Day 90

At last, the boat-building will continue for this year! We have had a long winter, and there's still lots of snow, but working up inside the boat this isn't a problem.
We somehow managed to get the hoist over the forward prart of the poop decks, but it will have to be raised up at least a foot or it will be useless. We really need it for putting in the engine, and for lifting ( still heavy! ) large pieces of 1/8" plate.

Gena tacking pilothouse plate to deck/frame join

Getting the plate ( above pic ) up the aft and over the bulkheads proved to be a real trick!
It was sure a good idea using the hoist, as it provided a safety catch as we battened it in to the deck and cut and ground it to fit. As can be seen above, the chainfall is hooked on to a tab we welded on to the plate just past half way up.
Then we clamped it in and I ran the plasma gun along the deck for the cut.

We were concerned the the accuracy may be compromised by the plate being out and away from the deck, but this is a 5 degree angle and on a horizontal plane with very little change toward the bow over this 10 feet ( 5 to 7 degrees ) so it of course snapped in to exactly where we wanted!
This in itself seems amazing because of the compound curve in the wall, and the curve of the deck both vertically and horizontally, just a small overcut would have sent the angle of the wall way off.
It must be magic I guess hehe!

Could we do it again on the other side? You bet!!
Both sides come in the same way, but there is a slight distortion in the aft starboard side, that will have to be countered by the framing. We think the plate may have had the distortion in it to start.
For now we are very happy with the results of the pilot house sides. The forward cabin sides are going to be a real test as there is a > 2' curve there!

Day 90:
10 hours - A bit on Saturday prepping up, and the rest on Sunday. Installed both sides of pilothouse