We had planned to start work on Boxing Day, and (somewhat surprisingly) we actually did so. Spent some time cleaning up the shop and making space for the boat, then posed for a quick picture. We had trouble deciding whether we were spoofing American Gothic or gangsta poses...
Before we get too far into this, you might want to see the shop. This is Courtney's dad's basement shop, AKA Wavey Creek Boatyard (ours will be the seventh boat built here), N 50°16'15", W 96°58'7". The north-west angle:
The south-west angle:
First cut honours went to the construction frame, as photographed for posterity:
It wasn't long before the pieces of the construction frame were ready to assemble, but we decided to hold off on assembly because once the frame is together it's going to be more difficult to move around the shop. The pieces:
Next step was to cut patterns for the frames, transom, stem/apron, centre-plate case, etc. We're using thin hardboard for the patterns, then fitting them as efficiently as possible into sheets of marine plywood (expensive stuff, that). The workshop plans table, AKA the downstairs freezer, was a bit cramped for tracing plans:
...so we took over the dining room. Before it became too dark to continue, we had finished about two thirds of the required tracing:
Today's handy hint: When using carbon paper to transfer both sides of a set of plans to pattern or workpiece, trace the printed side first. When you trace the un-printed side, use a strong flashlight (we used a dive light) at an oblique angle to highlight the minute relief of the previously traced line.
3 comments:
someone has to say this ... erm, the caption stated it is a 'basement' workshop. i'm not sure it's such a great idea to build a boat in a basement.
Courtney sez: Yes, Chris, that bears some explanation. My parents' house is partially earth-sheltered, with the main floor on top and the "basement" below. The "basement" is fully finished; it's completely underground in back but only about half underground in front.
There used to be a garage, which is now the shop. The old garage door is plugged with a sort of removable wall (you can see the old garage door in the "northwest angle" picture), so we can open it up to get the boat out.
In fact, on the other side of the garage door is a nice little sheltered area (below the deck, with walls on either side) that faces south, so we'll probably move the boat outside in March or April to free up shop space for Dad's other projects.
i knew you'd have a work around, court ... i was just being redundant (but i knew a guy who made just such a mistake with a glider) ... looks like a blast, to be sure ...
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