Tuesday 20 September
Another quiet day in the shed to start off with, just me and my friend Ted. But it was quality work time. I started by shaping the cox’s floorboard supports so that the floorboard would stay flat and support the cox . I then went back to the rudder yoke. I recessed it a further 10mm into the rudder so that the top surface is 30mm in for more strength and the aesthetics of the rear overhang, now just 10mm.
Meanwhile Ted was doing a very professional job of shaping boat 2’s rudder into a symmetrical blade and rounding out the edges. At the end of the day i put a little bit of filler in some of the plywood splits and the whole thing, cheeks an all, is ready to glue and resin coat.
We had an interesting chat about the comparison of the political systems in New Zealand, where Ted had been living, and Australia at morning tea. As we finished the school bus turned up with the the boat building students carrying a very impressive set of footrests/stretchers that they had manufactured in class for the 6 forward seat positions in the boats. It was a great thing to have done for the project and I can’t thank them enough for the effort they have gone to.
The students and teachers gave me a hand light sanding the inside of boat 1 to prepare it for its first coat of paint. They also enthusiastically went on finessing the foot rests with filler and sanding.
I’m hoping to do some painting tomorrow if anyone would like to join me that would be great.
Good news – when I got home there was a parcel waiting for me from Pacific Boatcraft which I hope contains the new glue although I haven’t opened it yet.
Cheers Dave