Rollover

Yesterday was a LONG day of work - the longest in quite a while, as applying a coat of paint doesn't take long. Tara and Courtney and friend Tina (a traveler from Germany) headed out to Wavey Creek after breakfast to build the cradle that will hold the Shilling for the coming months of fitting out. The first picture shows the blue bulwarks with their last coat of paint.

Working from a rough sketch we started work on the cradle, building a base of 2x4s and fitting the central beam to the keel. This part progressed kind of slowly, because Buster was busy installing new sliding glass doors to the deck upstairs and needed to use some of the same tools. It was a busy day at Twin Oaks.

We had figured on about six hours to build the cradle, and it took all of that. The third photo shows the cradle partially constructed, with vertical posts long enough to support the boat upside down if need be. You can also see the beams running across the sheer - we'll remove them when we work on the gunwales, as the diagonal braces (not yet in place) should hold the boat securely when it's resting upright in the cradle.

Buster, temporarily finished with door installation, applied his drawknife skills to said diagonal braces, giving a nice fit where they support the hull. They were the last pieces to be added to the cradle, which should be strong enough to hold the boat upside down, upright, or standing on either side.

By the time we were done building the cradle it was time out for the usual Wavey Creek feast, with a cast of... well, not thousands, but Courtney's sister Lee was there, and her kids Tim and Heather, and three more helpers showed up for dinner and heavy lifting: Kyle (bass player in Courtney's band), his partner Carmella, and Courtney's colleague Colin.

The next job was to remove all of the old construction frame, which took a little while - and a lot of work from Tara, crawling around under the boat. Here you can see Tina, Colin, and Kyle (well, Kyle's head), along with the finished cradle. Note the shop floor, which - with no construction frame - is cleaner than it's been for well over a year.

The next photo shows the boat halfway to its side - you can't see much of the guys doing the heavy lifting on the far side. We held the boat roughly balanced there while a couple guys scuttled 'round and let it gently down onto its side. The whole rollover was completed in a minute or so, though the preparation had taken all day.

With the boat resting neatly on its side, we had a good look at the inside and contemplated our next moves. Plenty of cleanup, there's lots of glue squeezeout on the inside, and then we have to fair and glass the inside, and then there's fitting out the cabin, and and and and...

But it feels pretty good to reach this major milestone! The last shot shows Colin, Tara, and Tina checking out the interior, with Kyle looking on. Then it was all over except for the whisky and songs. Many thanks to our helpers, we know who you are and we'll be calling you again! Heheheheheh...

(Adjusted and updated the photos. Note to self: edit all photos on the good monitor at work! - CW)