Tuesday 27th September
The big question of the day was whether the rowlock pins would come free from their glued up state wrapped in cling film and so the first thing I did was to give all 8 a good twist and confirmed they would all come free. Harry watched this process and then we started taking of the tape and extracting the pins. We have 8 perfectly tapered holes. I texted JP to let him know the good news. Veronica set to work cleaning off the excess glue with a chisel as it was still quite soft.
Veronica’s guests, Phillip and Jacqueline visited the shed on their way back to Perth and were suitably impressed by our handiwork. So much so, that Phillip spontaneously made a generous donation to Denmark Rowers. Thank you both.
I got out the floorboard paint which has grit in it to make the floor non-slip, so it needs a lot of stirring. The colour is called horizon blue and it is quite a contrast to the cream planks. I used a small 20mm brush to cut in around the frames and attempt a straight line along the plank edge. Later Veronica filled in the rest with a larger brush.
Lesley came back after her trip to America which had not impressed her. I had a job lined up for her that needed doing before we can glue the first gunwale batten in boat 2 and that was to make the 5mm shims or blocks to fill the void between the battens and the frames. This required measuring and cutting to the odd angles of the space they go into which Lesley managed beautifully.
She later moved on to sanding the rudder for boat 1 and found a couple of spots that still need filling and fairing.
Old friends of mine, Mal and John turned up at midday for a look and a chat. John showed me his boat building – a scale model in wood of an Elizabethan war ship made from a kit. I cleaned up the paint brushes and set off for home on my bike to have lunch with them, a rare early departure for us all.
The boat is looking stunning if I do say so myself. One more coat of deck paint and she’s ready to roll.
Back in tomorrow for that second coat and glueing in the first gunwale battens in boat 2.
Cheers Dave