Thursday 26 August
The first discussion of the day was about the shape of the bow stem top. We are leaning towards the Norwegian fairing type S shaped prow. JP drew an approximation on a block and I modified it slightly. Paul and Veronica liked the idea.
Veronica’s job for the day was to shape the bow breasthook. We discussed how to set about it and then off she went with a hand plane and produced an amazing result.
Paul took on the job of making widgets to support the thwarts where they meet the planks.
John I wet sanded yesterdays resin coat with very fine sand paper and I helped out later on.
As we had no bandsaw and JP was keen to get his rowlock plates shaped he took them and the stern breasthook over to the Men’s Shed but got no joy there. I contacted Cam at the School and asked if we could bring them into him. He kindly agreed and I went with JP. Cam helped us with the setup and then JP cut all the plates in quick succession praising the excellent machine that the school has. Cam then tilted the base of the machine to 10 degrees so that I could cut the angled curve into the front of the breasthook. I didn’t make a fantastic job of it but we can rectify that later.
Back in the shed and it was time for a tea break, especially as Kay had brought down freshly baked date scones which just trumped Paul’s Jubilee Twist. Kay also brought in cut flowers for us to take home which Veronica and I did.
After a final wipe down of the hull I tried to block out the sun hitting the paintwork by hoisting a tarp and then a piece MDF into the rafters. Climbing up the step ladder Veronica reminded me that the most common accident that St John’s ambulance gets called out for is silly old men falling off ladders. Someone was on hand to at least hold the ladder as I balanced on the top rungs. Nothing bad happened but I wasn’t entirely successful in blocking the sun from hitting the boat.
JP mixed up the resin and John I and I gloved up to apply it. John I was on the roller and soon got the hang of it. I was again tipping off.
We had thought about going on and applying a third coat as suggested by Peter Kovesi but the resin wasn’t going off that quickly and would have led to runs. We have a plan to tackle this tomorrow morning as the good weather continues.
Cheers Dave