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. 

Rudder and Centerboard

We got pieces for the centerboard and rudder cut out and glued together this weekend. The curves came out pretty nicely!

Something not entirely unlike seats

I'm not sure what to call them. The pieces of plywood that cover the storage compartments on the sides of the cockpit, which would be the seats if we weren't going to put slotted seats on top of them...?  Anyway, it makes the cockpit look a whole lot more complete!

Christmas 2015

In year 5 of this 2 year project, let's take stock of where things float. 😉

Here she is, as of today. 

Where to next?

Well, we're working on the cockpit right now, finishing the seats (well, not the ACTUAL seats, but the solid, structural part of them). We've got to make the mast and bowsprit. Cut out the portholes. Trim the hatch and portholes. Reprime the hull. Build the centerboard and install the pivot hardware. Sanding... Lots of sanding. Painting. Smaller stuff. Electrical. Other stuff. 

Two year project according to whom, you might ask?  Yeah, that'd be me and Dad. 

Seats and hatches

The long pieces of plywood will form the long benches in the cockpit, and the cutouts will be for storage underneath.  Every piece needs to be measured, cut, checked, re-measured, epoxied, sanded, epoxied, sanded... and eventually, I suppose there will be paint.  And probably more sanding.

Something new - fiberglass!

The cabin top gets so-called Dynel cloth (which is what we put on the hull), and remaining deck surfaces fiberglass cloth.