Quiet but Determined.

Do not underestimate the determination of a quiet [wo]man.  ~Iain Duncan Smith

Things have been pretty quiet this past week.  But, it's more a calm-before-the-storm type of quiet than anything.  My friend (and contractor), Glenn Tepe, is finishing up a job which will free his time to start working on the boat.  Also, Bruce (the person from whom I am buying the boat) is back in town and ready to finish the items left on the contract.  I have found someone to make the new fuel tanks for me, and he said he would get started right after July 4th.  I am meeting with John Toich to work on a contract for canvas and mesh (in orange).  John First is putting some finishing touches on the name and design to send off to be made in vinyl.  The new fenders and lines have arrived.  And I am hoping to buy paint today to re-coat her decks and paint the green stripes orange.

The orange mesh, made by Phifertex, will match the canvas perfectly.  It will go all the way around the bottom section of the deck rail (to aid the pups in learning boundaries on the boat).

 Is this necessary?  See for yourself:

Yes, he jumped in.  And he has attempted to jump in again.  They do have life jackets, but they don't love to hang out in them:

Getting the new fenders and lines in was VERY exciting! I have spent so much time researching fuel tanks, ordering window frames, light fixtures, stainless screws, urethane seam sealer, paint, etc., that ordering something truly boat-related was a very fun!

 

Lines: (http://softlinesinc.com/i-4982043-25-hunting-boat-launch-line-1-2.html)
Fenders:  (http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?r=view&i=76748)

Since the lines have her name on them, I cannot put them on her until after the name-change ceremony.  I am so excited to get that planned.  As soon as she is painted and I have a date for the new vinyl name and design to be applied, I will set the date!

My friend and I did some research on the best paint to use for the decks.  I think I have settled on products by Amercoat (http://ppgamercoatus.ppgpmc.com/).  This company specializes in protective and marine coatings.

I am going to apply a base of Amerlock 2: Fast drying surface tolerant VOC compliant epoxy (http://ppgamercoatus.ppgpmc.com/products/pdf/2_PDS_AI.pdf).  This stuff sticks to everything and does not require pre-treating.  You have to mix two components.  Once I mix them, I will have about 45 minutes pot life.

The top coat will be Amershield: Aliphatic polyurethane coating (http://ppgamercoatus.ppgpmc.com/products/pdf/Amershield_PDS_AI.pdf).  It is high gloss, and also has a 2-part mix.  But with this one, there is about 1.5 hour pot life.  They will mix it to match the existing paint color.

The aluminum has to be 85 degrees or cooler to paint, so I bought this infrared tool to test the temp of the decks before I paint them (I wonder if I will ever find another use for this tool...):

I have the materials and tools I need to get started on painting the decks (now I just need a dry, coolish night):

I also spent some time photo-shopping the new orange stripes in place.  Here is the before and after.

This pic shows her as she is now.  Notice how the stripes on the bridge are not parallel with the rest of the stripes?  I really think this ruins the flow, so I wanted to fix that.  I also wanted to paint the triangular area behind the porthole (so the lines are more connected and fluid).

So, here is what she'll look like painted orange:

I widened the orange stripe so that the bottom will be parallel with the other stripes.  I like this much better.  Her name will be placed on the front of the bridge and on the back of the boat.

I have four options for the graphics, and I think I know which one I will choose:

Which do you like best?

A lot of thought went into this name!  An Empress is "A woman who rules of her own right," and the Bennu is the Egyptian version of the Phoenix.  Power and rebirth--I think this suits her.

I'm excited to see what kind of progress is made in the next few weeks!