an infrequent repository of mostly new stuff
building a pair of 19th century gunning skiffs
Toting Aeon
I know, I know. It’s like I threw a big party, then took a couple of weeks off. But really, I’ve been keeping very busy.
In the meantime, here: This is the article appearing in the local arts and culture weekly:
Very flattering article by Spencer Peterson. Photos by friend photographer John Robinson(thanks John and Spencer!)
Extracting Aeon
Wow. This is turning into quite a week.
The boats came out on Sunday. Now the first hurricane of the season is headed this way. This week we’re closing down the company where I have worked for over 20 years. I’ve had to beg, borrow and steal time for 2 1/2 years to work on these boats; now starting Friday I’ll have all the time I need. Bizarrely, the largest earthquake I’ve every experienced, 5.9, felt all up and down the East Coast, struck only moments ago as I write this. It was centered right here in the little town of Mineral. Funny how turning points and transitions can ripple out through a life. Weird.
It’s done. The boats are out of the basement. A great evening, good friends, good food.
Sent by phone from the backyard. More soon
Barry
Got the raggedy stems trimmed and sanded finally, which made Terri very happy. Had been saving that until I could see how tall the bow chocks would be and get a feel for proportions. The Rudder rods were cut, too, so I could finally try out the Tillers. This critical testing process required a pleasant half hour of sitting in the boats daydreaming. They work quite well.
Floorboards ready for varnish
Wow. That was hard.
Several people told me that this part was going to be a challenge. They were right.
The problem is there are no straight lines. Geometry – even tape measures – are of no use whatsoever. A terribly complex, odd shaped, 3D object has to fit snugly into another very complex, odd shaped, 3D object, and there’s just no easy way to accomplish that.
No, not bottles of beer on the wall.
Pounds.
That’s how much the boats weigh now. Just the hulls with floorboards inside – no rudders or centerboards or other furnishings. No real effort was made to keep them light, but I hoped they would come in under 200 pounds each, and they did, just.
Don’t think I’ll be toting them up over a shoulder like before:
Rudder hardware installed on Aeon
Got all the hardware done this week. You would think doing something already made, that you just attach with screws, would be simple, but you’d be wrong. This is why I’m so bad at estimating when I’ll be done – nothing is really that hard, just a lot more complicated than it seems.
Every piece of hardware is unique, The screw holes are all in different places on each cleat, for instance; the holes on one don’t line up with the holes on any other. You have to label each part, its location and its orientation, before marking where to drill the pilot holes in the boats, then make sure you put each piece back in exactly the same place to screw them in.