Those of us building boats agree March 14th is Pi day. 3/14 (March 14) is the first three digits of pi (3.14). A bar here in Port Townsend will give you a 15% discount if you can recite pi to fifteen digits (3.141592653589793). This seems like a lot to memorize, but it’s only three zip code numbers — or one and one-half phone numbers. If you had the motivation to memorize it, you could do it.

There are various ways to celebrate. The Raspberry Pi Foundation often makes major product announcements. Our tradition is to eat pie. Have a slice.

But we’re not here to eat pie; we’re here to build a canoe. Today, our project was to remove a good portion of the boat using sandpaper and reciprocating motions. Yesterday, we turned the boat over and removed the forms; today we scraped and sanded to remove the tape and glue left behind. We use power sanders, then scrapers, then 80 grit sand paper, then 120 grit. The bow and stern are the most frustrating, as you really can’t get a good back-and-forth motion before you bump into the pointy constriction.

This creates dust and if you’re wise, you’ll use a dust mask and vacuum frequently. Modern power sanders can connect to a shop vac and suck up dust right through the sandpaper disk. This is an immense improvement over removing dust after it is floating free in the room. Installing one of these systems in his home shop would have thrilled my dad.

Check out this video of Matthew sanding the bow (stern?). This is the sound of progress and the sound we heard all day long. scrape-a-scrape-a-scrape…

There is room for only two people sanding the canoe. Janell and Matthew call dibs on this project, so Rich and I wander off to other pursuits.

Rich built two carry handles which will be fastened next to the deck plates. I focus on sanding and finishing the thwarts, yokes, and new carry handles. When I have sanded them satin smooth with 220 grit sandpaper, I insert screws in the ends and hang them from strings. I paint them with diluted spar varnish (spar varnish is a varnish for boats) then leave them to dry.

Rich turns his attention to the deck plates. These will go at either end of the boat to keep it in shape.

During lunch, we head over to the marine thrift store. It’s a tiny shop full of things you didn’t realize you need for your boat until you see it. They have a stack of paper maps charts for navigation. Modern boats don’t use paper–all navigation is by GPS, PDF’s and downloaded topo maps. The paper charts are as big as a dining room table and have an aesthetic attractiveness. Most of them wind up framed and hung over fireplaces in beachfront cabins.

We return to more sanding. When all the schmutz is gone, we can fill the cracks between strips, then apply an initial coat of epoxy to seal the wood. The canoe finishes the day with a dark red sheen.

We’re all drained, but hang out for a bit to share a beer with our boat-neighbor Trish and shop manager Joel. The weather is beautiful and the bay is calm. Seals and rowers enjoy the flat water and we enjoy the sunshine.

Today’s Stop Motion Review

The stop motion video is a hit, so here is today’s. A few notes:

• Notice the clock has gone from digital to analog which is easier to update. Thanks to Janell.
• Matthew (blue coveralls, red hat, and dust respirator) spends all day on the left-hand side of the video, sanding the bow. Good job Matthew.
• The “L” next to the clock appears while we are at lunch. We remove it when we return.
• We sand from 10:00 am to 5:15 pm. It isn’t until the end of the day when we finally fill cracks and apply a coat of epoxy.