, you probably won't be able to get it out... ;)

Since the top (with the cross-braces connecting the arches) is self sturdy, it seems easier to construct the bottom later, as a good top will automatically lead to a solid straight base.

OK, off to work out the order of construction...

PVC Parts Arrived Today!

Hurray! The specialty parts from Creative Shelters arrived today. This is the stuff for the "boatport" (movable carport for a boat) I want to construct. I feel like I've been on "hold" all week waiting for the stuff!

And I've been re-considering the design. I still need all the parts I ordered, I just want to add 2 more side poles on the top for improved rigidity (locally-available fittings). I'm probably "over-engineering" this (something my friends say I am notorious for), but better safe than sorry (and nothing I build ever falls apart). I heard on the radio yesterday that my area is forecast to have a harsher than usual Winter and I am concerned about snow load. So while the roof was going to be arched with a single ridge pole, I am adding 2 halfway down. It will be clearer when I take pictures.

The first thing I'm going to do is lay out all the fittings on the garage floor to make sure I have what I need. Second thing is to confirm the amount of PVC pipe I need. I haven't bought that yet. I need the trailer to haul the 10' pipes in, and it was full of brush until earlier today.

Then, I think I should build the fittings. That sounds odd, but I have a lot of places where I need to connect 2 fittings with a short bit of pipe (like a 45 degree elbow to a cross piece or tee) to make a customized single fitting. They don't make 5-way fittings with a 45 degree elbow and a "1.25 to .75 inch" bushing attached, LOL! I have a strange design that may be quite useful to others when I am done.

When the roof is constructed, THEN I'll know exactly what size the support structure needs to be. The roof is much more complex than the bottom. Well, I'd hate to build the support structure first and then try to fit the top on badly...

Note: I have no business relationship with Creative Shelters other than "customer". I just found them to be a good retail online place to get all the odd parts I needed for this project.

Boat Canopy Design

I think I have it figured out now. I needed basic frame strength (cubes) plus top support (arches with a ridgepole) for shedding rain and snow. And a sturdy cover.

Got them all figured out now!

The canopy is designed to be separate from the boat. I park the boat and just pull the canopy over it. No trying to back it into a small shelter in the dark. Making the canopy as small and unintrusive as possible.

The base is made of 1.25" PVC pipe. The bottom of the base is like a sled; only a crosspiece at the back bottom. Above the boat, there are crosspieces for rigidity and strength. Those crosspieces above the boat are 6" higher than the highest part of the boat for safe clearance.

The top of the canopy frame is made from .5" PVC pipe and fittings so it can be bent into an arch. Arches are strong and so can be made from easily bendable smaller PVC pipe. And I have an idea that will help support the tarp cover that I will mention later.

The design:



Dimensions of this canopy vary by boat. I need 5' high crosspieces at the top of the base to clear my 54" pedestal seats above ground. As they say, "Your requirements may vary".

Mine will be 20' long and 7' wide and about 7' tall. The 20' length will protect the boat and trailer (the trailer spare tire, winch, and hitch will last longer when sheltered). Adjust yours as needed. It's the fittings that are the tricky part unless you don't care if the structure is 10" tall!

And finding the fittings is the hardest part. I've spent weeks searching local and internet sources for all the right fittings. Rule #1: No one offers them all! So this design is one that offers one internet source for "odd fittings" and the rest really are locally available. Indeed, the design was forced by what I could get locally and from only one internet source.

The base is made of 2 parallel pipes with one cross piece at the back. This is because the whole structure is designed to be pulled over the boat and trailer wherever it is parked. The uprights from the bottom pipes and the crosspieces above the boat will make it a rigid structure.

At the point above the boat, the structure changes from 1.25" PVC pipe to .5" PVC pipe. And that's where it changes from squares to arches.

The tops of the base have 45 degree elbows (with a reducing bushing) in them. The top of the arch will have .5" cross pieces aligned as a ridgepole. From each crosspiece there will be a half arch .5" pipe into the reducing bushing.

The frame top will be covered with plastic snow fence for support of the tarp cover (and I am ordering a 12' x 20" heavy duty UV resistant tarp for only $42). The snow fence and tarp will be firmly attached to the PVC frame, not the trailer, so no boat attachments will be required. I will, however, put an eyebolt through the PVC frame on each side to attach it to the boat with a bungee cord. The boat is simply an anchor in this case. That way, it can't be blown off by wind.

My material list (letters relate to the above diagram):

A. .5" Cross - 3 each
B. 1.25" Tee - 6 each
C. 1.25" 5 Way - 6 each
D. 1.25" 3 Way - 2 each
E. Caps (not needed) - Forget that one unless you can't find some parts and need a cap for a part with an extra outlet)
F. .5" Tee - 2 each
G. 1.25" 90 degree Elbow - 2 each
H. 1.25" 4 Way - 4 each

C and H also require a 45 degree Elbow and a 1.25" to .5" Bushing - 10 each

And I think I need thirteen 10' 1.25" PVC pipes and six 10' .5" PVC pipes.

If anyone detects an error in design, please let me know ASAP!

I've bought all the fittings I can locally and ordered the other parts online (Creative Shelters). When everything arrives, I'll figure out what order to assemble the parts in, and report on that later.

I will, of course, take many pictures during construction! You can't believe how relieved I am to have finally solved the design issues. It was quite a challenge, as PVC fittings are limited in both design and availability! I could have easily done it with a 45 degree roof, but that was just too tall. I had a vision of a better way and I found it! The design aspect was half the "fun"... You wouldn't believe how many sheets of graph paper I used just getting THIS far. LOL!

When it is completed, I will probably rewrite the whole post for better clarity and add pictures, but this is the best I can do until I've actually built the thing.

AHAH, The Boat Canopy Problem Solved.

I've figured it out! Using available parts...

1. I didn't like the straight up sides and 45 degree roof because it was too tall.
2. I didn't like hoop supports because there was no top ridgepole connecting them and that was weak.
3. I didn't the gable design because it was too wide at the bottom.
4. I didn't like the tee design, because while it gave me a lower roof angle, the front an back were weird and it required way too many cuts and connectors.

So it FINALLY hit me like a cold wet fist in the dark of an alley (oh wait, that's a detective story). Seriously, I suddenly realized I could build a straight up frame to the height of the boat and THEN put in hoops on top into 45 degree elbows. I haven't seen THAT on any website. I'm sure someone has done that somewhere, but I haven't seen it anywhere.

So 1.25" pipe uprights on a sled base (no ground level cross-supports), 45 degree elbows on top with cross supports above the boat, and then 3/4" hoops over those. The 3/4" pipe will just stay in the 1.25" slip connections by torque! I'll use some solvent in there too. And my good idea is that the hoops won't just go from side to side unsupported, they will go into cross pieces ("Xs") as "half hoops" and the Xs will connect to a ridgepole!

That brings the height down to about 6', only 2' higher than the boat. And to give the top greater strength, I will attach plastic snow fence over it to support the poly tarp!

Yee Hah!

I have to rush off to sketch it on graph paper and list the parts and pipes I need! And its all available locally! I knew I would figure it out eventually...

The Stupid Boat Cover Again

Some advice requested...

I have several boat cover ideas in mind, and some have good points and bad ones. And since I have been diagramming many for days without success, I need some help. Traditional boat covers just dont work well on this jon boat. Rain pools in the cover and has to be bailed out. There just isn't any cover that fights right because of some minor modifications. And the expensive covers don't last more that a few years.

Idea #1 is a PVC frame with a tarp cover that I can just pull over the boat when I park it. The advantage is that, once built, it is really easy to use. But it is annoyingly hard to find the right pvc parts locally or online retail to build it.

Idea #2 is stretching ropes across a high stand in the center of the boat. Bungee cords and the height in the center would mean that rain should run off easily. But that would require some detailed arranging of the cover every time I used the boat. And it still requires a cover and I'm not sure how to fit it. I have problems fiting a cover because I have seats and a front motor attachment that are above the surface of the boat.

Idea #3 is a bit extreme. Park the boat in the garage and leave the car outside. Well, the car is actually a bit more weatherproof than the boat. Never let it be said I am not considering all options... LOL!

Idea #4 is to just cover the boat in black sheet plastic weighed down by bricks and cinder blocks. I have a HUGE roll of 12' wide black plastic. Its a possibility and no harm if it gets some holes poked in it (duct tape to the rescue). If it only lasts 2 years, so what? There's lots more of that on the roll.

Any suggestions? Other ideas? My ears and mind are open...