Environmental Tests Final

[Pipefitter]

Today I put my boat on it's trailer. Sun is hitting it where it hasn't touched before and this marks the end of a long drawn out dream and on to the creation of many more. After taking the cradle apart and leveling the ground and giving it a wetting like it hasn't seen in 3 years I have come across all the tiny bits and pieces of parts and sub parts of it's construction. I found pine,spruce,doug-fir, PT pine,DF marine ply,Honduras mahogany and the 1088 meranti ply scraps. The pine,DF both solid and ply and the spruce were all devoured into nearly paper by the termites and the meranti,mahogany and the PT pine were untouched. I wish I had a camera to show what the extreme differences are. Also,the pieces left off of the ground but out from the shelter of the tent were in best condition in the order of, #1 would be the PT pine,a tie for 2nd with the mahogany solid and the meranti ply with the meranti discolored less but the grains checked about the same. The DF ply is pretty much unrecognizeable as are the pine solids and the DF solids only being slightly less so.The spruce crumbles in hand. The 1088 meranti had not delaminated even at it's edges and is still as flat as new and the same thickness as pieces stored indoors. The epoxied bits are as sound as the day they were coated.

I know this is trivial at best but just thought it interesting to see the extreme differences with such an uncontrolled,unintentional test. Left for nature to decide on it's own.

[capt jake]

A milestone has been reached!  You must feel pretty darned good!

[Pipefitter]

I have to admit it seeming odd to see it on it's trailer. Seems in a way to mask it's beginning,bringing it to the place of other boats sitting on theirs. I guess in a way, I procrastinated bringing it to that point. Like a baby from it's mother so to speak and now expected to act as a grownup once pushed from it's nest. These all things I never expected to give 2nd thought about when I started this whole quest.Seemed so much more simple and detached of any emotional consideration. Then one has to stop and think of all the other non boat related thoughts that occurred throughout the build. Passing of loved ones,acquisition of yet others. If all that was taken into consideration,it helps to bring the values of such things to priceless.Moreso now I realize, I have built a boat of me more than for me. I suppose that will be one of the very inclinations it takes to keep it looking as it does now.

The back yard sure looks different now. Like there is room for another.