"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. 

I need scuppers or drains for my decks. Ideas?

The decks are flat and at a 90 degree angle to the topsides.  There is a 2 inch gap between the outboard edge of the deck and the inside of the topside planking.  This is due to the 2 inch thick frames which you can see in the photos.  I believe the best way to drain water off the decks will be to have drains in the decks that take a 90 degree turn outboard and drain through the topsides.  There are some very expensive bronze fittings made for the this application, but it seems to me there must be a cheaper way to do it.  I need to research this.