Finishing the Settee....AND THEN... (MJ Sailing - Ep 318)

For nearly a year, we haven't been able to do work on our salon - but now it's time to make our U shaped settee complete!
**If you would like to help with our build, take a look at our Amazon Wish List:
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In this episode we focus work in the salon, and specifically the back of the settee. This is an area we haven't been able to touch in over a year because we had to wait for the compression post to go in before we could close it off.
Back in the fall Matt had pieced together pieces of our foam core to make up the 2.8m (7.5 ft) seat back. Since it's a tight area that would be very difficult to glass behind once it is in place, Matt made flanges and bonded them against the supports. Then they were buttered up with our TotalBoat structural putty (thickened polyester resin) and the seat back placed against it.
Cleats were drilled into the base of the settee to keep the back taught against the flanges as it cures. The next day Matt was able to go back and glass the front portion to the surrounding settee, using two sheets of our 12 oz double biased fiberglass.
We were excited to get fairing compound on here, meaning we can start up work once again in the salon and galley to get the priming and painting process underway. But...before we could get too far there, our work was disrupted by 'The Storm'. (Check a few posts back on our Facebook or Instagram page for a little more info on that.)
Now work in the salon has come to a halt....but we can't share all of that with you just yet.
We hope you enjoy!!

[@goleafsgo8496]

Wow this is one Catamaran that you would want to own! You both do incredible work I hope you're still full of energy and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Going to be a beautiful boat can't wait for the sea trials to see the performance you enjoy from her. 😊

[@allensagoonick7959]

Missing you guys

[@pkane5472]

Nice to get a glimpse of Georgie all warm and comfortable with snow outside.

[@MJSailing]

She's rarely been outside of her heated bed for the past month, haha.

[@LifeOnTheHulls]

There isn't a day goes by that I don't have concerns about my Build shelter. It has sustained some massive storms but I feel everything you guys are going through until you get your shelter resolved. Keep plugging away at whatever you can as you will have to do it anyway, the order doesn't always matter so much as long as you do something. Cheers Ross

[@MJSailing]

If anything, it has forced us into the fore and aft parts of the boat, which we had been ignoring too long, really focus on fairing and priming. Not the most exciting jobs, but they might actually get finished soon! 😃

[@crashgilliam5983]

You guys have done so much work. If you’re like me you’ve gotten to some point and asked”oh Lord what have I gotten myself into?” It seems endless and you’re never gonna get there but you will! When it all comes together it will be glorious!

[@kendall6030]

Some just don't see the beauty in the mundane. Without it there would be no progress. Good to see you still plugging along. Going to be a beautiful craft when you are finished.

[@KiwiRednek666]

Keep smiling for us all. You both are doing so well. Always look forward to your episodes each time

[@MJSailing]

Thank you so much for joining us each week!

[@KiwiRednek666]

I've been following your build from the beginning. And it's an honour to be included in your journey. 😊

[@mkllove]

Jess, we've watched thru all of this and will keep doing so regardless... and switching around from time to time is nice, but we realize weather and circumstances must prevail, so you don't need to apologize. Matt, I like the allowance for ventilation and chimney effect over chargers and battery bank, but vents in both locker and battery storage may work differently than you've planned. Remember heat ONLY rises if cooler, denser air displaces it upward, it can't really draw or vacuum in cooler air. The vents in locker may allow a shorter easier path than thru batteries storage area, so more ventilation area may be needed by far side of settee/battery locker if your intent is for that to be ventilated for temp conditioning etc.

[@TotalBoat]

Love seeing your progress each week!! Awesome work, friends!

[@MJSailing]

Thank you so much! We couldn't do it without you!!

[@IMG1800]

Can't wait to see it on the water. Been watching since it first arrived in the shipping container. Good work guys 👏

[@sailinglakeclark]

I like to take pinking shears to the edge of your disposable spatula, the uniform jagged edge makes it easier to spread putty evenly along a bonding surface and is super quick and easy to do.

[@MJSailing]

Awesome, thanks for the tip!

[@curtk8715]

Cat warmer area might need a grid grate with a spacer so when the cat cuddles and bogarts the warm air- some will still flow around the cat. Cat will love that spot- has a window, with a view. just big enough - higher up and still can hang out while you two are eating or on the bench.

[@MJSailing]

I didn't even think about it.... Georgie is going to LOVE the vent area! On our last boat her favorite spot became sitting directly in front of the diesel heater vent. 🤣

[@thomasw5430]

Love seeing you guys go the extra step with the back of the settee-even if you are not going to see it all that often. When you go to sell it sometime in the very distant future, the future buyers will appreciate it and allay any fears if it was not finished as well as the areas you do see. I am hoping you did not lose too much stuff from storm and the tent is repaired fairly quickly. This winter ha. s been super strange here. We are going from single digit wind chills to springlike temps over the course of the week. It’s crazy!!

[@MJSailing]

I know....in 5 days the temperature here literally doubles!!! So far we don't think we've lost too much to the storm. A few rolls of fiberglass (probably the most expensive loss), and potentially a lot of our sandpaper (we still don't know yet if the backs will adhere to the random orbital, we haven't had a need to try it.) As this publishes we still don't have a fix for the tent, waiting for insurance to cut a check. Hopefully this all won't set us back too far!

[@marklapierre5629]

It's not just the snow, it's the low temperatures that put a halt on progress. I live only a short distance from you where my boat project is pretty much halted for the winter too.

[@MJSailing]

We have radiator heaters that we can either close off the head or the aft berth to heat only that space - but when temperatures dip below freezing, even that is hard to do. 😢

[@jamarie1972]

When you talk of sitting on the settee at anchor in any bay any part of the world 🌎, you’ll reminisce of these times. Seeing on the news the storms you had coming through, hope everything gets sorted out with the insurance soon. At least you had somewhere to store your materials and tools.

[@mikefox1332]

Great progress!!! 😍

[@gregormiller4037]

Lov the progress you're making. Keep-up the good work!

[@MJSailing]

Thank you so much!!!

[@bmitch3020]

Good luck on the fix to the tent. I'm hoping this is the worst day of winter we'll have to deal with on the east coast. Stay warm! This is not a day you want to be spending in a room with an open roof.

[@MJSailing]

It's way below freezing and the wind is HOWLING outside!! We're hoping this is our worst day of winter too. Next week is really looking up, we'll have to hope the next 2 months come with that same forecast.

[@bmitch3020]

@@MJSailing this wind is no joke and I'm a ways inland. Feeling bad for you out on the island. It's hot coco and a warm blanket weather for sure.

[@scereth2813]

Consider venting the inverters and batteries into the master head. As bathrooms never seem warm enough anyway, and it is very close! Just a thought.

[@MJSailing]

Not a bad plan either.

[@jaredjohnson8553]

Seeing the back on the settee really brings into view how amazing that space is going to be. Aaand work comes to a crashing halt. Good luck on the tent and hope you're back up to speed soon. Will provide some interesting content, too, I suppose....

[@MJSailing]

You're right...at least we got good content from the issues with the storm! 😂 I'm editing the footage right now, and once insurance has been settled, we'll be able to release it.

[@rolandtb3]

Opportunity to work on the settee, battery/changing/inverter storage areas. Mostly everything relocated to inside the boat, shed roof covering can be sorted out. Unexpected, challenging but you two are working thru it. Snowballs that nature throws at us.

[@petergroves9343]

That's going tp look so good once faired & painted, nice job 👍

[@MJSailing]

Thank you so much! We've been getting pretty fair with our fairing and priming the last month, finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

[@timothyodonnell8591]

I love to see the progress! Also, I loved the music you selected.

[@MJSailing]

Thank you so much!! We're glad you enjoyed it!! Hopefully we can get back to work and making more progress soon! 👌

[@cheifruth7293]

Should have prepared for that storm better. If you had taken better care of that tent, it would have taken better care of you. 😜

[@TK-11538]

6:30. Use a notched glue spreader. It’s faster, easier and gives a more consistent spread.

[@MJSailing]

We had a few of those, but they were plastic and the notches always wore down so quickly.

[@dcallan812]

If the controller-inverter area gets too warm you can if needed add a fan later. looking good 2x👍

[@marchuvfulz]

Perfectionism is a good habit for boatbuilders.

[@garyobrien2155]

sucks about the storm taking out the tent.....hope yall get it fixed quick

[@garyobrien2155]

great video....thank god back to building.

[@barbiewarner530]

ive watched since the begining n u have done great

[@russgaulke1364]

"The Storm" sounds both metaphorical and a little ominous.😳

[@MJSailing]

The events of 'The Storm' has now sadly set us back a few weeks. 😭

[@Neilhuny]

Shakespeare almost wrote a play about it - or a similar event. I wonder if duct tape, string and chewing gum is good for fixing tents and the like?

[@armslength2618]

Good job - nice work so far. Where I'd sail offshore I'd have to build with 6mm EH36 plate on a 65-70 foot monohull (Deadheads, occasional growlers, Pacific storms). Probably will be a non-starter, as I'm not a lottery kind of guy. But I still have the nacra to play with.

[@davidrogers9266]

Hi guys, I've been following your channel for years. If at all possible try to vent to the outside. I have an ice maker on my boat that absolutely heats the entire salon. If your going back to cold waters your design would be fine but if your heading to warmer areas you may want to figure a way to divert the heat outside.

[@jmkikkawa]

Not only does the furniture becomes structural, it won't squeak and rattle underway. This boat is going to be tight underway. I'm sure you've thought about that a lot.

[@crankyoldguy2]

(critique mode on) I've been watching your faiiring process for more than a year now. Working on walls and ceilings with drywall and compound is very similar. When I do a wall and seams, I use steel trowels. They come in several sizes when flat, and shapes to make inside curves with a radius. You use some plastic spreaders that cover an area maybe four inches wide, where a typical drywall trowel is a minimum of six, and the one a drywaller would use normally is eight or perhaps ten. The wider and stiffer the applicator, the flatter the coat. In your case, you go over the surface with the small plastic spreaders, leaving a wavy surface with high spots and low ones, sanding off half of what you've applied, then adding more fairing compound in a repetitive process that seems never ending. Bigger IS better. Are their some issues with using steel tools with fairing compound? My experience tells me that the drywall tools can spread 'mud' the thickness of oatmeal, and being metal, they should be stiff enough. Is the fairing compound so thick that you can't spread more than four inches at a time? (doesn't look like that in the videos.) If you can use them, these tools should make fairing quicker, flatter and smoother (less sanding!!) and reduce the time from the several days you're taking now by at least half. And the trowels clean up easily and are (obviously) reusable. The even come with handles, which are much easier on your hands. (critique mode off)

[@handaferguson]

Great Job!!! Thank You… :-)

[@CoryWitte]

Reusable caulking tubes and a battery powered gun would be huge on this project lol.

[@matdavey1]

Congratulations, you've just designed Georgie's permanent home on the cat.

[@Cheers_Warren]

Hi matt & Jessica, I was thinking that behind the settee would be a good place to mount the chargers etc for easy access but since it’s a structural box beam that’s not possible . ?? Chers Warren

[@MJSailing]

Probably the hardest worked bulkhead on the boat... So no holes in that one :)

[@karlfair]

How close to floating was your boat? Hope you guys didn't loose anything important. When I went home from working the docks and shutting off the dock power, I was walking in knee deep water. The tide went up another 1.5' after I got back to the boat.

[@MJSailing]

If you're asking if the water was getting close to the tent, thankfully it was still quite a ways from coming up there. If it's 'how long until she's water tight and *could* be launched if necessary?' Uhhh....that would be probably at least 10-11 months from now, haha.

[@webheadusa9377]

I am certain once you are cruising that anybody coming aboard wearing shoes will not "fair" well. I, for one, would comment (brown nose) on how well the builders faired, painted, built, and installed the amenities. Yeah, at the end of the day I want to get that beer. Besides, builders ARE doing a darn good job.:¬) Webhead USA

[@caracamano71]

👍

[@greglight3745]

To build or to buy ? Guess it’s about timelines.

[@MJSailing]

It is a lot above time and dedication, haha. Luckily for us we're not doing it to have a 'cheap boat', but to enjoy the boat building experience. 🥰

[@onedisasterattatime9116]

So So tedious.....Good patience

[@MJSailing]

Hopefully we'll be through most of the tedious work in 2024!!

[@joeo8820]

What percent of the boat building has been done so far? I remember watching the beginning about 2 yrs ago.

[@MJSailing]

We started in March of 2021, the build will be coming up on 3 years soon! 😬 I'd say we're about 60% done, but the remainder shouldn't take the same about of time, based on percentage. Fairing has been an abhorrent project with a steep learning curve, and once we're past it the other projects will be completed much faster.

[@joeo8820]

@@MJSailing ... Wow, I will just buy a finish one in 3 years. Me alone will probably take 2x times more to finish. Thanks for the reply.

[@williambell8282]

How big does a 'job' have to be before it becomes a 'project' ?!

[@MJSailing]

🤔 Good question....

[@fredbear2648]

How many years have you been working on this project?

[@MJSailing]

We'll be coming up on 3 years in March.

[@myra9495]

Even though you guys are using appropriate protection, is there any concern about the long term health effects of using all those synthetic chemicals ? ie , solvents , fiberglass etc

[@MJSailing]

There is. We keep a mask on the entire time we're in the boat, but even then, we track a lot of the dust and chemicals with us as we leave the site. It's just a dust cloud off us as we walk away each night, and I'm sure some is getting into our lungs.

[@myra9495]

@@MJSailing please be very careful. Maybe you could rinse off the dust before you leave the marina Also there might be environmental professionals that can offer you advice BEST OF LUCK!!!

[@erichood486]

The back and forth between passive and active voice hurts. Please pick one - preferably active.