Sailing Project Atticus Archive – Page 2

To seal our new companionway sliding hatch we decided on using West Systems Special Clear Hardener. This will offer a long lasting, durable seal, protecting the wood from weathering caused by water, while working simultaneously as a strong base for our pol...

Desiree finished spraying topcoat on the cockpit locker doors, and Jordan is working on varnishing the companionway wood and priming the turtle hatch. She's going to be pretty! http://www.Facebook.com/TheProjectAtticus http://www.projectatticus.com

We mapped out our deck so that we can strategically prep and apply nonskid particles over the next couple of days. We'll be using Awlgrip paint and coarse GripTex nonskid particles.

Here we go! We've taped off sections of the deck and are working together to roll the awlgrip paint and scatter the GripTex coarse particles on the wet paint. So far so good...!

It's crazy to see the deck totally transform as we take each step forward. From re-coreing, to fairing, to spraying primer and topcoat, and finally to applying non-skid! Today we finish up our last segment! Last day of sanding... (at least until the next ...

Check out the original exterior wood work! This 50 year old piece has aged about as well as Atticus herself and with a little TLC will look as good as new!

Last step of our companionway woodworking project is applying AwlBrite! Check it out!

Jordan shows us the restored teak pieces (including winch blocks, combing blocks, and cockpit combing) that he's been working on. Next step: varnish!

How do we sponsor our refit and future circumnavigation plans in our twenties? One great source of income has been working on superyachts. Desiree drops us a line from the Caribbean where she has been island hopping on a charter boat for the last two weeks...

At best refitting Atticus has been 2 steps forward 1 step back. Today was more of a 3 steps back kind of day. Split scarfing on my cap rail project and the beginnings of bowsprit fabrication.

Yeeeehhaaaaa! Check out our hillbilly Atticus steam box! This is the first step in bending our new teak cap rails.

After sitting in the steam box for almost 3 hours we now bend the teak to the plywood pattern which we traced from Atticus' gunwale.

Studying via iPad, over 3G internet, listening to lectures on the stereo, all on a sailboat built in 1963! Where tech and classic construction unite! As soon as I'm certified, I'll become Captain of a sunset and snorkel charter sailboat in Key West to help...

Swimming with whale sharks and exploring beaches along the coast of la Paz, Mexico makes some time away from Atticus bearable, but I can't wait for the day when we can sail Atticus to places like this!

Jordan is finally back to work on Atticus after a month of working a "real" job. Check out what's next on the project list, including patching up some delaminated areas in the hull to deck joint.

Progress! Installed the cockpit coamings and winch bases! 50+ year old wood trim has never looked this good!

Though we've spent the majority of the last year covered in bottom paint, fiberglass, bronze and wood dust, paint and epoxy, we are lucky enough to share a couple days of luxury in La Paz, Mexico while Desiree works on a 150 ft. Charter yacht out here! Sto...

This may be our last week in the boatyard! With all of our dirtiest projects coming to an end we will hopefully move to a marina soon, but to make that happen Jordan is putting in some overtime to finish up our last boatyard projects.

Check out Jordan's strategy for bending the Carpal Teak for the Transom!

After 1 year and 4 months in the boatyard, 4 trips to the urgent care center, roughly 300 trips to west marine, a couple emotional breakdowns, and countless mistakes, we're finally wrapping up our messy projects and moving to a marina where we can finish o...

Celebrating our final farewell to the boatyard with sundowner key lime Rum & Cokes. Check out the new caprail and wish us luck for our first move in over a year!

We're finally out of the boatyard! Not too far of a trip to the Marina around the corner, but the change in lifestyle is drastic! Showers, gym, captain's lounge, wifi! Ooooh yeah! Now all we have to do is get that mast back up!

Check out our new slip and work shed! Desiree just received her Sailrite ultrafeed in the mail and is excited to tear into it! New curtains, here we come! Any beginners words of wisdom from veteran sewers out there?

Today we installed teak handrails and sealed them to the cabin top with bed-it butyl tape! Not nearly as messy or stressful as installing and sealing our newly fabricated cap and rub rails with sikaflex!

Installing mounting clips and musings about jumping in and learning a new skill. You gotta start somewhere, right?

Curtains are coming along! Check out my working template and meet my mom who came down for a visit when she heard I'd be working on my first sewing project!

Desiree's mom takes over in the galley! Marina life is pretty awesome!

Meet Jordan's brother and nephews, our Project Atticus support team in Santa Cruz, California:) They made T-Shirts to spread the love out here!

Half Dome, one of Yosemite's most iconic peaks, was on the top of our list to hike. But instead of suffering the tedious permit process we decided to hike the opposing peak, North Dome, for the best view of Half Dome in the valley.

Instead of Selling Jordan's motorcycle and returning to Key West we decided to take Lucile (the bike) out for one last epic ride to one of California's most beautiful destinations, Yosemite National Park. Here we are at one of our campsites enjoying a quie...

After being bummed out by the massive crowds, the heat of the valley floor in Yosemite, and a failed attempt to get a site at Camp 4 we decided a long hike into the High Sierras for a high altitude vi

As we have been refitting Atticus we have in our free time sailing O'Day 22s from the Key West Sailing Club to train Desiree on how to sail. After many days on the water this is Desiree's first time captaining and she kills it!

After getting back from our California adventure Desiree got back to work on making new curtains. This is the first of many sewing projects that Desiree will be tackling including new settee cushions and new V-berth cushions. It was a great learning experi...

With Desiree learning through trial, error, and research she has made a lot of progress on her sewing skills and has found her new favorite tool, a hot knife. Here she explains how hot knives can save time and frustration for the do-it-yourself sewer.

After getting back from California Jordan is taking on the tedious and time consuming project of polishing our new chainplates. We made these chainplates from scratch with 316L stainless steel which is very corrosion resistant. Polishing is an effective m...

After removing all the hardware from our old masts, removing corrosion, and cleaning the aluminum Jordan now re-installs the old hardware and many new pieces. In order to reduce corrosion between dissimilar metals we used a combination of Lock Tight and T...