Aleria's Adventures

  Alex's Black Demon project is nearing completion. I must say, I think it's stunning. The red which looked garish at first has now mellowed, the hull is a rich black, and the fittings, which Alex thought were brass are actually steel but polished up lovely. There's a combination of brass and steel fittings as he bought brass to match what he thought was there, but it doesn't detract.  The seats and trim need to be installed and have been fitted and varnished. That's the last bit and may actually be completed tomorrow. It's very shiny. I do believe it will float.  Last bits are to source seat cushions and an engine. Looking forward to a test drive. 

The seats are going in, the trim is being varnished, one more coat of paint to go, the Black Demon is getting close. Alex thinks one more week and she'll be done. Now to get the engine and order the cushions. He has sourced a 30hp for a reasonable price. We'll be doing a bit of touring around the islands this summer. If she floats! Which I have no doubt that she will.   

  Alex's winter project of preserving a 1930s Century Black Demon runabout is almost done. They fibreglassed the entire boat. Then they painted the bottom white, the hull black as in the original, and the top a dark red. Alex had wanted to simulate wood as the original idea of letting the wood show through the glass didn't look nice. The interior is painted grey and the trim will be varnished. About another week of work should do it. It certainly looks a bit better than it used to after spending some 50 years in a shed at Ross House. 

  We've had so much wind lately that several boats have toppled over on the Quay in Westport. We haven't had a chance to go visit Aleria to check on her lately but we'll need to do that soon. We've had two named storms, Isha and Jocelyn, and two subsequent unnamed gales. It's pretty unnerving. I'm just glad we're not out there. 

Alex and Dmytriy have been fibreglassing and sanding their hearts out. Naturally, everything in the shed is now coated with a fine layer of fibreglass. The bottom is done, just needs paint. The top will get another coat of resin. Then they will start on the inside. 

  Alex and Dmitriy have been making great progress, today completing the fiberglassing of the hull. I must say it's looking good. They work well together and Dima is very efficient. It's just too bad his English is so rudimentary, but he is working on it.  This part is definitely a two-person job. It's the first time Dmytro has done fiberglassing but he really enjoys it. I think he's enjoying learning a new skill as well. 

The Century Black Demon that has been sitting in the barn at Ross for decades is being resurrected this winter. Dmytro is helping Alex make it seaworthy again. I can't say it's being restored because they are replacing much with new hardware, wood and so on. They are also epoxying the hull to make it waterproof.  This week, Dima and Alex stripped, sanded and faired the hull. It's quite the winter project, but it's going much faster than anyone expected. It's so great to have the shed.