Stoooopid varnish. I suck at varnishing. It's a dark art practiced by masochists.
Three coats now and you can see small bits and stuff all on top. I've sanded, I've done all the required chants and burned boughs, and I've been super careful. Still doesn't look good at all. Horrible in fact. Look at the pictures and you can see the spots. Sigh... maybe I should have thinned the first coats? It's a mystery.
Still... nothing is to stop me from sanding it all down and starting over. If after the maiden voyage and "Learn to sail your T37" clinic I'm still not happy with it, I could just sand the varnish and add more coats after having consulted the masters. We'll see. Or, I could just be satisfied with my first boat and start in on my next one; a Star 45! It's all just for fun and is a hobby, so why stress too much about it.
I'm also struggling with how to rig the booms. The one thing I know I don't want to do is the velcro tabs that the instructions suggest. So I'm trying to find some alternate ways to do it. There is a race this weekend and I think I may go and look at rigging ideas. I've been to a couple races now but, as I said in an earlier post, have been focused on the hulls. Now I need to look closer at the rigging.
While I'm there I'll need to look at how they have all fit the radio gear into the small space without interferring with the sheets.
I'm at the point where I'm getting frustrated with the build. It's been up and down, but right now there are just too many faults that I'm seeing. The boat looks great if you just glance at it, or look at it from afar or in pictures, but once you're close enough for a decent look all the faults pop out. Erf... If I had to give it a grade I'd say a solid B or B+. But it certainly doesn't match the quality of the real artisans who have built these boats before. I guess I have to take solice in the fact that of the guys I'm trying to match, one has built 7 (seven!) T37's and the other is a professional boatbuilder! From that perspective I think I've done well. But there is a lot of room for improvement!
Smooth seas!
Three coats now and you can see small bits and stuff all on top. I've sanded, I've done all the required chants and burned boughs, and I've been super careful. Still doesn't look good at all. Horrible in fact. Look at the pictures and you can see the spots. Sigh... maybe I should have thinned the first coats? It's a mystery.
Still... nothing is to stop me from sanding it all down and starting over. If after the maiden voyage and "Learn to sail your T37" clinic I'm still not happy with it, I could just sand the varnish and add more coats after having consulted the masters. We'll see. Or, I could just be satisfied with my first boat and start in on my next one; a Star 45! It's all just for fun and is a hobby, so why stress too much about it.
I'm also struggling with how to rig the booms. The one thing I know I don't want to do is the velcro tabs that the instructions suggest. So I'm trying to find some alternate ways to do it. There is a race this weekend and I think I may go and look at rigging ideas. I've been to a couple races now but, as I said in an earlier post, have been focused on the hulls. Now I need to look closer at the rigging.
While I'm there I'll need to look at how they have all fit the radio gear into the small space without interferring with the sheets.
I'm at the point where I'm getting frustrated with the build. It's been up and down, but right now there are just too many faults that I'm seeing. The boat looks great if you just glance at it, or look at it from afar or in pictures, but once you're close enough for a decent look all the faults pop out. Erf... If I had to give it a grade I'd say a solid B or B+. But it certainly doesn't match the quality of the real artisans who have built these boats before. I guess I have to take solice in the fact that of the guys I'm trying to match, one has built 7 (seven!) T37's and the other is a professional boatbuilder! From that perspective I think I've done well. But there is a lot of room for improvement!
Smooth seas!
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