I spent the remainder of my time in the hayloft installing various deck and rigging hardware.

I will never feel comfortable drilling through the deck. Paranoid about leaks and rot I’ve been drilling the initial hole slightly larger than the corresponding bolt, filling it with epoxy and then re-drilling at the proper size. Finally, everything gets bedded with a generous application of sealant. Only time will tell how successful this approach will be.

Usually I close up shop in the hayloft on the Thanksgiving weekend. This year I thought I’d see if I could squeeze in another weekend or two and so planned to spend the day installing the chainplates. As I was stepping onto the ladder to climb out of the hayloft it broke and I instead spent the day in an emergency room nursing what turned out to be a pair of broken ankles.

On painting day we setup the air compressor on the lawn next to the barn and ran a hose up through the hayloft window. To keep dust down we used a watering can to wet down the floor and then we started mixing paint.

I’m still not sure if my giddiness was due to finally seeing the VG23 with a coat of paint or simply a result of getting a bit too close to the overspray.

My first step was to pick up some lexan to fit the window holes cut last fall. And using the “universal radius”, (which just happens to come filled with a refreshing beverage), I measured and then cut it to shape with the jigsaw.

The first lesson I learned was to cut plastics at a nice slow speed, otherwise things heat up and the blade tends to stick. Combine that with a couple reminders of the “measure twice, cut once” lesson meant that by the time the windows were complete I was on a first name basis with Lynn over at Johnston Plastics.

My attempts at sealing the windows were turning out to be a frustrating mess until my sister’s fiancee suggested I use the masking tape edging trick pictured above. The key to getting a reasonably clean edge is to remove the tape before the sealant begins to dry.

In between tasks I’ve also been making gradual progress sanding primer.

I’d routed the frame of the raised deck hatch last week so after a bit of prep work I went around with a tube of sealant and popped the hatches into place.

The companionway hatch is exposing my limited carpentry skills. After cutting the rounded frame for the sliding hatch I glued and then clamped things together. Next step is to build and install the runners. And then hope I can put it together in such a way that the hatch actually works.

Speaking of hatching… I arrived at the stable one morning to the news that this little guy had arrived over night.