On to the big boats

Hi again. Still busy up here in Maine. Had a nice break last weekend with Nicole in Boston. We met up with old friends (Jeff and Manjere... we went to their wedding in India) as well as Ashley and Ramses.

We had a special guest this week in the shop... Nigel Irons, the designer of the large open boats we are working on, came for a visit. It was very interesting to here his take on designing and building boats. He is all about working with the best of the old and new. If you haven't heard of him... he designs America's cup boats, as well as the super fast trimarans that have set around the world speed records. The person commissioning the boats also was at the shop. He recently completed a 2 year voyage around the world. He gave a great slide show.

Things are humming at the shop. I'll start off with a quick summary of what is going on :

Reepicheep : A yacht tender the shop built years back and went on that around the world journey. It is back for restoration and the addition of a sailing rig. The frames are in and the centerboard and centerboard box are installed.

Heresshof 12 1/2 : The venerable daysailer. Remeber that keel pour? Well, this thing really looks like a boat now.


Susan Skiffs : Vanya spent some times finishing up the skiff Thomas (a summer intern) started but didn't quite finish. And Sarah is almost done with hers.

Peapod : 14' row/sailboat. 8 of 10 planks are on!

And finally, my project... the twin open boats. We've been working on the backbones. I've done a stem and keelson (the top part of the keel). It has been a facinating process to see the lines we developed on the lofting board come to life. The molds are one thing. Intuitive even.... just cross section of the boat. But there is this thing called a "rabbet" where the planks meet the backbone. Seeing how this is represented on the lofting board and then being rendered in 3D in wood is educational to say the least. It is exciting to work on pieses that actually become part of the boat rather than just a construction aid.

Here is the stem. The rabbet is the cut out that runs along the right side. Note the stem is currently sitting on the keel. Hard to see, but there is a bevel along the top of the keel.

Here is the keelson (or at least a few feet of it... it is over 20' long). You should be able to make out the bevel on this as well. When this piece is attached to the keel, the 2 bevels meet and make a right angle to accept the bottom plank.
Now look at the stem picture again. See the big notch in the bottom right of the picture? That is where the keel/keelson meet the stem and the rabbet must flow smoothly from one piece to the next (since that is what the plank will want to do). Will it all work out? Find out in the next installment!

Oh.. one last word on the wood we are using. The keelson / keel stock was a piece of oak 6" X 10" by 25' long.

Eric

Susan Skiff Launched

Well fall has come and quite possibly gone, but it has been fabulous. I've had great weekends hiking with Nicole and Jessie in Franconia Notch, and watching Phillip and Krista get married in Vermont.

The apprentices took a 3 day sailing camping trip up to Warren Island, which is only about 15 miles north of us, but depending on the wind and the tides (I've learned to respect the tides here) can take you a very short or very long amount of time to arrive. We ended up having to motor to get there (after sloughing along for about 5 hours only to make it about 2 miles from home), but made the return trip in about 3 hours.

I also got to go on another Schooner trip. This time on the Corwith Cramer. Quite a ship... 135 feet overall. And unlike the Spirit of MA, this one had a friendly crew.

At the shop, my first project is complete. The 12' Susan Skiff floated, and it can be yours for a mere $1200 (a bargin at twice the price). Here are some pictures.

That's Vanya on the right... he did the Port side, I did the Starboard.



Now it is on to the big boats (remember the lofting?). Here is the first boat's molds all set up. This one is being built upside down. Just for fun, the other one will be built right side up. Usually small boats are built upside down because it is easier to plank. Then you flip it over to finish it off. Large boats are built right side up because of the flipping part. This size boat is kind of in the middle... so we'll find out which is easier. (Note... this is only about 1/2 of the boat in the picture)


My first contribution will be to put the stem of one of the boats together. More on that next time.....