When I looked out the bedroom window early this morning I couldn't believe what I saw.  A dry boat!  Brilliant I thought, at last I can weld the roof beams to the sides.  I had stuff to do in the morning and early afternoon, so when I got home it was still dry and no sign of rain. I set too.

I managed to get a few welds done before the water started

About 15 minutes in and it started raining.  Great!  Water started pouring in.  The inside of the boat looked like the wall of a cave.

Not good conditions for welding

So instead of welding the sides I decided to weld the roof beams to the roof sheets.  This area was not affected by the rain.  I hate welding overhead and was sort of putting this job off.  I have welded 6 of 9 sheets and have the splatter burns to prove it.

As this is not an area of high stress a stitch weld has been used. The benefits of this technique are strong attachment in proportion to the job, quicker than a seam weld and less heat put into the job the less distortion.