Beyond the Hiatus

  The danger of building a boat, or any other project that is longer than a day, is that things crop up that distract one from getting the job done.  In my case, it was working on a steam boiler to accumulate operating hours required in Montana to have one's own traction (which can include railroads, cranes, or tractors) license.  Now of course I'm supposed to be chasing those hours down and now that's not getting done.   However, I'd sooner just blame the Internet as the grand folly of time-wasting.    Now, enough of that.

   In our last installment (yes, boat building as a soap opera--or serial thriller?) I have just secured the chines and bemoaned the world of short wood.  Oh what to do?   Well I needed 16 foot pieces to make up the gunwales, so went out and found a really beautiful  chunk of 1 x 4 fir--absolutely clear stuff and actually cheaper than what all I bought at Home Depot.  Of course it's a 1 x 4, and I need 1 x 2s and the lumber yard didn't have a table saw.   This isn't going well.

    Or can be considered an elementary lesson in boat building.....get a table saw (preferably one than can cut a miter.   Also wouldn't hurt to have some roller stands to help manage your lumber as you cut it.   So, what to do?    Well, James mentioned he has a very friendly neighbor (whom I`ll thank profusely) who would lend him said saw.   Okay, put the plank on the roof and away we go (the plank handling so much better than the luan....).   We got my board cut in 1/2 and James got his chine for his One Sheet Skiff in the same session.  The neighbor got his shop floor swept and things dug out from behind the saw that he may not have seen in a while.   Everybody wins!

     Now, those boards didn't come out precisely in 1/2, so my 1 x 2s were not a match.  Well, let's bring out my favorite tool for boat building (well within my very limited experience.

Just an old Stanley plane, but just about a perfect size for putting the proper angle on the chines.

   My chines were just plain 1 x 2, but in the beginning I knew I wanted to plane them down to the flat of the bottom, rather than taking my chances (of getting it wrong) with a table saw.   This is what happened with James' One Sheet Skiff.   It had migrated to my yard because build variations turned it into a 1.1  sheet skiff and he didn't have quite enough wood.   Remember that bum sheet of luan?  Sharing materials and tools can expedite work on all boats all around.   His boat actually went home today, after getting gunwales and the hull bottom fitted.   I guess that means he's getting ahead.....

Looks like a boat yard....   James Maxwell's S/V Sea Hawk is on the bench, mine is in the background on the ground.