Assembling the Frames

The floors and frames have been cut, fitted, sanded, and fitted again. Now it is time to put them all together. I used bronze fasteners along with Titebond III wood glue. This will give the frames a strong connection to the floors. 

The outer corner of the floor/frame connection will be cut out to fit the chine log at a later point. The tops of the frames will be reinforced by the sheer clamp, gunwale, and inwale. For now, the floors and frames look like the characteristic "rib" that will support the dinghy. 

Connecting the Frames and Floors

After the frames were cut and lightly sanded, the notch was cut which will increase the strength of the connection between the frame and the floor. This notch will serve as a vertical stop while aligning the frames to their appropriate flare. 

some basic math was carried out to find the ideal placement of the notch on each frame. The height of the floor and length of the frame were added, then subtracted by 18, the final length of the assembly.if the floor was 5 inches high and the frame is 15 inches long, 2 inches would be the remainder. 

By marking the frame 2 inches high, the notch could be placed at the appropriate location to place the sheer at 18 inches. 

The use of squares and straight edges proved invaluable for this step. All the frames were frasured, marked, and identified to their corresponding floor and side.  Frames were now labeled as 4A or 3B, letting me match it back to the correct floor when the assembly would begin. 

The frames were notched 0.75 inches deep, or half their thickness. This provides me with enough material so to fasten without all the extra bulk and weight of leaving the frame whole. 

After making the two cuts or frame on the bandsaw, they were dry fitted to the floors to verify their fitment.  

The flare of the frames was evaluated and confirmed with two squares set opposing each other. Once everything was squared up, the sanding could continue in preparation for the assembly. 

Water Tank Details

Your water tanks store your most valuable possession, water! Without fresh water, you will die in  a few days from dehydration. For these reasons, your water tanks should meet minimum criteria to be considered worthy of holding such a resource.

First of all, your water tanks need to be made of a material that will not react with the water. Plastic, fiberglass and stainless steel are preferred because they won't interact with the water inside the tank like an aluminum tank would.

The next most important function of a water tank is that it lets you get the water out of the tank. The first way to get water out of the tank is via the plumbing. This is the standard and easiest way to get water out of the tank, as long as the plumbing is working properly.

If the plumbing were to encounter a problem and you can't get water out of the tank, you need a second way to get the water out of the tank. A large viewing port on the top of the tank will allow you to gain access to your water and either scoop or pump the water out with a bailer or hand pump. Keeping an extra hand pump on board that is used exclusively for the tanks (and not the bilge) is imperative. If the plumbing fails, simply open the top access and drop the pump into the tank.

Having an alternate method to access your water is crucial, ensuring that you will never find yourself caught with a full tank and a thirsty crew. Your plumbing may seem fine at the moment with no possibility of failure; but if a hose gets clogged, your pump dies, or you run out of electricity, you will find yourself thankful that you have a contingency plan to access your fresh water stores.

Choosing Where to Live Aboard

When you think about living on a boat, you probably imagine someone sitting in their cockpit while sipping on margaritas with their boat anchored next to a sunny beach lined with palm trees. While this style of life aboard exists, it is not the only way to live on a boat.

Most people liveaboard in marinas, tied to a pier next to large cities. These cities are located in various latitudes, fluctuating from equatorial regions where it is summer all year long, all the way up to higher latitude regions which will expose liveaboards to brutal winters. Deciding where you want to live will also carry along the climate you will live in. 

To make your boat as comfortable of a home as possible, appropriate steps need to be taken to make sure that you will be well prepared to live in a comfy climate all year round. If you are close to the equator, air conditioning will prove very valuable. If you live in a more temperate climate, an air conditioner with reverse cycle will be a worthy feature to invest in. If you live in an area where the winters are fierce, a powerful heater will be crucial to your winter comfort levels.

Living aboard tied up to a marina is not much different from living in a town house. You have to park in a parking lot and walk a bit to get to your boat. The walk will be exposed to the elements, but your boat will be a comfortable escape where you can relax and be cozy. 

Proper planning and preparation will make living aboard just as comfortable as living on land. When connected to shore via a pier, all the comforts of land based life are just a few steps away while also granting you all the advantages of living on a boat.

Costs to Live Aboard

Living aboard a boat is exactly what you want it to be and its price will match accordingly. There are those who enjoy the creature comforts and pay to have these features set up in their boat. On the contrary, there are those who insist on living boat life with very minimal creature comforts and keep their boat set as a boat that they live in, all while costing them very little in the process.

The flexibility of living the way that you want is as wonderful, as is the cost of doing so. There are those who live on million dollar yachts and who pay exorbitant amounts of money to keep their yacht looking pristine. They will have professional crews detail their yacht a few times a year and have repair crews working on their boat constantly to keep all the complex systems that keep breaking down in operational condition.

Then there are those who live on smaller boats that they acquired for either next to nothing or even free, yes, some people actually give away their boats for free! These people do not have the lavish and costly maintenance costs that the owner of the mega yacht has, and they live a life on the water with minimal expenses right beside their costly bretheren. The beauty of the situation is you can live a life that you can comfortably afford without stretching your wallet too far. This lets you live a comfortable life right on the water.

Since you can choose how expensive you want your life to be, you also get to choose how you want to spend your money. When Maddie and I have more money on hand, we find ourselves eating out more often. We will go to restaurants and order drinks and appetizers. When we find our funds a bit tighter, we cook in more often and are much more frugal with our spending.