PATRICK'S WOODENBOAT SCHOOL BLOG - Day 6

It’s Friday, Day 6 of my experience here at The WoodenBoat School. We have fiber glassed the shell of the hull and are excited to pop it off the strongback and then start working on the inside of the boat. I can already predict a lot of sanding. We did much the same as yesterday; faired the hull, filled holes and voids, sanded with 80-grit sandpaper, fit the fiberglass cloth and did a final fill on the fiberglass.

There were several learning experiences regarding fairing which many perfectionists would appreciate (me being one of them!). It’s not perfect until it's perfect. 38 strips of cedar need to feel as one by line of sight, touch and experience. You know when you know it’s right. I cannot explain it any other way. After we all agreed that we will be here all summer if we did not stop, we all agreed that enough was enough and the hull was smooth enough to be done.  We dry-fitted the inside with fiberglass and did the final fill and sanding. We will glass the inside tomorrow morning and close up our week by noon.  There will be a few more hours (about 50 man hours) to finish a boat of this size.  I’ll finish up tomorrow with the closing details.

It has been a wonderful experience. We held the traditional Friday night Lobster Boil at the boathouse for the students and staff. We had approximately 80 friends show up that were not friends on Sunday night. It’s a special place with wonderful people.

Patrick's WoodenBoat School Blog - Day 2

Greetings wooden boat enthusiasts!

Class today started promptly at 8 AM in the boat shop. We had a quick morning meeting and we were given our orders for the day:

Prep the strongback 
Rough bevel the stems.

Lay out and cut the Keelson.

Trace the stem posts and set up to laminate

Erect molds and check

Set up and fair molds & bevels.

Prep strips (scarfs)

Start stripping by 3PM

We accomplished 7 out of 8 items and the strip planking starts in the morning. It helps to have 7 carpenters and a helper (me!) plus a professional boat builder to guide us. I cannot imagine doing this alone.

We will start using the RAPTOR S/05 staples in the planking process so stay tuned.

It started out cold and rainy in the morning and turned into a beautiful day for the afternoon and early evening. I took some pictures at the dock after dinner and caught our instructor Cliff enjoying a quick row before calling it a day.

Patrick's WoodenBoat School Blog - Day 1

Patrick's WoodenBoat School Blog

Sunday 8/7/11 

Greetings wooden boat enthusiast!

It's my first day at the the WoodenBoat school. I met my instructor, Clint Chase this afternoon at the boat shop. Great guy; professional boat builder from Portland, ME. 

 

 We are going to build a 21’ St. Lawrence River Skiff. Doing a little homework. I found out that the St. Lawrence River Skiff was developed in the Thousand Islands, at the turn of the century by guides who took wealthy patrons fishing.  It was built with an eye toward maneuverability, stability, seaworthiness, and speed. Often compared to the Adirondack Guide Boats, the St. Lawrence River Skiffs were not required to be so portage-friendly, and so could be heavier and beamier, more comfortable and better able to handle rough water.

I have 8 other classmates who are all rowing enthusiasts and wooden boat builders. I hope that I can keep up. 

Stayed at the shop until 9:30 tonight getting everything all set up so we can start production in the morning. I’m going to sleep well tonight.

All of these pictures will somehow come together by week’s end to make a beautiful boat.

Day 1 - BLUE PRINTS

MATERIALS

Day 1 - MOLD

MATERIALS