Portlights and Rigging and thinking about moving.

DougPortholes, Rigging

 YouTuber Nick Richards of Renegade Trucker and Renegade Sailing stopped in last weekend and we talked about hauling the boat.  Turns out that Oklahoma is not third world with trucking permits.  You can go online 24/7 and get one.  It did give us a surprising route.  Certainly not the most direct path.  Betsy and I closely measured the boat at 16 feet to the … Read More

Portlight Help

DougPortholes, Steel Boat

We want to add portlights or portholes to the cabin tops.  I had a design for a wedge-shaped unit that is open at the top when the wedge is one way and then closed when the wedge is turned around.   It’s drawn showing it installed in a 3 foot, 1 meter, tall cabin tops, but we lowered our cabin … Read More

Porthole Frames, Plasma Cutting and Light Painting

DougPortholes, Steel Boat

I would like to say thank you for all of the support we are receiving.  It may take a leap of faith to start something like this and to open it up to everybody on the internet, but it is working better than I ever expected.   Yes, there are some shallow thinkers out there, but the overwhelming majority comments … Read More

Porthole Frames — Welding Grinding and Fancy Photography

DougPortholes, Steel Boat

If there is a certification for grinding then Jakob could pass with his eyes closed.  With his and Jacks help we got all ten porthole frames welded together and ground.  The next step is to bolt the porthole rings on and weld the nuts onto the frame.  So should the nuts and bolts be steel (39 cents each), stainless ($1.50 … Read More

Blacksmithing, Casting, and Deadlights

DougCasting, Portholes, Steel Boat

It is a pleasure when you get to meet people who enjoy working, sharing, and learning.   They exude confidence,  not arrogance, but a confidence that anything is possible.  That confidence is infectious and instills courage.  And without courage we do not live to our potential. Feal the fear and do it anyway.  LIVE  

Casting Deadlights – Part 1

DougAluminum, Casting, Portholes, Steel Boat

Sodium Silicate Sand Rocks! Especially for the occasional casting or big casting. Traditional Green Sand requires, skill, storage, and a sand muller to recondition your sand. And the difficulty increases with the size of the casting. Sodium silicate sand uses inexpensive fine silica sand, and sodium silicate (water glass) which reacts with CO2 to harden the sand. 200 pounds of … Read More