El Diablo es rojo

That's right!  The Devil is red.  In this case, the design name of the boat is the "diablo", so I have no choice but to name it El Diablo Rojo (The Red Devil).  I have a confession...  I made a strategic error.  It's no secret that winter projects are a great idea, but a winter project involving fiberglass is ill advised.  Now, I have heat out in the shop, but when the temperature outside is in the 20s and I need the heat inside to be in the 75 to 80 degree range, the price of propane is getting to be prohibitive.  We're burning about $100 a week, ouch!!  So, I decided to quit trying to get the outside of the boat perfect.  Instead, I am now convinced that its good enough.

The fiberglass just would NOT cure enough to be able to sand it effectively.  When the sand paper would hit it, instead of turning to dust, it would just roll up. 

 

So, here was part of the solution.  Now kids, don't try this at home.  I have never, I mean rarely, uh only occasionally blown things up in the shop.  So, to get el diablo muy caliente (hotter) I decided to put the Coleman stove under the boat and fire it up.  It worked, but only partially.  The good news is that the resin vapor did not ignite thus blowing El Diablo to you know where:~)  

So, I decided to cut my losses and slapped on some paint.   My arrow slinging doctor friend says, "It's okay, you're not going to fly it."  But, he's never ridden in a boat with me while I was driving:~) 

 

I need to be done with this project by 1 March so we can be on the river for shad season.   There is a lot of work ahead.  Next step is to add another coat of paint on the outside, then flip it and get started on the inside.  I need to hurry with this project, I've got another airplane brewing in my head...