Making Sawdust, Among Other Things

There are two really important pieces of the boat that we had not, until recently, constructed: one of them makes the boat go straight, and the other one makes it not. 

First is the centerboard...

I really like the pattern created by the different layers of plywood. 

And the rudder is pretty sweet, too!

Add to that almost a whole day of trying to get the centerboard's hardware in place inside the boat. 

In the final photo, you can see the pin that the centerboard pivots on, so that it can be pulled up into the cabin. If it's not straight, the centerboard won't pull up perfectly into its box. If the two sides aren't precise, the pin won't slide easily through the box (they are loose as shown; that pin goes in later).  You can see where the pin goes through the centerboard in the first photo: no, not the giant hole -- that's for lead ballast -- the tiny one in the upper right!

Fixing a Hole

While radio stations and gasoline producers seem to be constantly trying to "get the le(a)d out," boat builders are trying desperately to get it IN. 

For extra weight on the centerboard. 

Just kidding; lead is a neurotoxin. It's really caviar. 

And I'm not sure if you can tell that I put three hours of work into this today, but I did.  I like it.