Fillet in the bow

Busy studio, messy too!

The studio is feeling a bit small as I am trying to get this painting finished while working on two boats. The one in the front here is a nutshell pram my dad and I built four years ago. I realized when we moved to Stonington, that if I wanted to do paintings of boats, I needed to have a boat to get out into the harbor to see them. It's been a couple of years and a few knocks around the dinghy dock and is now time for new varnish and paint.

The kayak
I removed the temporary frames from the hull. I was wishing I had used a lot less hot glue to attach them when I realized that epoxy had come through the wire holes and was holding them in place too. It took quite a while to get those frames out of there, still could have used a lot less hot glue. Then I cleaned up the inside of the hull, removing blobs of epoxy that came through the wire holes (next time should tape them up), rough wood, and gummy hot glue.

Fillet in bow

Then I filled any wire holes that didn't get filled with epoxy and put a little in the seams so the fiberglass will lay flat. I also added the fillet on the keel in the bow and stern. This makes the ends stronger and smoother for the fiberglass cloth to lie on. And put a couple of layers of fiberglass strips over the bow seam to reinforce it. Today I will fiberglass the interior on the hull.

Pots in progress, kayak too

New pots

Today I had my clay class with Frank Pitcher. Here are a few pots I am working on. These are dry but not fired yet. They are made on the wheel then cut, shaped, and grated.

Here's Frank (with his cups in front) talking with Maureen.

Spring is here. You can tell, not by the weather, but how busy everyone has gotten. Summer is our busy season in coastal Maine, whether your work is tourist based, fishing, construction, whatever. Most meetings aren't held in the summer, the potluck dinners end, adult ed classes and dancing lessons are all on hold while people concentrate on their work and businesses, gardens, and visitors. So spring is preparation for summer, the boats are painted, the brochures go to the printer, the plans for summer festivals and events are finalized. Monday I worked on a t-shirt layout, poster design, had a Lupine Festival meeting, Chamber of Commerce meeting (only went to half of that one), and Deer Isle Art Association dinner meeting. I also varnished my nutshell pram, worked on the kayak, and managed to get a bit of painting in too. Why didn't I have time to write my blog?

Even though I have a tight time frame for getting the kayak done, I like the quiet directed work that it takes to put the boat together. There are some parts that just can't be rushed. The kayak continues....



The deck is remove from the hull and turned over for reinforcement. I add three layers of fiberglass tape to the seams of the butt blocks.


A layer of fiberglass will be laid down over the recessed deck to give it strength. First I fill in any area that might keep the fiberglass cloth from lying flat or might trap air.


Fiberglass tape is used the strengthen each seam. Then a layer of epoxy is used to coat the whole underside of the deck. Then another layer.

Back to building a kayak

The building of my coho continues on, through the storm, power outages, and taxes. I have now fiberglassed the outside of the hull and am ready to assemble the deck.


First I trim off the excess fiberglass cloth from the hull. Then the hull is turned right side up and the pieces that form the deck are wired together.

The deck panels are wired together.

About this time I am beginning to wonder about the estimated 70 hours that it is supposed to take to build this boat. The simple directions call to align the deck panels to the hull panels and tape in place. It took hours. I don't know if it was my need for perfection, the fact these panels are several years warped, I don't know, but hours later, and with lots of extra wires, pins and yards of tape.....and clamps.....

IT LOOKS LIKE A KAYAK!

tape, pins, wire, and clamps

Next, epoxy is filled in the seams. The green is tape to keep the deck from getting messy. I have to admit I am getting kind of fond of green on this boat. I am still thinking of painting the hull, maybe orange, maybe a green stripe....

A few more storm photos

People drive around to view the storm and check on boats.

Big waves in the harbor, (this boat is not sinking)

Boats, Stonington through the rain in the background.

It's very difficult to photograph a storm. The waves look smaller in the photo, the color is different, and you really can't see how windy it was or cold it felt, and there's no sound. Most people I've talked to made it through the storm just fine. There were a few washed out driveways and some dock damage, and the power and phone lines were down. Being on an island, we don't get flooding like so many others had with this storm. And we get enough wind here that the fisherman have figured out how to keep their boats secure.

And then today was beautiful, that first perfect day of spring.

Storm in Stonington

Here are a few photos of our quiet harbor today.

Stonington Prepares for Storm

We are expecting the storm that has hit the rest of the eastern part of the country to arrive in the night. I know we are in for some heavy weather when the boats are tied up to the fish pier like this. We are expecting winds of 30-40 MPH with gusts up to 65.

Main Street is really quiet.

Fill coat

second epoxy fill coat

The boat gets two coats of epoxy to fill in the weave of the fiberglass. Also a strip of fiberglass tape is added to the keel. I had a couple of long days painting in my studio and worked on the boat late into the night. I think it is taking me longer than it should to do everything. Maybe I am trying to be too careful in my work. Even though I am careful there are few rough spots as seen in the photo below. I just could not get that fiberglass tape to lay down. I used pins and poked at it but it kept coming up. I cut off the high parts with a utility knife before applying the second coat of fill epoxy.

all is not neat and tidy

I have a time limit for how long it can take me to finish the boat. The high school will use the gallery for their art show and need the space by the 8th of May. And we are planning on going away for a week for our last get away before the summer gallery season starts. So I marked up a calendar to see if I can get it done. It will be very tight. The sanding, painting, and finishing will be done after the epoxy has cured, probably outside, later. I made up my schedule three days ago and am already a day behind.

boat, painting, view of harbor

But I had to spend some time painting. I am trying to avoid working in the studio with fresh epoxy fumes so I work on the boat at the end of the day.


Michael and Todd went out kayaking yesterday. Even though it is April, it is still winter here in Maine. Here they are getting their gear on. That's a lot of yellow. I am thinking of painting my boat..... orange....


Check out the Stonington seakayak blog Sea Kayak Stonington