The move to Myrtle beach turned out very well. Weather was perfect. Mary Lee ran like a sewing machine. Engine does not use oil or lose any fluids. I am over propped so it took longer than anticipated. But I am not complaining.

I had quite a few things to try finishing before the trip. Namely a dinghy.

First I cut 2 inch long blocks for gun'ls

Glue in place.

It took 22 clamps on each side.

I had seen pictures of this on other boats. The spacers were put inside.  The plans for this dinghy had no spacers. They nailed firehose to gun'ls. I decided to put spacers on outside so hose could be tied to gun'ls.

First I cut gun'ls. Then routered the corners off. This will make more sense shortly.

The gun'ls also get a piece of wood on the inside. Everything is glued and screwed. All holes are pre-drilled. I do not want any wood splitting halfway done. It would require pulling everything off and starting over.

Starting to get somewhere. Funny thought.... I have never built a dinghy. Never met anyone who had before I started. The only person I have found who did. Build one like this about 20 years ago. I converted mine over to stitch and glue construction so I actually found nobody to ask any questions. Had I grown up on the water...I would have built a dinghy as a kid. It just surprised me to find myself being the only one I knew building one. :-)

Almost done with first side. It took a little though, but is going smoothly.

Definitely have the hang of it now. Side two is a breeze.

Just have ends to finish.

A little more epoxy. This time mixed with micro-spheres. Makes it easier to sand out.

Much sanding to fare it all out.

Not done fastening the ends of gun'ls. Still have knees to put in.

However. Tonight she gets the bottom paint.

First coat went on very well.

Took tape off after second coat. I have one day left. I am hoping knees go in easily tomorrow.
Top will be white.

Moved Mary Lee over to fuel and left her on the inside. wind has been pushing her up against the dock for days. I thought it might be easier to pull out by myself if I didn't have to fight my way off the dock. Have watched some boaters really struggle with this here. Between fairly strong current and wind it is problematic.

Home for a night.

So back to the dinghy. Rode bike over. Decided there was no sense doing any paint on topsides without installing knees. Looked over woodpile. Decided to ride down to Lowes hardware and get 2x6 and 1x8 for knees and seats.

I rode down to Lowes. Back to Mary Beth's. In the meantime I had to ride over to marina. I had actually intended to leave this morning (Wednesday) but really was trying to finish dinghy. I was up and gone before marina opened so needed to pay for another day when they opened.

So the first knee went in. Talk about a lot of angles on one little block of wood. I marked the wood. cut it out with jigsaw. Then took as long as necessary to sand the different angles until I had a fairly tight fit. The drilled holes and screwed. I then sanded edges off smooth. They all get epoxy with final fit but for now... I just need them in place.

it was kind of a bear. I am learning all the time. I know some things you do not do when building a dinghy.

Finally!!!! All is epoxied and screwed into place. Cannot paint on top of wet epoxy. It took most of 6 hours to finish this little chore. Add on the time spent moving Mary lee and riding all over on bike. I ended up with no time to do seats and paint. I need to clean up my mess and get back to Mary Lee so I can get ready for tomorrow.

I am two days before it is finished. I need to put in seats. install oar locks and block to hold bottom of mast. Lets not forget false floor. Hilti makes a low expansion closed cell foam. I will fill gaps under false floor with that. May also use some under seats on either end.
Then a little sanding before white paint. Topcoat takes 24 hours to cure before using. That will be fine. The dinghy will make the trip to Myrtle beach in a pickup.

Will I build another dinghy??? You bet. I somehow doubt if I will do as much changing of the plans as I did on this one. I think the nester is next. I have those plans.

Will miss my little supervisor on next build. Bailey got a haircut. I still cannot get over the change in appearance.

Cannot find the picture I want. But believe me. Bailey is unrecognizable from hair grown out to haircut.

Of course... The parking lot was full of admiring fans in the morning :-)
But Mary Beth did stop by with an egg McMuffin, coffee and hash browns for me. That was reason to be in the parking lot anyways. Mary Beth is a good friend. We will always be friends I think.

Mary Lee in center of picture. I have a few things to do before pulling out.

And I am going. 8:00 as I go by the dock masters tent. I am happy and thoughtful. Lots of good things happened here in Oak Island. Lots of good things on the horizon.

It is a beautiful day for traveling. I wonder how long this boat has been sunk?

There is always a lighthouse.

A swing bridge or in this case....three.

What a nice place to put up a tent. I guess that is what the pvc poles are for. Of course you must have a bridge.

Lots of bridges.

Getting closer now.

Vivian on last swing bridge. Couple miles left.

Finally. Vivian took this as I approached the last swing bridge.

And onwards.

As I approach fuel Island at osprey Marina.

Tied up to fuel dock for the night when arrived. Marina said it was fine to wait until they came in at 7:00 am to help me put it is slip. Vivian had a group of well wishers with boats there to greet me but I was fine with docking Mary Lee there for the night. Here she is in her quiet new temporary spot. No current and blocked from heavy breezes here. I am going to put in air conditioning. I will be getting ready to go to work and I hear august is the hot month here.

After watching how the locals run their powerboats in the channel here. I have decided that the dinghy is not the answer for playing around exploring the area. I am thinking of a 14 foot runabout just to go fishing and playing with. I have one in mind.

But this blog is long. I will save that for the next one.

One last picture. I went to a Pelicans (local pro baseball team) game with Vivian and two of her neighbors. It was entertaining. The game, Vivian, Debbie and Pat.

Vivian took the picture. Can you see how many people photo-bombed??? I see four, maybe five.