Now that I have most of the interior mocked up, it’s time to get started on sanding the outside of the boat-nice and smooth and even. A lot of this is hand sanding.
Once I get it to a certain point, I will plank sand the entire boat to take out any waves, dips or imperfections as much as possible.
After sanding the port side, I have now come around to the back. What’s really interesting is all the different colors and variations of the wood.
Once I have it nice and smooth, I’ll take it outside my shop and with a wood bleach solution, I’ll bleach the whole boat. It almost turns out white, which is pretty cool.
It totally amazes me how with all the variations of the wood, from the old to the new, it all comes together once I bleach it and stain it. It will all match.
As you can see, I’ve gotten the whole top deck grouted. It really makes it a nice, clean, smooth surface. To me, there’s nothing prettier than the front of a boat like this.
Those plugs are cut from the same boards and as you sand them, they get whiter. The boards just stay pretty much the same.
It has a lot to do with the boards being soaked for 10 days and then steamed to be bent. But, in the end, it’ll all match.
Jack