Month: February 2023

After our last post about fitting the garboard planks (the first pair of planks next to the keel), we came back and cut the gain at the stem, which will get our planks laying flush. We’re cutting the gains half thickness on each plank.

We then laid out the next pattern, this time on the Port side – we’re alternating sides, to even out any accumulated error, just in case we haven’t got the molds perfectly symmetrical. We are quite pleased with the lattice truss pattern method!

The next pair of planks got rough cut, and the scarf joints cut. This is the second pair of planks, and the boat has 8 pairs – we should get pretty good at this by the end!

The garboard planks and the next planks scarf joints got glued during the week. The screw-clamping worked well, making a nice tight joint, and the screws came out easily – nice to have that system in place, allowing us to move forward with the next steps!

Flattening the joint for the keel came next, making room for the fir keel that is to come.

Meanwhile, in our tent, the next pair of planks got cut, trimmed, and ready for their test fit. The progress is feeling good, and it’s wonderful to see the hull coming together!

After our work sessions, some of us have been out enjoying our boats, whether it be the club boats or our members’ own boats. We’ve been fortunate to have decent weather for it, even if we do sometimes drift to a stop when the wind fades – in good company, it’s still a great time!

After cleaning the scarf joints (with a lot of elbow grease and mechanical assistance), we laid the pattern on the full length plank blanks, and traced out the two garboard planks, the first planks that fasten to the keelson.

We cut the planks using a small circular saw, and then cleaned the edge with a block plane. A few test fits and further trimming produced a very nice fit!

We’re going to try screw-clamping the glued joints, so that clamps won’t get in our way to make the next patterns. We did a dry-fit, screwing one plank to the keelson. That allowed us to plane the bevel for the next plank, which was a very minor bevel near the stern, and a slightly greater angle forward. Some careful work gave us a nice gradual rolling bevel. We should be ready to glue the first plank or two this Saturday!

[ed. SOLD, to a restaurant on Saltspring Island] We have advertised our little Fancy Pram for sale to a good home! Check out the ad, and let us know if you or someone you know wants to take care of her.

If you get Wooden Boat magazine (and if you love wooden boats, of COURSE you do!!), you’ll probably recognize the gorgeous boat on the cover of the January/February 2023 issue. Arnt & Valerie’s lovely boat Anja has an extensive article, with photos by Dale S. Congratulations to all of you on that exciting achievement!!

I did a bit of 3D modeling to try out the extent of decking and seating for the Gannet, then got a bit … carried away, and started messing around with the colour scheme. Here’s where I got (so far).  It has brought up a few interesting discussion topics!

Hope to see you at the shop to take part in this build!