Official launching and first overnight trip

Water system

Here's what I've come up with for my water system.  I will run pex from the faucet on the porcelain container down under the deck and back up to the sink.  A couple of these 5 gal. jugs should be plenty for a weekend.  I'll know how many to take after a bit of trial and error, but I drank from one at home for more than 1 week.  So, I'm estimating 1 5 gal. jug per person for 3 days drinking, cooking, and washing hands, etc.  I'm going to purchase the caps that are resealable and fill them with tap water.

 

Added motor and bracket

I got the motor bracket mounted with the engine.  I want to test it in the water before I finish it completely - maybe this week.

Galley set up with sink and stove

I got the counter cut out for the sink and put the stove on it to get a feel for the space.  I think eventually I'll go with a smaller stove, maybe.  I'm roughed out the bulkhead that closes off the forward end of the head area too.  I just need to trim two sides for a good fit, but the top curved end is good.

A little work on the galley

I framed out the main section of the small galley and fitted the countertop.  I need to add some shelves underneath.  For now I plan to leave it open underneath.

"Soft Launch"

I wanted to turn the boat around on the trailer and get a chance to see it in the water, check for leaks, etc., so I did a "soft launch" yesterday.  I am happy with it.  The bottom at both the bow and stern were barely in below the surface of the water.  The boat is very light and towed very well with my Tacoma.  Once I finish out the interior and have about 20 gals of potable water, I think it'll sit just right where the waterline should be.

Front sliding door

I think this is pretty cool.  I should have taken some pictures of the sliding mechanism.  I will try to remember to do this later.  The door has about a 1" x 1" strip running the length of the bottom of it which is fastened with wood screws.  The door itself is two layers have 3/4" cedar epoxied together with the butts staggered.  It was then trimmed to size and planed down where needed for clearance.  The 1"x1" strip sits on top of a 1" strip of vinyl rubrail half oval and the wood strip is shaped to accept the rub rail.  The vinyl rub rail is very slick. 

Front door rough fit.

I built a front door of two layers of cedar epoxied with butts staggered.  Now I need to build the door frame and sliding mechanism.

Started caulking the cabin.

I caulked most of the cabin and dry fitted the final siding piece on the front of the cabin.  I need to frame out for the sliding door before I'll know whether I need to adjust this last piece of trim.  The next step is to build the doors.

Primed

I think the boat looks really good with the white primer.  I think I'm going with all white on the cabin, with grey decks and contrasting window trim and doors.

Color scheme ideas?

 
I've painted the rooftop gloss white.  The hull is red.  What color should I use for the cabin and window trim?  I hope to launch the boat by the end of the summer.