March 26, 2016

Well, the schooner is coming along despite the cold weather. A friend helped me put the bulkheads up (the sections that divide the boat into compartments) and the stem (the bow timber). The longitudinals such as engine beds, the chines that join the bottom to the sides, and the pieces that hold the sides (sheer clamps) to the deck are going on.

The transom has all of its layers cut to shape and bent into place ready for laminating and I’ve started framing the centerboard trunk. I changed the shape of the centerboard (or lifting keel) slightly from my original plans and suddenly the interior layout worked much better. Right now the whole boat-frame still has to come apart to apply epoxy glue, but I’m waiting on warmer weather so it will cure.

Now that there is solidity to some of the thoughts that are on paper, the project reminds me of a game of solitaire when you get close to the end and every card you turn up fits well somewhere. Things are falling into place now, which is better than further back in the design spiral where, for example, dimension “A” depends on “B”, which depends on a third one, which depends on either the first one or one that’s unknown until “A” is defined.

– Captain Hugh