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Looks to me that the fiberglass weave needs to be completely filled to make sure that it is absolutely sealed. I plan on adding non-slip additive to the last coat of paint on the fore deck, side decks, cockpit and the head floor. It is a powder that is mixed in the paint or sprinkled on top of the wet paint. I like the look where the edges are smooth and the the walkable parts are non-slip. Egbert

When tightening a fitting with caulk a practice to add a bead of caulk and only very slightly tighten the fitting. Tighten the fitting all the way when the caulk has set up. This prevents the caulk from squeezing out. Egbert

How about Dolfinite Bedding Compound. I like to see en opinion on that. Some of the choices will depend on if the item can be easily removed for repair or whatever reason. I will have wiring for navigation lights, horns, antennas, solar panels that have to go to the roof and also a couple of water lines for a hot water solar panel. I plan on making a hollow base for a mast on the roof and route most of the wiring through a pvc pipe sticking up through the roof that will be covered by the mast base. Egbert

The glass will be installed in sub-frames that in turn get installed in the fixed frames on the boat. That way all three windshields look the same. Either the center one will be opening or the two outer ones, haven't decided that yet. It should make installing the glass easier as it can be done on a work bench instead of sitting on the fore deck. The non opening sub-frame(s) will be glued in the fixed frames with some Sikaflex.

Thanks All, Using silicone after the frames are painted and before they are installed on the boat shouldn't be too hard. That way the silicone can be kept away from doing harm to the surroundings. Egbert

Thanks for the advice, I can seal it with epoxy, no paint on the areas that will receive the sealant. I would like to stay away from silicone, with my way of working it gets everywhere. The 101 looks promising or something similar like Totalboat Elastomeric sealant that stays flexible. Egbert

I just ordered laminated glass for the three windshield sections. The frames are made out of plywood and have for now a couple of coats of CPES. What kind of sealant is best to use between the glass and the wood. It needs to be removable in case a pane breaks or cracks. Also does the area where the sealant goes need to be painted like the rest of the frame. I saw somewhere on the woodenboat forum not to paint those areas. Egbert

Toilet Paper! I got the Nature Head. Didn't use it yet so I can't speak for the use. Hopefully Henry will chime in. They should know by now if they like it or not. Egbert

I don't think that venting during filling is a problem. A 1/2" or 5/8" hose going into a 1 1/2" filler tube should leave enough space for air to come out.. It does look like the filler cap (stainless steel) has a pretty tight seal. I might need a small vent during use. That is an idea to do something at the filler cap. Egbert

And I'm complaining about 5 inches of snow! Egbert

I have two fresh water tanks in my Bluejacket 25.5. From what I understand they need just as a fuel tank a vent. Where do you put the vent outlet. It does need to go higher than the fill opening which will be on the side deck. don't think outside the boat is a good idea with the possibility sucking in contaminants, insects and whatever floats around in the air. Egbert

Hi, There are many ways to turn over a Bluejacket boat. Most of the time it involves a bunch of people, beer and pizza. When we turned my 25.5 over we added the turnover frame as per Tom's plans. I attached casters under the frame and dragged the boat outside. We attached a tractor on one side to pull and another one on the other side the keep the boat from going over to fast. I figured I would have better luck controlling a tractor than a bunch of people. And I didn't had to get beer and pizza, just a little diesel fuel. Here is a link to my pictures. Not many from the turning over process. Here are a couple videos turning a Bluejacket. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re6VvJeQpKY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl4tx5Luebc Hope that this helps and good luck finding a bit of warm weather. Egbert

Nice pictures, looks like DeDe and her crew is just doing fine. I'm a little bit envious however, sitting here with 30 mile winds and a windchill of 6 degrees. Egbert

There are some benefits and dangers with epoxy dribbling on your shoes. I have a pair and they lasted already a your longer than normal. On the other hand epoxy on the bottom of your shoes can make them dangerous. I slipped down the ramp of our shed. Egbert

I don't have any worthwhile pictures to show for. Work on the boat continues with a lot of fairing and sanding on the fore deck, side decks and cockpit. A little bit of progress has been made on the cabin top. Also spent a lot of time working on the trailer while the weather still was halfway decent. Took it completely apart down to the frame, painted it. It has been reassembled with all new hardware and new disc brakes. A little bit of wiring for the lights is left and I need to install the bunks. It used to be a roller trailer. Egbert

Finally I managed to cut the opening for the door in the cockpit starboard hull side. I reinforced the area by adding plywood ribs where the door goes and in the area adjacent to the door. When I cut the door out today there was no visible distortion of the hull side. Hopefully it stays that way after crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Egbert

Here is a picture of DeDe, Henry and Diane's Bluejacket 28

I would like to know that too. I don't see any registered at the woodenboatshow website. I was at some point hoping to have my 25.5 there this year but it is still an irregular connected pile of plywood. Hopefully next year. Egbert

Page 22 showing the side window channel details indicate 3/8" ply. This is on the 25.5 I only used some scrap pieces of 1/2" here and there. Don't think there was anymore requirement for 1/2" Egbert

Attached is a picture of the cockpit area where I plan on locating my door between the forward and aft locker. The area is already reinforced at each end by the locker walls. The door will start just above the belt stringer up to the cockpit coaming. More reinforcement of the area will come from a honeycomb like structure on the hull side and in front of the door. Hopefully that will be enough reinforcement to avoid deflection of the hull shape after cutting a big hole in the side. Egbert

Far from being finished, but here is a picture. I'm building a Bluejacket 25.5 and hope to be finished spring 2015. The beginning of the whole project was in March 2011 by building first a workshop to accommodate the boat building. The actual boat building started in November 2012 by making a steering wheel while waiting on plywood to be delivered. Pictures of the progress are here. Egbert

Since I have a Honda 2000 that would probably a route to take. I still would like to combine it with some solar heat. Egbert

Did something change in relation to posting pictures. When I click the image icon the only option I get is entering an URL, I don't see the "other options" button to upload from the hard drive. Egbert

I'm confused, looking back at your pictures it looks like in the pictures you posted the beam is in the right location. Forward of the sleeping cabin bulkhead. Unless it ended up somehow somewhere else. Egbert

Henry and Diane, Is the Midwest void of any Internet access? Haven't seen any updates in a while. Nice picture Egbert