Airstream Project, Dinghy Design and Solar Panels

The Airstream project is gaining ground. I've completed the support structure for the gaucho and dinette and will now consult with the owner about end-panel design. After this the owner will initiate construction of the cushions so it won't be long before the trailer gets tucked into storage for the winter.

Dinghy:

Now let's talk about boats. For many years in Bristol Bay I've used inflatable rubber rafts to get to my anchored skiff. This works well when the rafts have air in them, but just about every season the rafts get shredded by a grizzly or popped on some old wire cable. Although I've sworn to myself for the past 4 seasons that I'd build a lightweight stitch-and-glue plywood dinghy, I just now got off my butt and started one. You can see from the photos below that it will be small (about 6 1/2 feet long) and have moderate rocker. I'm hoping it will weigh around 25 lbs. My next steps will be to stitch it together (with wire) and then start applying epoxy and fiberglass.

Solar Panels:

Our solar panels were finally installed today. Below are before and after pics of our house.

Nov 10th : Greetings and new projects

Greetings to my blog. I intend to update this site with relevant information and discussions about woodworking and commercial fishing.

My latest woodworking endeavor is rebuilding the interior of a 1968 Airstream trailer for a neighbor. I am currently working on the "gaucho" (Airstream for fold-out couch) and dinette (photos coming soon).

Other recent projects include re-roofing my house with cedar shakes and installing copper shingles on my chimney. I sprayed the shakes with semi-transparent ebony stain, coating the backs first and then the weather side after installation (a time-consuming job to say the least). The chimney project tied in with the roofing project and a new copper cricket was installed along with the copper shingles.