Building a Sandblast & Paint Shelter for Our Steel Sailboat | DIY refit in Alaska

Working late into the night at the Wrangell, Alaska shipyard on our 80’ steel schooner 'Alaskan Gypsy'. With sandblasting and painting ahead, I need to build a paint shelter around the hull to keep the project moving through southeast Alaska’s frequent rain. This 16-minute video shows the real DIY process - rough cut local lumber, improvised framing, bracing, and problem-solving into the evening darkness. It’s gritty shipyard work and part of the bigger journey of restoring our steel sailboat for future cruising in Alaska’s wilderness. In this video: • cutting and framing with rough cut yellow cedar boards • standing 20’ wall sections against the hull • custom fitting rafters to follow the boat’s shape • bracing for Wrangell’s stormy winds • building a structure strong enough to handle sandblast prep and painting. Fingers crossed ;-) Subscribe to follow the full refit of S/V Alaskan Gypsy - welding, sandblasting, painting, and eventually sailing Alaska’s wild waters again! We can hardly wait. ⸻ 📑 Chapters 00:00 – Intro: Why Build a Paint Shelter 00:45 – Lumber and Rough Framing 02:30 – First Wall Sections Go Up 05:00 – Bracing and Storm Prep 07:20 – Working the Stern Frame 10:00 – Rafters Along the Curve of the Hull 12:30 – Bow Section Challenges 14:30 – Evening Wrap-Up in the Yard 15:30 – Next Steps: Plastic Sheeting and Sandblast Prep