Friday, March 24, 2017

More surfaces



   
I have been derelict in picture taking lately, so there is not much to see.   We got the starboard side on, as well as the aftermost bulkhead.   Here is Camila on that bulkhead playing "Macdonalds Drive Thru"  



 You can see the plywood that will form the bottom of the aft part of the boat sticking out. I Then put plywood on the curved part of the bottom. You can sort of see it n this picture.


 You can also see the stringers I put on to support the deck.  Being so inexperienced in wooden boat construction, I was worried these 1.5" square sticks would be too weak over a 4 foot span.  After all, I can support any of these on the ends and snap it by stepping on the middle.  However, when I dry fitted the deck and jumped on it, the whole assembly felt very strong. Glued and screwed, it should feel even more so.  I guess I am thinking in terms of house building. When you build a house floor, any one of the floor joists will support your weight without even flexing much.  But then nobody complains about houses being too heavy, do they? 


   For the bottom pieces, I sought to pre-bend the plywood. I don't know if this was necessary.  In any case, it didn't cost anything or take much time.   I tied them up over a strong-back so they would bend, but just in one axis.


Then I stood it (well braced) by the stove so the concave side could dry while my lab assistant, I-gor, misted down the convex side. 

The bent sheet of plywood will go inserted into the slot you see here and that half sheet of plywood that is hanging there like a great lolling tongue, will be bent up over it.  







I also cut out the window holes, which is very uplifting and gives a fine sense of what it will feel like when it is done.


4 comments:

  1. Looks great! That was a good idea to pre-bend the plywood. Soon you can sit 'in' the boat. A special milestone for sure...

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    1. Thanks, Alan. I'll say it's special! We lay in there and play sleeping.

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  2. Way cool, David!

    The girls are really going to feel that it's their boat, too... and justifiably so!

    Dave Z

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    1. Thanks, Dave. I hope they will. Sometimes when they are fooling around in the shop, I think of a line from Stan Rogers' Jeannie C.
      "By god I cried as she went down,
      That boat was like no other,
      My father built her when I was nine,
      And named her for my mother."

      Skip the disaster part, its the "like no other" part I think about. Neither will I name it ALEJANDRA, just in case it makes the boat take on..... nevermind.

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