Thirteen Days

Days Five through Nine

The last post got us through Day Four. The hull is finished and fiberglassed, so we roll her up. Now begins the hard part: Decking. Cross members are cut, fit, and installed. Hatch landings are fit in, and all are guttered for draining. 

Once the framing is finished and installed, we spile in the decks.

Day Ten

Time out for bronzecasting. Mike's sweetheart Claire has been carving patterns for washers and the breastplate. These we pound into the sand and cast, along with the oar stands and bow and stern eyes.

The day's booty

My camera has been drinking. A fine night's celebration.

And hogtying in the loft. (??!!)

 Day Eleven

The money cut: After an hour or two of pondering the placement of the gunwales, Mike cuts the sheer line as Janek and I originally drew it back in January. And it is still sweet.

And on go the gunwales. We frame the artwork. It is Amber's last day on the job and she has to catch the 2am shuttle. So why not work until midnight? All gunwales on and bolted, left gunwales ground, routed, sanded, and oiled. If only we'd had more time we'd have gotten the right ones finished off too.

Day Twelve.

Right gunwales finished out. Oh my. So pretty.

Oar stands all on. As it turns out, the propellors Mike brought down to melt down and cast these parts out of, were made of something far harder than my drill bits. That slowed us down some.

With one day to go, we get the gutters fiberglassed and call it a night.

Day Thirteen.

Hatch lids all made, placed, fit, and hinged. Too busy to take pictures of the process, I guess.

After dinner we fit the bow cap and stern trim, grind and sand it into form, oil it, and call it a wrap. Cricket is in the bow hatch signing the bow post.

There's still a bit for Mike to do--install latches, a bit of fiberglassing in the footwells, paint, and so forth. But by and large she's a boat. We bid adieu.

 After a day in a coma, Pat and I go down and dig out the shop. All set for the next mess.