Mermaid Launch

Well, it's all over. As promised, here are a few pictures (and some video!) of the launch. It was a beautiful day, and the boat floated. What more could you ask for?

Here's the set up. We're on a skid which will hopefully slide down the boat ramp. There is a block at the bottom of the ramp which we run a line through, from the front of the skid to the tractor. As Dale backs up the tractor, we should slide right in. In theory anyway. You can read about our adventures in launching in last year's launch post if you want to know what can go wrong (and how different the weather can be).

After a short speech and a little champagne . . . off we go.



Not sure what happened to the camerawoman at the end there. . . maybe she fell over in shock that the boat was working as it should? Now it is just a matter of finding the wind.



The resolution on the video isn't the best, so here are a couple of shots which I think capture the boat nicely.


She sailed really smoothly. Even in the light air, when the wind caught the sails, she picked up speed quickly. The tiller was touchy, giving her a sporty feel.


Of course, the Mermaid wasn't the only boat launched. The Haj was splashed as well. I was busy sailing, so I didn't see her go in, but here are a couple pictures. (I don't care how much extra maintenance they are. . . I want one of these decks).


Congratulations to Jim, Justin, Vanya and the rest of the Haj crew. . . she's beautiful.

One last Mermaid video to tie it all together.

Done

Just like my apprenticeship, the Mermaid is done. Complete. Finito. Nothing left but the splash. Since it will be a whirlwind after the launch (moving back to Vermont Saturday and flying to Alaska on Sunday), you're going to have to settle for some landlocked pictures for now. I should have some pictures from the launch in September. Check back then. For those who remember last year's launch. . . this one should be a little better. Forecast is sunny, 85F, west wind 10 - 15. Since we are on an eastern shore, that means I should be able to sail here right off of the ramp.

First, a few more detail shots. I got the last pieces of the mast just in time. This is the jumper / forestay / jib halyard tang.


Here is the outhaul set up at the end of the boom and the main sheet blocks.


The cockpit layout facing forward. . .

And aft. . .


The curved, raked transom. Note the reflections in the paint. The boys did a good job finishing.


Finally, here she is. Mast stepped and all. Enough said. Enjoy the pictures.

Starboard!

I just thought this was a funny picture.


Yes, my boat is tiny. The lesson here is that a boat that is twice as long as yours is way more than twice as big.

Anyhow. That big boat is out of the way now, so we are in the shed, finishing up. Believe it or not, I forgot to get a picture. But we have some topside paint on her now, and she is looking good. ("Is that a fiberglass boat?") Actually, since the picture above is taken from a distance. . . that is pretty much what she looks like still.

In the shop, I've been working on a few finishing touches. A new handle for the winch handle. First time turning something since I made my mallet last year.


Some sheet holders (I'm sure that is not the proper name) for the boom (all from scratch)


Connecting jib blocks to jib cars (nothing from scratch. . . but you have to take apart the block and re-rivet to do this without adding a shackle).


Finishing up the top of the mast (partially from scratch. . . had a pro do the bend on the top piece).

And connected the tiller to the rudder. It was a nice change of pace to make the tiller, as it had been a few weeks since I had done any woodworking. Of course, there was a bunch of riveting involved to get it attached to the rudder.


As far as I know, all I have left is is the jumper / forestay tang / jib and spinnaker halyard attachment (all of those things pretty much go at the same point in the mast), which I have been trying to design and collect parts for the last few days. After that, nothing left but a bunch of paint and a lot of pushing. It is a long way from the shed to the water.

Time to get some sun

More fussy details the past couple of weeks. Some fun fussy, and some not so much. On the not so much side, I've been to Hamilton Marine everyday the past week buying screws, rivets, bolts, nuts and washers, since every piece of hardware I have requires a different type of fastener.

On the more fun side, I made the shiv for the main halyard. Typical boatbuilding. . . make something nice, then put a big hole in it. The little bent over piece that will line the hole was tricky. One bend is easy, just clamp it in a vice and pull on it. But how do you get the 2nd bend? It's pretty easy to make it ugly, but you need a really good block and a big hammer (preferably metal) to make it look good.


Here are all the pieces put together. Ready for some running rigging!


The spreaders are also now installed on the mast.


A little detail shot. . . the pieces on top of the little brackets I made are called tangs. They hold the ends of the shrouds, wires which support the mast. There are actually 3 sets of shrouds on this mast, the usual uppers and lowers, but also another set which runs from the spreader to the top of the mast thru something called a jumper strut. I'll have pictures of that set up next time, as the jumper is still being fabricated.


Now to explain the title of this post, and maybe clarify this whole spreader/shroud thing to folks not familiar with sailboat rigging. As I just mentioned, the shrouds are wires that attach the mast to the boat. Sure, I have plans that tell me how long they should be, but just to be sure, why not measure? So we pulled the boat out of the shop and stepped the mast.



Well, maybe this doesn't explain much. . . tough to see in this picture, but if you look closely you can see lines. One running from the top of the mast to the back, one about 3/4 of the way up, thru the spreader, and down to the side of the boat, one from just below the spreader to the side of the boat (remember the chainplates? that's where they attach), and one about 3/4 of the way up to the front of the boat. I can now measure these and tell the sail guy what length of wire we'll need.

And that's it for the shop. The weather is forecast to be fine the next week, so I'm working outside for a little while. You can see the big white shed in the background. A big (40') boat is coming out of there this week, so we'll move inside the shed for final finish work. It will be nice to get away from all the dust in the shop for final painting and varnishing.

A new mold is already being set up in our spot for the next boat, a Buzzards Bay sloop. On the other side, the Haj is coming along quickly now, with the cabin top in place and the laid deck going on. Six people working on the boat all at once. . . must be nice.


One last shot.

Rudder

The last major piece to go on the boat is the rudder. Here it is in pieces.


The rod is attached to the oak with 1/4" bronze bolts countersunk into the oak and peened over flush with the rod. The little cut out at the bottom of the rod will accept a bronze strap which will be attached to the deadwood later on. Backing the rod in order to peen it over was quite a task, since there was no real good way to hold/clamp the rudder and back the rod at the same time. This is the best we could do. . .

2 of us held the rudder while the 3rd hammered away at the bronze until it was flush. Ready for installation. . .


Remember all that fussy drilling a few weeks back? Well this is where it pays off. Below is pictured the flange, containing a 1 1/2" pipe which slides all the way through the keel, into that hole we drilled. The pipe accepts the rudder, which is sticking out a few inches in this photo (the tiller will be attached at the top) and points the rod directly towards the bottom of the keel. By the way, I can't take credit for this beautiful bronze work. It was done by a local metal worker named Bill Lowe.

Sure enough. . . right where we want it. It helped that the aft piece of deadwood had not yet been installed so we could custom fit it not just to the boat and the lead, but also to the aft face where the rudder lies. The bronze strap near the bottom lies in a chiseled out section of the deadwood so everything is nice and smooth.

She's a boat now! Note the chain hoist had to be hooked up again in order to lift the boat up to install the rudder.


In other news, I made the spreaders, which are short pieces that stick out of the mast about 20' or so in the air. Their purpose will become clear later if you aren't familiar with the rigging of a sailboat.


I do get to take credit for the metalwork on these guys. This is a perfect example of why the apprenticeshop is such a great place to learn. It takes more skills than woodworking (although that is the big one) to build a boat, and at the shop, you get to try them all. I've never done any metalworking and frankly never thought I would. But after seeing how easy it is and how few tools you need to do a lot of things (shaping and drilling will take you a long way), I start imagining how to incorporate metal into everyday woodworking projects. Bronze is beautiful stuff.


Speaking of bronze, the collection is pretty much complete.

Finally, the twins are back in the water! She got a little upgrade this winter. The sternpost now has a ring which will act as a traveler, so we don't have to move the sheet back and forth every time we tack. Again, if you aren't familiar with sailing rigging, this will make more sense later once we get everything put together. Since the mermaid will be done in plenty of time for launch on June 18, I'll have some time to do rigging work on the twins.


Happy Spring!

Lots of Little Boats. . . and Bronze!

As promised, we had a launching last week. All the new kids finished their Susan Skiffs, and the "seniors" completed the 2 fancy small boats started last fall. Unfortunately with 6 boats being launched there are a lot of people around, so I never got a good shot, but they looked great all sitting there on the beach.

All the builders (except Jamie, who graduated last december). From left to right, we have Doug, Josh (along with Jamie, my partner on the Twin project), Thor, Sarah, Andrew, Jeff, Matt, Hobbes, Phil (the intern. . . who built his boat alone as quickly as everyone else built theirs in pairs), Adam, and Drew.


Soon after that shot was taken. . . boats in the water. It's like a little armada out there.

The Whitehall. . .

And the A&R. . .
Back in the shop, I've been doing some shopping.

The collection of fittings has started. Besides these pieces (only about 1/3 of the fittings we'll buy), we've also had the the rudder post system fabricated (pics next time) and I've bought some bronze plate for fabricating some of the easier pieces. About $5,000 worth of bronze on this little boat (not counting the fasteners already in the boat). This is probably a good of time as any to talk about the economics of wooden boat building. I've kept a semi-close eye on expenses for this boat and here is my estimate of raw materials. . .

Bronze fittings $5,000
Sail (incl. rigging rod/track) $4,000
Wood $5,000
Mold/Jigs $800
Fastenings $3,000
Paint/Epoxy/Varnish $1000
Other $400

Total $19,200

Now add in depreciation costs for tools, the cost of heat, leasing a building, etc. . . and we haven't even gotten to labor costs yet. Sure, we are apprentices and it is taking us a year to do what the pros could do in a few months. But I'd imagine they would still like to get paid a little bit so they can eat and build another boat someday. Price on the mermaid today (from the apprenticeshop, where labor is free and fixed costs are subsidized by donations) is $30K. A steal at twice the price. My guess is a real boatyard would have to charge around $70K for this boat.

Back to the shop, and the business of making stuff. I've been varnishing the spars, so not much happening there. In the meantime, I've been working on the chainplates and their blocking. The chainplates are little bronze straps attached to the hull which you attach the shrouds to. The shrouds are the wires that run from the side of the boat to the top (or near top) of the mast, holding the mast in place. When going upwind, that's a lot of stress transferred to the hull, so things need to be solid.

Here is a quick shot of the actual chainplate. Just a piece of 1/4" bronze plate with a hole in the top, bent to the shape of the hull. No big deal. The real fun is the blocking.

Here is my first attempt. Seemed reasonable enough. I made a pattern of the shape of the hull, and cut out the block to that shape. It's subtle, but the back face of this piece is curved. . . think of the side cross section of the boat. Flat up top near the sheer, then curving down to meet the keel. Then I cut out the block so it will fit snug between the sheer clamp and the planking. Now it is just a matter of slipping this block under the clamp up and flush with the bottom of the clamp, bottom of the deck and inside of the planking. By the way, the slot in the deck in the upper left corner of this picture is where the bronze plate comes through.


See the problem yet? This block is impossible to install. It will fit, but to slide it under the clamp I have to start 4" below where it eventually will reside. The boat really starts to curve towards the keel there, so the block gets pinched between the clamp and the planking. If the frames weren't in the way we could go at this sideways, but, of course, they are. The correct answer is to install these things before the sheer clamp (i.e. 4 months ago). A bad solution is to shave off the top of the block until it fits, but then you don't have much of a backing block, do you?

Here is the actual solution. . . cut the block in half.

After a little bit of futzing and slotting out the back of the blocks to accept the plate. . . voila!

The bronze will bet clipped off at the bottom and the holes (just screw holes to hold the pieces together while I shaped them) will be filled and painted over, so these should look like solid blocks when all is said and done. The wedging action holds everything in place tightly, so installing the fasteners will be a breeze. One final shot which should give you an overall view of what is going on. . . keeping in mind the cockpit combing is causing a little illusion. The chainplates and their blocking are about 7 or 8 inches behind the combing, more or less parallel with it.

Next up. . . the rudder.