Author: Oarlock and Sail Wooden Boat Club

Welcome to 2020!  The last few weeks have seen some satisfying progress on our current build – the molds have been cut and assembled on the strongback, the boards for the transom have been glued up, and the inner keel has been cut.

Our power went out for a while on Saturday, long enough for us to get busy with hand-saw to cut the keel and trim the slots in the molds for it.  We all appreciated how much quieter hand-tools are than power-tools!  But we stopped short of ripping the thin veneer strips for the laminated stem.

The transom was glued up with some gorgeous sapele!  The wavy grain should look wonderful on the boat.  Since we only have three clamps large enough, we used rope and wedges to clamp the outer edges – worked like a charm!  (in case you’re wondering about the tilt, that picture IS actually straight – the shed was tilting and rocking a lot in the wind)

Yes, it was very windy!  The waves were sending spray over the spit, and we measured the wind speed at about 35 kt.  The bracing help MAY have been a bit theatrical, though effective!

Our New York member Leif introduced us to a scanning app on his phone, called TurboScan – we had some fun with making striking images like this – I love how the wood-grain shows up!

The previous Saturday started with a tour of the new boat in Heritage Harbour: Querencia, a 40′ Sparkman & Stephens teak yawl built in Hong Kong in 1960.   The owner Duane welcomed a bunch of us aboard, and we spent some time examining the beautiful boat, under her winter cover.  Duane has a very comprehensive set of photos of the boat’s restoration in 2004, and lots of great detail shots of her immaculate current condition:  https://svquerencia.wordpress.com/   Near the bottom of the page is a video showing some of Saturday’s wind, and a bit of our work in the shed.

And that Saturday finished with a few of us taking advantage of the (mostly) sunny day and reasonable temperatures to take Ragna out for some winter sailing – sure felt great to be out there!!

 

 

We have started construction of our next boat – or at least the strongback which is the foundation for the boat build!  The design is an Iain Oughtred “Auk”, a 7′-5″ lapstrake dinghy.  The boat will serve as a tender for one of our members – Brent and his 46′ Kettenburg PCC “Richochet”.  We’ve decided to build it in riveted yellow cedar planking instead of glued lapstrake as originally planned.  Nice to keep it traditional!

It’s a pretty small frame, and it’s been suggested that we double up, and build another one alongside, taking advantage of the efficiency of multiples – I’m afraid we’d quickly find out that it’s not quite as small as that!

Before we get started on the molds and keel, we tested the frame’s strength with some pizza and beer, supplied by Sheila & Bruce as part of the Christmas decoration award ceremony.  They had put out the challenge to the harbour boat owners to decorate, and then had a draw amongst the participants for a bottle of rum.  Some of the award ceremony can be seen in a YouTube video by Barry, owner of Dagon and First Mate on Providence.  Oarlock & Sail got a special award for our Grinch display, which is attracting a lot of attention on the dock!  Watch the rest of Barry’s video for a glimpse into the day-to-day work involved in keeping (bigger) wooden boats afloat.

Do come down during the many hours of dark, to see the harbour in all its coloured lights!  The gate at the top of the ramp is locked after the False Creek Ferries stop running, but you can enjoy the lights from shore, or if you’re a member, you can get the combination for the lock.

Anja was getting a mockup of the new cabin-top that Arnt & Valerie will be building – it’s looking so good, and will give them headroom inside.  Barry’s video shows a bit of it.

It will be fun to get working on the new project!  We hope you come down to the shed to take part, or at least to take a look at what we’re up to – the door is always open (or openable) to visitors!  Merry Christmas!