2 Weeks left!

Since my last post, we flipped the boat over to start getting the hull ready for paint. The first job was to glue and screw the rest of the keel on which is all faired into the hull. This was quite a job as there is not really any way of planing it that feels natural and with the power planer and the boat acting as an amplifier, we managed to annoy most of the workshop that morning. Here is the result.

The next job was to sand all the planks and make sure all the nail heads were flush with the planking. This meant Charlie and I had to take it in turns to get under the boat and hold a dolly up to the roves while the other hammered them flush. Probably the worst job so far for whoever was under the boat!

After the hull was faired off, we could start painting primer. The primer we used is an epoxy primer undercoat and is designed as a high build primer so anything we missed when trying to get it smooth, this would take care of it. We painted 4 coats of this and then had to wet sand up to 400 grit ready for the top coat which we will do in the next couple of days.

We have been sanding all day and by the end of the week we want the inside and the deck to be fully varnished ready for the last week of rigging.

4 Weeks Left!

Getting close to the deadline now and everything seems to be coming together. Since my last post, we have got the deck on and the raised side deck, combing has gone in and a few other little details have been made.

mount for center mainsheet swivel base

I’ve still got a few things left to do on the to do list but for the most part I am nearly ready for painting and varnishing, then rigging.

A lot has happened

It has been a while since I last posted on this blog mainly because I have been so busy recently.

After fitting all the frames, I fitted the thwart and side seats. These are slightly different to what is specified in the designs but because the bow tends to raise under sail, we thought it would be a good idea to put forward seats to encourage people to get forward. Charlie shaped and fitted the king pos twhich is a cylindrical piece of oak mortise and tenoned into the centreboard case which the mast will sit on.

The next step was to get the structure together under the deck. The deck beams were already in but they needed to be faired and the stringer needed to be fitted as well as the king plank.

The deck will eventually be covered, in the next few days, by the ply in the picture which is veneered in mahogany.

The pictures will give you a better idea of what we have been up to.

All 6 frames are now in

Deck Beams & Frames

Sorry for not posting for a while now. I haven’t forgotten, just  been very busy/lazy with taking photos! It also took me about a week to rove all the nails (there are well over 1000 of them!).

Anyway, the first thing I have done since my last post was the fitting of the deck beams. This took a bit of working out with the placement as we needed to think about the rigging and how these deck beams could act to support things like the mast and shrouds. I made a template of the camber for the deck which was used for the main beam on the fore deck and the only deck beam on the aft deck. The other 2 at the fore deck blend towards the transom. They are then scarfed in place and will eventually be faired off when we come to lay the deck.

I will move back on the the deck beams at a later stage but decided I should move on to the frames as it is quite a large job. We decided that 6 frames will be enough to keep the boat strong and stiff and offer support to the rigging and side decks. All these frames will be joggled and fit to each plank and to keep the grain long they will need to be made in parts and then scarfed together. I have done one and a half now with the help of Yoann and we are fitting a second half now.

ready to glue

Ready to bevel and fit

Coating and steaming ribs

This week I have been sanding the inside of the hull to get it ready to be coated. The coating used is a solvented epoxy which is used to seal and protect the wood. I did this early in the build to make sure that everywhere is covered as once it starts getting fitted out there will be a lot covering the hull.

The next stage was to prepare the ribs for steaming. They were also coated in the same stuff but, this time only on the back. They were then put into the steamer for 45 minutes and bent in. At the moment they only have a few nails in to hold them in place then when they have set in position I can put the rest of the nails in.

Planking Finished! Stem and gunwhales on

Earlier this week I managed to get the final planks on. The next job was to glue the stem on, which is a solid piece of Mahogany that will be faired into the planks. Then the gunwhales were glued on. These are made with cedar which will eventually be covered up which is good as the colour of the cedar looks very strange next to the colour of the other woods.

After these the hull needed to be braced to avoid any movement and then the moulds could get taken out.

More planking progress

So the last of the spruce planking is on now. Tomorrow I will be fitting the sheerstrake (last plank) which is made from khaya.

Progress Update

Oar Making

So, at the weekend before, we glued up our oar blanks. This was square sections of spruce with mahogany laminates in between. Typically, oars will be twice the beam of the boat but as my boat is mainly sailing and the oars are just there incase the wind drops off, I made mine slightly smaller so that they will fit neatly under the side decks.

We used templates and the bandsaw for rough outlines and shapes and then set ahead shaping the spoons. To do this, we made, as part of the foundation course, bollow planes. The are a small plane with a curved sole and blade. Using this means you can get an even curve in the spoon and its also easy to replicate as the curve on the plane dictates the curve on the oar. After the spoon of the oar had been shaped, the loom had to be rounded off. This involves turning a square into an octagon then into a 16 sided shape, then 32 and so on. Once it is reasonably round, it has to be sanded which is a long process by hand but with satisfying results. The more accurate the planing of the sides at the start, the easier the sanding… I found this out the hard way!

Finished Pair