TotalBoat Shop Night: Check Out These Fun Boat Projects

Only a few Wednesdays into Shop Night season, the enthusiasm is mounting and the projects are piling up. With a short list of a few more shop upgrades to work on, the record setting crowd worked together to build a paint table (complete with paint mixer hard mounted to the base), construct extra “curtains” for the work stalls we are creating, and of course everyone was eager to stand over hard working individuals ready to offer advice on the best way to accomplish a project.

No great boat work is complete until you get extra opinions and eyes standing over you as you work. It must be a boat thing. When there is a big job to be done, there is no shortage of opinions on how to do it. It’s possibly more fun to watch, critique and make suggestions than to hold the brush, drill or scraper.

The beers and Ricottis grinders help everyone unload after work and makes the jobs at hand and the spectating a bit easier.  GoPro cameras are clicking everywhere – capturing these larger boat projects minute-by-minute so we can speed it up when it’s done and all watch, critique and be entertained by someone else’s work list. Even Elwood, the official TB Shop Dog, did some recording with a GoPro mounted to his furry head. If only Lorelei took it as well as Elwood did…

Lorelei and her dad, Joe, continue to make good progress on their 1957 Century powerboat. Last night they stripped the varnish off the aft teak deck (TotalStrip paint and varnish stripper made it super fast and easy to remove), and removed some more chrome pieces for easier cleaning and work that is required around them. In a few short weeks, Joe predicts they can stop dismantling the boat and start putting it back together.

We have been moving the Live Shop Cam around the shop to keep the viewing more interesting. When something good is going on in the shop, we plan to give you a live view into the action. Because we think you’ll agree that as stated above, it’s more fun to watch other people work! Check out the Live Shop cam weekly for shop night and midweek we have plenty going on, too. Between the work going on behind the front curtain on Vela (A Rhodes Constellation total refit for racing and close cruising), the TotalBoat training sessions going on every Wednesday and various other cool jobs, there should be some decent action in the shop and we intend to share it with you.

We will be posting about shop night in this space, so to be certain you don’t miss a post, subscribe to the email alerts on the right side of this page. Thanks!

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