This is the mast - it's a staved or birdsmouth construction in Sitka Spruce, to keep the weight down.
Brendan is helping me to build the boat. Here he is shaping the skeg/keel with a wooden bollo plane.
The centreboard slot, and a lesson learnt in how to use a router safely.
Battening off the molds to shape the veneers around.
Starting to take shape
Each batten has to be faired in on the boat to ensure the veneers take the right shape.
The stem was laminated around a mould in situ. We are using West Epoxy throughout.
Brendan fitting the first veneer.
Progress is slow at this stage as we learn the process, but soon speeds up.
The first layer is complete on the first half.
Brendan has a bad day! (We had to remove this veneer anyway!)
The second layer is epoxied onto the first, held by staples until the glue goes off, then the staples are removed.
The webbing protects the veneer from being damaged by the staples, and makes them easier to remove. We fired and removed about 8000 staples, not all at each other!
The cold moulding is complete now we start filling and fairing (smoothing out the bumps).
Filled and faired, ready for glassing
The transom has been coated with epoxy and is protected before glassing.
Glassing. The matting is woven glassfibre cloth which is wetted out with epoxy.
Once glassed, we coated another layer of epoxy to fill the weave of the cloth. You can see the weave of the cloth on the keel, at the top of this picture.
The outside will be painted but the insde left 'bright' to show off the natural beauty of the wood.
Making a cradle to support the boat from carpet, glass fibre and sterling board.
The completed cradle
The moment of truth!
Even with an Oak keel the boat is very light and two of us can lift her easily.
First look at the interior. Now the clean up job begins. Any glue which has squeezed through the veneers has to be carefully removed so as not to damage the wood. Then sanding down through the grades, from 60 to 140 grit.
The centreboard case pattern laid out to cut from 9mm Marine Plywood. The design is based on a Salcombe Yawl centreboard case.
The case almost finished - here we are glueing on veneers to cap the after end.
The case fitted in place in the boat. We have treated the interior with 3 layers of WRA 200 - a solvented elastic epoxy which protects the wood.
Setting up the vacuum system to glue the floorboards in place. We could have used weights but wanted to gain experience with this process.
The floorboards in place. The lateral (athwartships) supports are there to maintain the hull shape whilst we fit the thwart and bulkheads.
Marking out deck beams.
Fitting the main bulkhead. This will creat a large bouyancy chamber up front, as well as somewhere to store gear.
Fitting the thwart onto the centreboard case and risers (at the ends of the thwart, where it meets the hull skin). The hatches in the bulkhead are for storage and air circulation.
The deck beams and king plank. Fairing these in to fit the deck was one of the trickiest parts of the build.
The framework for the aft bouyancy chamber, which doubles up as a thwart.
The aft bulkhead fitted.
The aft seat fitted and tha oak trim being glued in place. Boatbuilding calls for some inventive clamping methods!
The deck is now fitted. The plywood has been scored on the underside at the bow to help it curve.
Rollock swellings, these were fitted as a square block and then shaped in place.
Glueing in the deck coaming.
The capping goes on. There was always a scrabble for clamps in the workshop!
Worthington sleeps under my bench during the day.
Unfortunately there is nowhere to keep the mold, so Lewis got to play with a reciprocating saw.
Pete is helping out too - here he is with the boom.
Brendan proving how strong the centreboard is. It is shaped from Cedar, glassed and has Carbon Fibre reinforcement, so is light and strong.
Glueing on the rub rails.
Holing the mast foot in place whilst it glues!
We covered the boat in a fairing compound (Epoxy resin and micro balloons).
Fairing off the hull...again!
Laying up the Carbon Fibre tiller socket on the rudder stock.
The first coat of high build primer is on and we have completed final filling (with car body filler).
5 coats of primer went on in the end. We used Nautex HPE, which went on and sanded back very easily.
Against the clock now!
Masked up for the first topcoat.
Finished topcoating. Now the interior will get top coat varnish; then final fitting out and launch!
All ready to go in the water for the first time.
After an all nighter to get the rig finished in time for the launch, I was chuffed with the way she sailed.
All that sanding was worth the effort - the epifanes paint gave a fantastic finish.
